HELIUM VOLA Wohin? (Whereto?)

Double album, Release 22.2.2013 Chrom Records – Indigo

Since his youth, Ernst Horn admired the masters of classical music. He immersed himself in sonatas of Beethoven and Prokofiev, but still was a child of his time. Participating regularly in manifestations or went to progressive music playing clubs. Therefore, it was just a question of time that he had to come to a decision: abandoning the classical career as conductor and founding his own studio for electronic music up to experimental and alternative pop music. His success with theatre music, audio books, concept albums and the projects Deine Lakaien, Qntal and Helium Vola proved him right.

Especially the latter are prime examples for the openness and imaginative variation of wild sound collages and sequences, sentimental ballades and strictly composed madrigals with performers of early music and the avant-garde electronic music scene. The new album “Wohin?“, which has a complicated history, because it was originally planned as song collection with no superior concept under the title “Quodlibet”. It finally became a new start of the genre-crossing artist Ernst Horn on a journey whose destination he does not know.

After many years as musician and composer, the question of a lost child remains: “Wohin?“ Ambitious targets, as phrased in the framework songs “Nubibus artis“ and “Aquil altera“? “When, in the bright light you want to discover the truth: Chase away pleasure, chase away the fear, drive off the hope and pain should be far...“, or (inserted) in the same song: “In springtime everything becomes new.... How great is the joy for lovers and beloved...“? In between, for two hours, the variety of topics and sentiments as we know and love it from Helium Vola. Lighthearted dance songs, that will find their friends in the clubs, delicate and sad love songs, the dialogue of a young man with his dead lover at her grave, but also political topics, weapon blessing, crusader slogans, visions of a welsh miner and a downfallen Indian culture.

Special attention was paid to new composition forms and polyphony, also in the solo songs. As usually, „Prima Voce“ of Helium Vola is Sabine Lutzenberger, one of the most outstanding singers of early music, lately working more and more often in the field of avant-garde electronic music. The soloists Gerlinde Sämann, Andreas Hirtreiter and Joel Frederiksen, opera soloists who are also working successfully with ensembles such as “Hilliard“, “Hesperion“ or “Huelgas“ are supporting her. Participating for the first time: Priska Eser, Soprano, concert soloist and choir member of the Bavarian Broadcasting authority “Bayerischer Rundfunk”, as well as Hannah Wagner, a promising young singer and composer, studying at the Academy of Music in Leipzig.

The album “Wohin?“ will be available at a commercial CD standard price and comes with an elaborate digipak packaging. The booklet contains the lyrics in their original language, English and German.