Fairytales

Fairytales (Swedish "Sagolikt") is a concert program created by the Nordic Light Duo (Josefine Andersson - mezzo soprano, Daniel Beskow - piano). It is inspired by the wonderful fantasy world of the beloved Swedish children's author and illustrator, Elsa Beskow. Her fairytales run through the music like a golden thread.

The program is divided into five sections, each one representing a different Beskow fairytale: Flower's Festival, The Curious Perch, Putte's Adventures in Blueberry Land, The Journey to the Land Long Ago and The Sun Egg. In each section the listener gets immersed into an exciting story, enriched by Elsa's original illustrations. These texts and pictures are accompanied by selected songs and piano pieces that match the storyline. Two illustrations (page 34 and 48) are published here for the first time and can only be seen in this booklet, thanks to Daniel Beskow's family connection with Elsa Beskow, his paternal great-grandmother.

Fairytales was born in 2018, when the duo decided to revive Elsa's fairytale world and develop a new musical concept. They firmly believe that Elsa's work belongs to the European cultural heritage and, by releasing this programme alongside Elsa's illustrations, they seized the opportunity to pay tribute to this extraordinary woman and reveal her work to a new, broader audience.

In Sweden Fairytales has become a huge success; the Nordic Light Duo have given more than a hundred concerts over recent years. The intimate setting, personal approach, special atmosphere and innovative combination of literature, music and visual arts remain the highlights of this thrilling project that now can be enjoyed on this recording.