Benedicte Maurseth - Sommarbeite
Benedicte Maurseth releases first single from her upcoming album – “Sommarbeite” out August 22
Following her critically acclaimed breakthrough work Hárr (2022), award-winning Hardanger fiddle player, composer, and author Benedicte Maurseth returns with new music. On June 20, she releases the first single, “Sommarbeite” (Summer Pasture), from the upcoming album Mirra, set for release in autumn 2025.
Like Hárr, Mirra is deeply rooted in the landscape and sounds of the Hardangervidda mountain plateau – near where Maurseth herself grew up – but this time, the wild reindeer takes center stage, both musically and conceptually. With “Sommarbeite,” we are invited into the reindeer’s world. Benedicte explains:
“After months of endless migration and digging through snow with their hooves on the Hardangervidda – from late September until early May – spring and summer finally return to the high mountains. During the winter, the plant-eating wild reindeer survive on lichen, heather, and dwarf shrubs, found on windblown ridges where the snow melts first, or unearthed beneath thinner snow layers. ‘Sommarbeite’ captures the reindeer’s ecstasy upon discovering the season’s first fresh birch shoots, green grass, herbs, moss, and mushrooms in the alpine landscape.”
With her distinctive Hardanger fiddle tone and the use of field recordings from nature and wildlife, Maurseth once again creates an evocative and poetic soundscape. “Sommarbeite” is both a tribute to the beauty of the mountain and a story of survival, movement, and rhythm within the cycles of nature – blending the hypnotic repetition of traditional folk music with elements of minimalism, krautrock, and free improvisation.
Mirra continues the legacy of Hárr, which was awarded the Nordic Music Prize and named by The Guardian as one of the top ten folk albums in the world in 2022. On this new album, Maurseth ventures even deeper into the natural world – and closer to the reindeer. The title Mirra is taken from an old, forgotten dialect word from Hardanger that describes a reindeer herd running tightly in circles – a behavior used to protect against predators or to stay warm during harsh winter conditions.
The work follows the reindeer’s annual cycle – from “Kalven reiser seg” (The Calf Stands Up) to “Jaktmarsj” (Hunting March), with “Sommarbeite” as a pivotal moment. In addition to field recordings of mountain wildlife, the piece also features sounds from endangered species such as the snowy owl, arctic fox, wolverine, and Lapland bunting – contributing to a larger ecosophical reflection on the human relationship with nature and the animal world.
Maurseth has composed the music in close collaboration with some of Norway’s most acclaimed musicians:
• Håkon Stene – melodic percussion, 12-string guitar, and percussion
• Mats Eilertsen – double bass, electric bass, and electronics
• Morten Qvenild – keyboards and electronic processing
