PARNASSOS

Duo formed by Julie Hasfjord (soprano) and Magnus Wendel (lute player), a result of the two musicians and friends' shared interest and fascination for the beautiful songs and the often amazing stories connected to them from 1600's England and Spain.

Having known each other for many years already, they finally had the time and opportunity to give concerts together and make their first recordings in Trondheim, Norway in 2020.

METAMORPHOSIS

The program contains works for lute duos from the 16th and 17th centuries. Common to many of the works is that they have been transformed from their original form as either solo pieces or choral works and songs, to lute duets. The title, Metamorphosis, refers both to the transformation of the pieces from one form to another and to the ancient author Ovid's collection of poems of the same title, which had a great influence on the stylistic expressions of the Renaissance and early Baroque.

The duo presents music by several of the great lute composers from the 16th and 17th centuries, including Fransesco da Milano and John Dowland. The program ranges from high-quality and sublime works to more light-hearted and popular pieces.

IN DISGUISE

This project is using music that is available in manuscripts and publications from the 15th and 17th centuries as a starting point for composing arrangements to disguise the original music. An example of this is Lachrimae Pavane by John Dowland from the Jane Pickering manuscript (British Library MS Egerton 2046). The song is being used as a starting point to compose a completely new part for the already existing old music. Thereby, the music undergoes a transformation and is dressed in a new costume (In Disguise) where personal, modern musical expressions are mixed together with historical music. Examples of historical forms we use include Fantasia, Pavane, Galliard and Calata from composers such as Ambrosio Dalza, John Dowland and Gaspar Sanz and others.