Olivia Vermeulen, Jan Philip Schulze - In Heaven - Songs for a Trip to Space (2025) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Life on mars (Intro: First sounds from Mars-rover Perseverance 2021)
02. Apparition: The Night in Silence Under Many a Star
03. 6 Lieder, Op. 86: No. 2, Feldeinsamkeit
04. Mörike-Lieder: No. 13, Im Frühling
05. Ganymed, D. 544 (Outro: Sound of Ganymede plasma waves GII G1)
06. Les sept ivresses: II. Le vin
07. Lethe
08. White Rabbit
09. Hymnen an die Nacht
10. Um Mitternacht, GMW 42
11. Tanzer Lieder: I. Sur une étoile
12. Mélodies persanes, Op. 26: VI. Tournoiement (Songe d'opium)
13. The ballad of Lucy Jordan
14. Auroral Kilometric Radiation
15. Abendstern, D. 806
16. Der Wanderer an den Mond, D. 870
17. Tierkreis - 12 Melodien Der Sternzeichen: VI. Fische - Pisces
18. Tierkreis - 12 Melodien Der Sternzeichen: XIV. Löwe - Lion
19. Galaxy Song
20. Katchikatchi les étoiles
21. Una notte a Napoli
22. Sound of solar wind, Parker solar probe
23. 6 Gesänge, Op. 107: No. 6, Abendlied

The third collaboration between mezzo-soprano Olivia Vermeulen and Jan Philip Schulze (piano / synthesizer), In Heaven, follows their earlier themed albums Dirty Minds and Hello Darkness, which were highly acclaimed and won an Edison Award and a German Record Critics' Award, among others. While the first two albums dealt with earthly themes such as eroticism and mortality, this program turns to the heavens. The concept is a cosmic odyssey combining art song, contemporary music, pop and psychedelic classics into a journey through utopian visions, distant planets and the eternal human fascination with space. Interspersed with NASA sound recordings, the album transports the listener between heaven and earth, fantasy and reality, intoxication and transcendence.

The repertoire is strikingly eclectic: David Bowie's Life on Mars opens with real Martian storm sounds, while George Crumb, Brahms, Schubert and Wolf provide lyrical reflections on stars, dreams and transcendence. The program segues seamlessly into Augusta Holmès' exuberant drinking song Le vin, Rebecca Clarke's opium-soaked Lethe and Grace Slick's psychedelic anthem White Rabbit. French and German masters such as Saint-Saëns, Mahler and Messiaen appear alongside Stockhausen's Tierkreis, Monty Python's satirical Galaxy Song and Pink Martini's Una notte a Napoli. The album closes with Robert Schumann's radiant Abendlied, which emphasizes the dialogue between the infinite cosmos and human longing.

Together, Vermeulen and Schulze create a world of sound that is at once virtuosic, witty and deeply imaginative. Supported by drums and bass in selected pieces, they rely on color, theatricality and stylistic versatility to transform familiar works into cosmic meditations. In Heaven ultimately reflects humanity's dreams of escape, exhilaration and utopia while acknowledging the earthbound reality of existence. The result is a kaleidoscopic journey - playful yet profound, rooted in classical art yet open to pop culture - that challenges boundaries and offers the listener a musical mission into space.

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