Hansson, Bo

Artist: Bo Hansson & The Choir of Royal Holloway
P: 2011
The Swede Bo Hansson is a man of many talents: a guitarist, and a composer of a wide range of music in folk and jazz idioms. Choral music might be a relatively recent departure for him but its roots run deep, back to the days of his childhood when he sang as a treble in his local choir. He has observed that the human voice is the closest you can come to your soul and in that search he writes music that demands much of its performers in its sustained intensity of sound, a penchant for a cappella and a fresh way with word-setting even in the most established of texts, as in the darting energy of the Gloria from the Missa brevis. Rupert Gough and his Royal Holloway Choir are no strangers to Hyperion, having previously made waves in music by Baltic composers Mikinis and Dubra. Heres yet another sign that hes one of the most exciting choral conductors of his generation.

Artist: Bo Hansson
P: 1970 / 1993
These musical visualizations by the Swedish composer-musician almost seem to have arisen from the very pages of the book. The track titles bear the names of chapters from the story in sequence ; "Leaving the Shire, the Fog on the Barrow Downs, the Black Riders,& the Flight to the Ford", & so on until the ending "the Grey Havens".
I admit to being a fan of Bo Hansson since the appearance of this album & I would go as far as accrediting him with having introduced storybook fantasy music to the broad realm of rock. Other artists soon followed with their own rock music adaptations of popular stories, historic,& folklore themes.
It must be remembered this music was created way before state of art digital electronic keyboards & computer enhanced sound. These were the days of the Hammond organ & the original Moog synthesizer. On this album Hansson plays organ, Moog, guitars,& bass, & most of it was compiled whilst he lived reclusively on an island off Stockholm.
It is worth noting that Bo was held in high regard in the British music scene in the late sixties when he played & recorded with fellow Swede Janne Karlsson. This unusual rock duo released their own albums under the name "HANSSON & KARLSSON" [see my review] & had a number of jams with none other than Jimi Hendrix. Bo's organ playing was considered by many to be ground breaking at a time when keyboard provided mainly backing for most rock bands.
Bo was one of the very first rock musicians to put the keyboard up front, often without an electric guitar anywhere in sight,& was one of the earliest to make full use of the Moog synthesizer as an exciting new lead instrument. In 1970 a tiny number of artists were just beginning to use electronic keyboard for this kind of musical imagery. These were really pioneering times & this album was a milestone at the start of an era of many keyboard masters & solo multi-instrumentalists, so one can see how many have been influenced by Hansson.
If you enjoy the "Lord of the Rings" story &/or you have a sense of fantasy consider this classic album from a very creative man.
This release contains some more tracks from the two albums: Magician's Hat and Attic Thoughts.

Artist: Bo Hansson
P: 1970 / 2002
These musical visualizations by the Swedish composer-musician almost seem to have arisen from the very pages of the book. The track titles bear the names of chapters from the story in sequence ; "Leaving the Shire, the Fog on the Barrow Downs, the Black Riders,& the Flight to the Ford", & so on until the ending "the Grey Havens".
I admit to being a fan of Bo Hansson since the appearance of this album & I would go as far as accrediting him with having introduced storybook fantasy music to the broad realm of rock. Other artists soon followed with their own rock music adaptations of popular stories, historic,& folklore themes.
It must be remembered this music was created way before state of art digital electronic keyboards & computer enhanced sound. These were the days of the Hammond organ & the original Moog synthesizer. On this album Hansson plays organ, Moog, guitars,& bass, & most of it was compiled whilst he lived reclusively on an island off Stockholm.
It is worth noting that Bo was held in high regard in the British music scene in the late sixties when he played & recorded with fellow Swede Janne Karlsson. This unusual rock duo released their own albums under the name "HANSSON & KARLSSON" [see my review] & had a number of jams with none other than Jimi Hendrix. Bo's organ playing was considered by many to be ground breaking at a time when keyboard provided mainly backing for most rock bands.
Bo was one of the very first rock musicians to put the keyboard up front, often without an electric guitar anywhere in sight,& was one of the earliest to make full use of the Moog synthesizer as an exciting new lead instrument. In 1970 a tiny number of artists were just beginning to use electronic keyboard for this kind of musical imagery. These were really pioneering times & this album was a milestone at the start of an era of many keyboard masters & solo multi-instrumentalists, so one can see how many have been influenced by Hansson.
If you enjoy the "Lord of the Rings" story &/or you have a sense of fantasy consider this classic album from a very creative man.
 

Artist: Bo Hansson
P: 1972 / 2004
Hansson is just briimming with diverse musical ideas from a wide range of infuences, and he weaves them together into an enduring thematic whole. Unlike so many other progressive rock bands of the time, Hansson lacks the somewhat grandiose pretensiousness other groups seemed to engage in that now makes their music seem dated and unsophisticated. Hansson's vision seems to be pursued for its own sake, and this has lasted. This is an absolutely outstanding recording. This 1972 album is no different, although musically it finds him exploring jazzier styles a bit more than on his debut album Lord of the Rings (1970). The jazzy styles are featured a tiny bit on the lengthy opening track Big City. For those of you that do not like the sound of jazz on a Bo Hansson album - fear not. In large part, the music on Magician's Hat is mellow prog rock that mixes Swedish folk styles and European classical music and features Bo's excellent spacey organ, mini-moog, and mellotron playing. Although Bo is a multi-instrumentalist, he is supported on Magician's Hat by a flute/sax player, guitarist, and drummer. There is some great ensemble work along with good playing by all members. This remastered album is very nice and features restored cover art, great sound quality, and lots of informative liner notes.

Here the last copy!

Artist: Bo Hansson
P: 1972 / 2004
Hansson is just briimming with diverse musical ideas from a wide range of infuences, and he weaves them together into an enduring thematic whole. Unlike so many other progressive rock bands of the time, Hansson lacks the somewhat grandiose pretensiousness other groups seemed to engage in that now makes their music seem dated and unsophisticated. Hansson's vision seems to be pursued for its own sake, and this has lasted. This is an absolutely outstanding recording. This 1972 album is no different, although musically it finds him exploring jazzier styles a bit more than on his debut album Lord of the Rings (1970). The jazzy styles are featured a tiny bit on the lengthy opening track Big City. For those of you that do not like the sound of jazz on a Bo Hansson album - fear not. In large part, the music on Magician's Hat is mellow prog rock that mixes Swedish folk styles and European classical music and features Bo's excellent spacey organ, mini-moog, and mellotron playing. Although Bo is a multi-instrumentalist, he is supported on Magician's Hat by a flute/sax player, guitarist, and drummer. There is some great ensemble work along with good playing by all members. This remastered album is very nice and features restored cover art, great sound quality, and lots of informative liner notes.

Here the last Copy!