Anna von Hausswolff's debut EP "Track of Time" was released in February 2010 by Kning Disk, magnificent avant-garde pop with its crosshairs trained on the heart. The first album "Singing From the Grave" appeared in May. Everyone who hears Anna von Hausswolff sing, immediately stops, listens and gets touched by her magic. Her voice is that of total expression. Sometimes it caresses you, sometimes it roars up a storm.
On July 9, 2013 "Ceremony" was released in North America by Other Music Recording Co., and Anna von Hausswolff played her debut US show on July 10 at Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn. The album received strong support from National Public Radio's Bob Boilen, who said "Von Hausswolff's voice possesses the power to soar with those mighty pipes and still hold tight to delicate, personal emotions. I hope to find one album like Ceremony every year — a rare, thoughtful, inspiring record for a night on the couch or a candlelit evening — and now I've got one for 2013." She was also featured on NPR Weekend Edition Saturday, PRI's The World, WNYC Soundcheck, the New York Times, Pitchfork and more.
Ceremony was followed up by "The Miraculous" late in 2015.
Large pipe organs first started to be built in European churches in the 14th century. While much of the music that people at the time heard and played would be dedicated to the glory of God, surely nothing could have prepared them for the sound that now filled their places of worship. As the solemn timbre of the metallic pipes echoed around the stony transept, the congregation must have trembled in their pews before this new instrument of the Almighty. More than ever, the organ turned the church into a place of "mystery, magic and terror".
These are the words that Anna von Hausswolff uses to describe the undisclosed location in rural Sweden that inspired The Miraculous, a place of great natural beauty that nevertheless remains haunted by the blood-stained spectres of a brutally suppressed peasant uprising. Using the 9,000 pipe Acusticum Pipe Organ, Hausswolff has conjured an entire world into being here, forging a unity between reality and imagination that's so immense in its conception that it's initially difficult to properly take in. It's like a gigantic monument that you have to keep stepping back from in order to get any perspective on it.
The sleeve alone should clue the listener to the fact that there's nothing here as heart-stoppingly lovely as 'Mountains Crave' from 2012's Ceremony: Hausswolff appears as a faceless apparition, an erased portrait sitting in a derelict room with faded pictures of Christ and angels on the walls. The elemental vastness of the sound recalls the aesthetic of Swans, while Nico is another key reference point, one woman communing with herself and the world via a droning, medieval keyboard. But The Miraculous certainly isn't all existential gloom and despair. Instead, its sense of dread is offset throughout by a yearning to break free of mortal bonds and become immanent in nature.
'Discovery' immediately sets the tone, a foghorn blast of bass pipes suggesting that something huge is approaching in the dark. A thick wave of organ slowly seeps into every corner of the audio field, before a skirling siren call and the military drums of battles past introduce notes of tension and conflict. It breaks down to the sounds of aftermath from which a spare Morricone-esque guitar line emerges. When Hausswolff finally starts to sing, her voice is strong as she bears witness, but soon the words start to tumble out with growing urgency, and then she's chanting "Run!/Run!/Run to the sun!"
This epic opener is followed by two shorter tracks. 'The Hope Only Of Empty Men' sounds like it's being transmitted from some point in the distant past, Hausswolff's syllables twisted and tortured as they leave her mouth, while the organ pulses like a hangover. 'Pomperipossa' is an awestruck blast of ecclesiastical prog full of unnerving chord changes.
But it's the eleven minute sturm und drang of 'Come Wander With Me/Deliverance' that's the album's massive centrepiece. A slow, sepulchral organ melody is joined by the beautiful controlled tone of Hausswolff's lonely choir girl. There's a great segue into a lumbering procession of the damned which then consolidates into a hammering one chord riff over an increasingly martial beat. Hausswolff sings, "He came from the sunset / He came from the sea / He came from the shadows…" like Elizabeth Fraser on the rack, before dissolving into wordless cries of ecstasy or pain, who knows. Cue guitar solo, and then a little sit down to recover.
It's hard to imagine where to go after that, but another three short tracks pick up the album's themes. 'En Ensam Vandrare' is based on the type of brooding but meditative arpeggios that inevitably bring Philip Glass to mind, while 'An Oath' is a ballad sung against marching drums again. And then 'Evocation' is a summoning up of everything that's gone before, the density of the sound plus the inflection in Hausswolff's voice making me wonder if this is what Sunn O))) recording with Abba would sound like. There's a minute of static and feedback ascending and then disappearing into the sky, and it feels like a natural ending–
But no. 'The Miraculous' itself is an extended drone piece, a gradual layering of chords on the organ as though it's slowly waking up from a deep slumber. Hausswolff's voice drifts over the top, her faceless spirit moving through the pipes, the organ's high notes like swooning strings and brass. Final track 'Stranger' is perhaps the most 'traditional' and romantic song here, a plea for absolution with twanging guitar.
This album is a pretty astonishing piece of work. Hausswolff has pushed out into unmapped territory where post-rock, prog, doom metal, modern classical and high church music all co-exist in uneasy alliance. It's the type of album you have to commit to completely, but for those seeking a glimpse of the numinous, it's worth the effort.
March 2018 sees the release of Anna's fourth album - "Dead Magic", and was preceded by the single "The Vanishing of Elektra" and in the run up to the albums release its first track "The Truth, The Glow, The Fall" was officially released as an audio onto YouTube.
Official site: http://www.annavonhausswolff.com
Official Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/annavonhausswolff
Liturgy of Light
Anna von Hausswolff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I am going backwards
To be more precise
Are we still here?
History of shame
I will not spell it
Liturgy of light
Well it's a
hard life
that we share
it's a
hard life
for us young ones
it's written all around
Some of it is true
but we can't see it
the news are full of faults
where's all the hope?
all together now
can we recite it
say liturgy of light
it's fading out
Well it's a
hard life
that we share
It's a
hard life
for us young ones
and it's a
long road
that we share
it's a
long road
for us young ones
it's written all around
all around
it's written all around
all around
(Dank an Kevin für den Text)
The lyrics to Anna von Hausswolff's song Liturgy of Light reflect a sense of confusion and disillusionment with the world around us. The first verse, "I am going backwards to be more precise, are we still here?" suggests a feeling of being stuck or trapped and questioning if progress is even possible. The next verse, "History of shame, I will not spell it" touches on the idea that there are dark parts of history that we do not want to acknowledge or confront. The repetition of the line "Liturgy of light, it's fading out" creates a sense of something disappearing or slipping away.
The chorus, "It's a hard life that we share, it's a hard life for us young ones" speaks to the struggles that many face in life, and the idea that it can be especially difficult for the younger generation who are inheriting the problems of those who came before them. The line "Some of it is true but we can't see it" suggests a sense of disorientation and a difficulty in discerning what is real and what is not in the world today. The final repetition of "it's written all around" drives home the idea that these struggles are pervasive and impactful in our daily lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Liturgy of light
The ritual of light that symbolizes hope and positivity.
I am going backwards
Feeling like moving backwards in life and experiencing moments of negativity and hopelessness.
To be more precise
To be more accurate with the portrayal of the current emotional state.
Are we still here?
Questioning the existence and purpose of life amidst strife and challenges.
History of shame
The past incidents that bring feelings of guilt, remorse and embarrassment.
I will not spell it
Choosing not to focus on the negative past events and instead looking for positivity.
it's fading out
The hope and positivity that represented the ritual of light is diminishing.
Well it's a hard life that we share
Acknowledging the struggles and difficulties in life that are common to all of us.
it's a hard life for us young ones
The struggles and challenges are even more pronounced and difficult for the younger generation.
it's written all around
The struggles and difficulties are universal and visible everywhere.
Some of it is true but we can't see it
Acknowledging the presence of hope and positivity in life, but unable to perceive it.
the news are full of faults
The news is mostly negative, highlighting the problems and challenges that surround us.
where's all the hope?
Questioning the lack of positivity and hope in the current situation.
all together now can we recite it
Bringing people together to recite the ritual of light in the hope of reviving positivity and hopefulness.
and it's a long road that we share
Life is a long journey that we all share together, with its own set of struggles and difficulties.
it's a long road for us young ones
The younger generation has a longer path ahead of them, facing more challenges and difficulties.
it's written all around all around it's written all around all around
The difficulties and struggles are pervasive and all-encompassing.
Writer(s): Anna von Hausswolff Copyright: Figs D. Music O.B.O. Misty Music AB
Contributed by Jayden E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.