''Like a Flame'' is a double-album with
free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician(s) involved. The term can refer to both a technique (employed by any musician in any genre) and as a recognizable genre in its ...
s for organ by
Frederik Magle
Frederik Reesen Magle (; born 17 April 1977) is a Danish composer, concert organist, and pianist. He writes contemporary classical music as well as fusion of classical music and other genres. His compositions include orchestral works, cantatas, ...
released in December 2010 on the Swedish record label Proprius Music (PRCD 2061). It was recorded on the then new
Frobenius pipe organ in
Jørlunde church
Jørlunde is a village with a population of 299 (1 January 2022) in North Zealand in Denmark.
In the late Viking age and early medieval age, Jørlunde was the center of the Hvide clan. Jørlunde Church (''Joerlunde Kirke'') was erected by Skja ...
on December 22–23, 2009. Frederik Magle recorded a total of 60 free improvisations over the course of the two days and later selected 23 to be released on the double album. The improvisations was recorded in one take.
[(Double album with organ music by Frederik Magle)](_blank)
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The album has been mostly favorably reviewed, but also been criticized and caused some debate about the nature of improvisation with the reviewers of Danish magazine ''Orglet'' and Danish Organist's Society (DOKS) magazine ''Organistbladet'' arguing for the use of traditional fugal and choral forms as well as stylistic copies of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
when improvising and on the other hand organist, jazz-pianist, and composer Henrik Sørensen defending the free improvisational form on Like a Flame in an article in Danish organ-magazine ''Orgelforum''.
Origin of the title
The title of the album (and the title track) is derived from a quote from the Irish poet William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
' play The Land of Heart's Desire
''The Land of Heart's Desire'' is a play by Irish poet, dramatist, and 1923 Nobel laureate William Butler Yeats. First performed in the spring of 1894, at the Avenue Theatre in London, where it ran for a little over six weeks,Yeats, William Butl ...
:
Track listing
CD1:
# Origin
# Like a Flame
# Fleeting Glimpses
# Towards Truth
# A Temptation
# Merry-go-round
# Awakening
# Awake
# To Become
# Realization
# Truth
CD2:
# Odditorium
# Through the Mist
# Crossing Borders
# Dreams of Childhood Dreams
# Memories of Meadows
# Behind the Mask
# Empty Fair
# Lament
# Journey Forever
# Destiny
# Ascending
# End of the Circle
References
2010 classical albums
2010 live albums
Frederik Magle live albums
Live instrumental albums
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