Lys means light in violinist Mari Samuelsen's native Norwegian language, and the pieces on this album, with Samuelsen accompanied by the contemporary music orchestra Scoring Berlin and by smaller groupings drawn from that, make reference to the concept of light in some way. It's the kind of album that sticks mostly within a slow-to-moderate tempo range and a meditative mood; when the zippier Midi of Anna Meredith appears at the end, it seems to come out of nowhere. All of the music is by female composers or artists; these include Hildegard of Bingen and Beyonce, but most are composers aiming at the middle-of-the-road Classic FM listenership and its cousins in other countries. Samuelsen's violin, usually providing a kind of wash layer, is not virtuosic, but its sound has to be carefully controlled so as not to disturb the mood. One's response to the album may depend on one's preferences regarding this genre, but note that Samuelsen works more variety than usual into this fixed framework. Beyonce's Halo is one example. Another is the inclusion of a light electronic layer in some of the pieces, and a third is the use of some extended violin techniques; hear the quite distinctive pizzicatos in the second of the two excerpts from Caroline Shaw's Plan & Elevation. Deutsche Grammophon's mastering engineers convincingly tie together sound from several sources in various countries, and in general, this is a drive-time classical album that will stretch the ears a bit. ~ James Manheim