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"... his simple, haunting sketches of instrumental poetry use the familiar tale (of the the Orpheus myth) ... this is the score to a movie that only Jóhannsson knows, but you could imagine it. The work has cues for solo piano and mournful strings and, at the end, the resplendent vocal ensemble Theatre of Voices ... if you're into Philip Glass and Michael Nyman and Arvo Pärt and movie soundtracks in general, this could be for you. You'll probably hear this music on TV and out in the world. Maybe it'll decorate a rainy afternoon, give texture to your night or even remind you of your capacity to follow the promise of someone, a lover, even a fellow musician, to the future, to the past, to Heaven, to Hell." - NPR Golden Globe winner and Oscar, BAFTA and Grammy-nominated composer Jóhann Jóhannsson releases his first solo album in six years and his debut for Deutsche Grammophon with Orphée, a meditation from darkness into light inspired by the various retellings of the ancient tale of the poet Orpheus, from Ovid to Jean Cocteau. The multilayered story about death, rebirth, change and the ephemeral nature of memory can also be read as a metaphor for artistic creation, dealing with the elusive nature of beauty and its relationship to the artist. Orphée’s sonic palette is varied, combining acoustic instruments both solo and in ensemble with electronics and the mesmeric sounds of shortwave radio “numbers stations.” It draws on many facets of Jóhannsson's previous albums, incorporating music for solo cello, organ, string quartet, string orchestra and unaccompanied voices.