Opus (Mix)

Maybe I should begin with a disclaimer: this one is different from the previous mixes.
After publishing many ambient mix-collages (87 and counting!), I decided to challenge myself. What if I combined ambient soundscapes and classical music? Would that work out?

This proved to be more difficult than I expected. It proved to be much easier to combine abstract atmospheric music than ambient music with ‘program music’ like classical. It proved even more difficult when choosing from ‘classical classical’ music such as baroque music, polyphonic choir music, or music from the absolute giants (Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, etc.). Maybe because I definitely wanted to retain an introspective atmosphere, but also include some ‘tension – release dynamics’ to avoid the mix becoming too ‘easy listening’.

With only two exceptions, the ‘classical’ fragments come from contemporary composers. Also, this mix features fewer layers playing simultaneously (compared to my previous mixes).
In that respect, this is more like a ‘mix-tape’ than a ‘collage’.
All titles used in this mix are fragments, only small parts of the original compositions. So: if you hear something you like (and I hope you do), please check out the original.

I must admit that I had some doubts about publishing this mix. Would it possibly appeal to an ambient music-oriented audience? And what would aficionados of classical music think of it? Is this a musical blasphemy?
But then again, I found myself listening to it regularly, enjoying it for what it has become.
So why not publish it and see what happens? Let’s see.

I’m curious to know what you think about this particular mix experiment!

Tracklist

00:00 Anton Friisgaard – You Never Wanna Do Anything Fun
Minor Blossoms, 2024
02:10 Alexander Knaifel – O Comforter
Lukomoriye, 2018
Lege Artis Choir, Boris Abalian
03:44 Erik K. Skodvin – Alone In The Dark
Darkness OST, 2025
05:04 Djivan Gasparyan – Memories
Provenance, 2011
Maya Beiser – Cello
06:04 Markus Guentner – Hive
Black Dahlia, 2025
09:16 Anna Thorvaldsdottir – Hidden – Past And Present
Rhizoma, 2011
10:27 Arvo Pärt – Solitudine – Stato D’Animo
Lamentate, 2005
SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Andrey Boreyko
11:59 Paul Beaudoin – That Empty Room
Early January, 2024
14:44 Jane Antonia Cornish – Yügen
Seascapes, 2019
16:59 Arvo Pärt – The Deer’s Cry
Choral Music, 2014
Polyphony, Stephen Layton
18:16 Jane Antonia Cornish – Yüge
Seascapes, 2019
19:33 Chihei Hatakeyama – Mizar
Norma, 2012
20:44 Krzysztof Penderecki – The Awakening Of Jacob (aka The Dream Of Jacob)
The Shining Complete Soundtrack, 2005
Polish Radio National Orchestra, Krzysztof Penderecki
24:44 Jana Irmert – No Ground To Fall On
When I Dissolve, 2024
26:30 Kloob – Whispers Of The Ethereal Current
Drone Islands – Borealis, 2024
27:29 Valentin Silvestrov – Hymn 2001
Leggiero, Pesante, 2002
Valentin Silvestrov – piano
31:04 Julien Demoulin – A Trial Of Distances (.Foundation Rework)
A Trial Of Distances, 2025
34:00 Henryk Górecki – Wislo Moja, Wislo Szara Opus 46
Miserere, 1994
Chicago Lyric Opera Chorus, John Nelson
36:52 George Frideric Handel – Xerxes – Larghetto
Night Music 8, 1991
Capella Istropolitana, Richard Edlinger
40:21 Jóhann Jóhansson & BJ Nilsen – Shower
I Am Here, 2014
40:30 Erik K. Skodvin – Alone In The Dark
From Darkness OST, 2025
41:55 Enrique Crespo – Brückner Etude Für Das Tiefe Blech
New Trombone Collective, 2007
45:08 Anna Thorvaldsdottir – Hidden Inwards
Rhizoma, 2011
46:24 Traditional – El Cant De La Sibil-La – La Catalunya
la Capella Reial De Catalunya, Jordi Savall
50:17 Kenji Kawai – Type 2052 Hadaly
Innocence, Ghost In The Shell 2, 2004
51:19 We Like We & Jacob Kirkegaard – Ganymede & Zeus
Time Is Local, 2019