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

Download Opus now 122Mb (53:32 min.)

 

Alternative download from Archive.org
(check here for lossless download)

 

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Please note: this edition may not be available on Spotify