Sunrise, commissioned by the Nordstrand Musikkselskap Choir for their 70th anniversary in 2011, sets the words of the famous Norwegian painter Edvard Munch in a cantata for female vocalist and chorus (here Kari Bremnes and the Oslo Chamber Choir) with an instrumental group that includes the composer himself, jazz pianist Ketil Bjørnstad.

Ketil Bjørnstad says: "Edvard Munch always wrote something about his motifs before painting them. These were often short prose texts describing the subject matter he envisioned for the picture. His prose style was heavily influenced by August Strindberg and the Norwegian anarchist and writer Hans Jæger. He produced modern, often crudely crafted pieces of writing that had a sketch-like quality, but that he would repeatedly re-edit. The texts can be compared to his paintings in their power and intensity. Munch wanted to be a writer as well as a painter. He worked on several ideas for novels, and wrote a number of short stories." Texts from different periods in Munch's life have been used in Sunrise. They all portray existentialist dilemmas: surviving or being destroyed, believing or observing.

Ketil Bjørnstad, pianist, composer, improviser... and also novelist, poet and essayist, was described by The Guardian as "a cultural prodigy". Prolific in his multi-discipline activities, he has released more than 50 albums and published 40 books. Bjørnstad has been an ECM recording artist since 1993 when his album Water Stories was issued. Other ECM recordings include The Sea, The River, The Sea II, Epigraphs, Life In Leipzig, The Light - Songs of Love and Fear, Remembrance, Night Song, Vinding's Music and La notte. Among his best-known books internationally is his acclaimed 1993 fictionalised biography of Edvard Munch.

Personnel: Ketil Bjørnstad (piano), Kari Bremnes (vocal), Aage Kvalbein (cello), Matias Bjørnstad (alto saxophone), Bjørn Kjellemyr (bass), Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen (percussion), Oslo Chamber Choir, Egil Fossum (conductor)