Soundtrack Released: Rebekka Karijord’s Score from ‘Songs of Earth’
The soundtrack from Songs of Earth, featuring Rebekka Karijord's (she/her) original score to the Norwegian nature documentary directed by Margreth Olin, has been released today on OONA Recordings.
The film follows director Margreth Olin and her father into the scenic glacial valley of Oldedalen in Nordfjord, Olin’s childhood home. When writing the music, Rebekka devised an unorthodox approach to scoring that involved taking field recordings of the glaciers, forest, and river within the valley and working closely with the London Contemporary Orchestra at AIR Studios to translate them into a musical, orchestral palette. This unique method of composing brings the music even closer to embodying the essence of the nature seen on screen, connecting on a deeper emotional level the wonder that is truly all around us.
Following its world premiere at CPH:DOX, Songs of Earth will have its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, as well as premiering in Norwegian cinemas September 1. Below you can watch a short behind the scenes video of the scoring process with Rebekka at AIR Studios as well as the Norwegian trailer.
Listen to 'Songs of Earth (Original Soundtrack)' Now
Behind the Scenes: Recording at AIR Studios
Trailer
With Olin’s 85-year-old father serving as the cinematic guide through Songs of Earth, the film promises from the very start to get up close and personal. But not in that usual documentarian way. Songs of Earth rather employs the breathtaking immensity of nature and the harmonics of Earth herself to reach into the center of that most intimate of all terrains.
Karijord experimented with various soloists at her studio. She wanted to test the limits, unearthing how musical instruments could emulate nature. How brass and wood and steel could allow earth to emanate from their bodies. The techniques she uncovered were used in the writing of the score, and then taken to AIR Studios to be run through the majesty that is the London Contemporary Orchestra.
“LCO was definitely the right orchestra for Songs of Earth. Undoubtedly one of the best in the world at these very intuitive, cinematic, extended techniques. They arrived at that precise place I wanted to reach with this score,” Karijord reflects.
Songs of Earth is a moving meditation, a deep journey seamlessly traveling between both sonic and visual landscapes. Listened to on its own, this spell-binding soundtrack promises to awaken the human spirit from the inside out, reminding each one of us of that undeniable connection between the nature out there and the nature within.