Saxophone Quartets – Saxofon Concentus

Harmony, concordance and concord

The quartet Saxofon Concentus has been praised by critics and musicians alike both at home and abroad, and has acquired the reputation of playing the closest harmony with an unsurpassed homogeneity and musical nerve. As one critic wrote: “…you would think they had one and the same nervous system.” The quartet´s Latin name, meaning harmony, concordance, concord, is descriptive for their musical output. These concepts have been the guidelines for the quartet since its inception in 1990. The four members Kristin Bjørnhei, Lars Lien, Gisle Haus and Espen Aslaksen have given concerts in many countries and has performed for the national Concerts-throughout-the-Realm program and on national television.

On this album Saxofon Concentus records three quartets from the saxophone history, going back to the instruments roots in Jean Baptiste Singelée´s “Quartet no. 1, Op. 53”, written just a few years after Adolphe Sax took a patent on the first saxophone in 1846, and moving further forward in history in Florent Schmitt´s quartet, before landing on the calm and lyrical quartet by Ida Gotkovsky.