Impressive in conception, deft in execution, this is highly creative Nordic contemporary music. Diverse conceptually yet thematically strong in construction, Janne Mark knows a thing or two about melody, aware that age-old themes have a reason for surviving – it's because they connect with humanity, so are handed down the ages to coexist alongside new ones that equally have the power to move the human spirit. Melodies disregard borders, genres and category; they exist because they communicate the ages old power of music and Mark here is inspired on the one hand by the Nordic folk tradition, a seventh-century Celtic lullaby and lyrics from Danish writer Marie Aidt's poem from her novel When Death Takes Something From You, while on the other hand she draws on her own hymnic melodies.

They are brought alive, embellished by two masters of melody, trumpeter Arve Henriksen and Hardanger fiddle virtuoso Nils Økland. Henriksen also conjures up the atmospheric backdrops to this music that can be brief, ‘Psalm for a Tree’ at two minutes or ‘Har Døden Taget Noget Fra Dig Så Div Det Tilbage' with takes in excess of seven minutes to fulfil its meaning. Powerful and memorable, this is music for the ages.