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Programme Note

The idea of 'Frozen Horizon' is based on the landscape of Harstad, the city on one of the fjord islands in northern Norway which I visited for the Ilios Festival in January 1997. Extreme climate conditions prevail during the winter, when darkness lasts all day without any sunlight. One can see northern lights like hallucinations. Beyond the icy earth's surface, the frozen sea spreads towards a curved boundary line between the sea and the dark sky. Time passes slowly there.

'Frozen Horizon' was composed based on my memories of this extreme landscape.

This work was commissioned by the Mirkk Art Forum. It was first performed by the BIT20 Ensemble conducted by Ingar Bergby, at the Bergen International Festival in Norway, on 22nd May 1998.

© Karen Tanaka