Symphony No. 2 'The Earth Anew'

Commissioned by John Storgårds, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Nordic House in the Faroe Islands. Dedicated to the composers daughter Malan. Preface / Programme note: From the Edda verse 31 Three roots there are that three ways run Neath the ash-tree Yggdrasil, Neath the first lives Hel, neath the second the frost-giants, Neath the last are the lands of men. The idea behind the Symphony is the story of Yggdrasil, &ldquo,The Tree of Life&rdquo,, from the Old Norse mythology. The Ash-tree reaches all the way into the sky and has three roots, each growing into three different places. One root grows into the &ldquo,Land of Hel&rdquo, (Hel is the goddess of Hell), called&ldquo,Helheim&rdquo,, another into the &ldquo,Land of Frost- Giants&rdquo,, called &ldquo,Jotunheim&rdquo,, and one root grows into the &ldquo,Land of men&rdquo,, called &ldquo,Asgard&rdquo,. And the Ash-tree reaches into the sky. In the crown of the tree lives a squirrel, which moves fast around the tree and spreads gossip, both between the three roots and between three roots and the crown of the tree. The Edda is a large collection of Old Norse poems, collected in the 12th Century by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson. Sunleif Rasmussen, March 2015