Santa Cecilia and Ketil Fersum are back ... Part.2

We asked a few questions to Ketil Fersum too:

Do you cooperate with Cecilia on her new album? Do you also compose together or is it exclusively Cecila´s authorship?

We mainly work together as a team, but this year Cecilie has been doing a lot on her own. Since I’ve been in Norway and she in Italy she has sent me recordings over the phone and she has been collaborating with Rickard Persson from Sweden. He is a wonderful musician and has given fresh input and perspective into the new songs. Actually, Cecilie and I had our first rehearsal together (in almost four months) two days before the Czech tour. Now we know each other quite well, so it doesn’t take very long to get into the mood. But I had to call up Rickard to get his instruction on how some of the songs should be done.

Santacecilia is basically centered on Cecilie’s compositions. Her way of expression in the lyrics, melody lines, and also vocal form are quite unique to her. So it becomes very natural that she is the main song writer.
Of cause, sometimes we collaborate to put different elements in a song together. She is very impulsive and spontaneously creative, and I am perhaps a little bit more traditional in my approach. Then we try to meet where the song „feels right“. But the biggest challenge is to avoid overplaying, and leave enough space for her voice to express.

What was the difference at the concerts with Sandeep Bodhanker and what were the concerts like when you played alone?

Sandeep Sir, is an old friend and we’ve known him since 2004, when he was a teacher at the Vaitarna Academy. He is extremely gifted as artist, both as a dancer and a singer. And despite his relatively young age he is already an acclaimed master in a noble line of masters in the South Indian artistic tradition.

Actually I never saw him dance in public before. So it was very pleasing to watchhim perform on stage especially at the theaters with lighting. It was decided that we should be there as his surprise guests and we were honored to be so. He worked out the new crowd and gave them realization, and then we could just come in and float on the vibrations. But people mainly came to the programs expecting to see him dance, so there was a timetable and protocol to maintain. And therefore little time for us to get really comfortable on stage.
The difference when we did the exclusive Santacecilia programs was that we felt we first and foremost represented our own music and tradition. Witch of cause is an illusion. But perhaps we appear a little bit more relaxed and confident then.

You also visited a small musical seminar in our Czech ashram. How did you like it there and what are your feelings from the tour?

We were totally spoiled by our brothers and sisters in the Czech collective. They did everything for us. They treated and nurtured us with such love, respect and endless hospitality. And they showered us with credits and compliments nobody could ever deserve or expect. It made such a deep impact on us. The Uvaly Ashram felt like home since day one and we will never forget all the wonderful people we met on the tour.

Perhaps the Czechs don’t necessarily always wear their heart on the outside. But when you do get connected, it overwhelms you like a giant wave. Even though we didn’t speak the same language, our hearts got so connected to the people there.
Unfortunately (due to the tour schedule), we couldn‘t attend the whole seminar. But we loved the parts that we were able to attend. We also got some time to do some musical collaboration with Fabrice Michel on Santacecilias music, which we enjoyed tremendously.

Thank you

Thank you for all the boundless love that washes away all my fears
Thank you for all the beautiful lyrics that lift up my days
Thank you for all the wisdom when you give us childbirth

Thank you for the view of life that is bringing us into eternity
Thank you for all the vision, the clear eyes that I can see through
Thank you for all the clouds that make me want to take a step higher
Thank you for all the resistance within me that makes me wants to dive in the ochean of love

Thank you for pushing me into the water, so that I can be brave enough to swim
Thank you for all beautiful brothers and sisters that are bringing me into awareness
Thank you for being the Mother of all the Mothers
Thank you for bringing me up when I fall down, and kiss away all the tears
Thank you for all the happiness, all the joy and silence

Thank you for the sunrise that washes away my past
Thank you for every beautiful detail, every tiny little drop, every leaf falling down on this earth, every moment when I am with you

Thank you for all the divinity
Thank you for making me your instrument
Thank you for choosing me among millions and billions of people, I am the chosen one to serve You
Thank you for being You!

Cecilie Nirmala Andersen sept-2010


Short samples of music from CD "In your hand" you can find:

HERE