Sigbjørn Apeland
Sigbjørn Apeland (1966) from Bergen, Norway, was educated as a classical church musician, with the organ as his main instrument, but continues to work between idioms, combining improvisation, traditional music and more. He is know for using the harmonium in new ways and within unusual settings, as on his two ECM recordings Lysøen – Hommage à Ole Bull (2011) and Glimmer (2023), both performed in duo with violinist Nils Økland. The former album inspired the German weekly Die Zeit to rave about the duo’s collaboration: “What colours! Nils Økland experiments with many different shades on his Hardanger fiddle, whispers, breathes, sometimes just titters with the wood of his bow on the strings, while Apeland lets heavy clouds rise on the harmonium, and this is so exquisitely recorded that you believe you can see the grain of the wood.”
