Lars Lien - Phonetix (2016)

“Phonetix” is Lars Lien’s first solo release on the LAWO Classics label. The driving force behind the project is Lien’s interest in exploring the saxophone’s vocal capacity, with music and texts touching on universal and existential questions. Fifteen years ago saxophonist Lars Lien and soprano Siri Torjesen began their collaboration with a performance of the work “Sister Song.” The music was composed by Hakon Berge and the text written by Paal-Helge Haugen. This first performance of the work took place in a forest setting in Olavsdalen outside of Kristiansand. In Lien’s words: “Already at that time I understood the many similarities between the saxophone and the human voice. Timbre, vibrato, dynamic tension and flexibility are all qualities shared by a singer and a saxophonist.” Soprano Berit Norbakken Solset and Lien are both enthusiastic about the music of Swedish composer Karin Rehnqvist. The unpolished, almost naked quality of her musical expressi.