GISLE KVERNDOKK (*1967) : The Silk Road (2017) - Suite in 10 movements Commissioned by and dedicated to Oslo Kammerakademi - I. Venice: Song of the Silk Merchants - II. Turkey: Don’t leave any Hazelnuts on the Tree - III. Armenia: You are a Ploughman - IV. Azerbaijan: Shampan Ragsi –Country Dance - V. Iran: Khayam and the Pots - VI. Afghanistan: Atan – Nomad Dance - VII. Uzbekistan: Morning in the Desert - VIII. Kyrgyzstan: Shepherd’s Melody - IX. Mongolia: Dance Melody - X. China: I love you, Snow in the North. Commissioned by and dedicated to Oslo Kammerakademi. MERT KARABEY (*1976) : The Last Days of Sultan Selim III (2011). CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS (1835–1921) : Orient et Occident, op. 25 (arr. Trond Olaf Larsen). ANDRÉ CAPLET (1878–1925) Suite Persane.

Description: The work that Oslo Kammerakademi includes on this disc predates Saint-Saëns' travels to Africa. L’Orient et occident (1869) was the result of a commission from the Union Centrale des Beaux-Arts Appliqués à l’Industrie for a gala evening in connection with a major exhibition of oriental art. Originally composed for military band, the work (subtitled “Marche”) is in three sections. Oslo Kammerakademi perform Saint-Saëns’ work in an arrangement written for the ensemble by Trond Olaf Larsen. Caplet’s Suite Persane comprises three miniatures, mood pictures inspired by the “orient”. His use of exotic melodies is underpinned by harmonies that hint unmistakably at Wagner. Oslo Kammerakademi has commissioned several new works illustrating the theme of cultural migration. The first of these on this recording is Norwegian composer Gisle Kverndokk’s The Silk Road (2017), a 10-movement suite inspired by an imagined journey from Venice to China along the Silk Road – a network of trade routes between Europe and Asia. In 2011, Oslo Kammerakademi commissioned a work from the Turkish composer Mert Karabey. The resulting piece tells the story of the last days of Sultan Selim III – a fascinating figure in the history of the Ottoman Empire.