The organ music on this album is written by three composers with different musical backgrounds and development who nevertheless have something of the same close feeling for the instrument, almost an organic oneness with it. Trygve Madsen studied with organist-composer Egil Hovland, one of the 20th century's most significant pioneers in the field of church music. Kjell Mørk Karlsen grew up in a rich church music milieu, inspired by his father, Rolf Karlsen, who was Oslo cathedral organist for over fifteen years. Kjell Flem studied piano and organ, gaining a close knowledge of the organ's technical and musical possibilities. While Karlsen's music builds on the long German-Lutheran tradition, the more playful style of Madsen is closer to that of the French organ symphony. Kjell Flem's main inspiration has been the music of Olivier Messiaen, evident both in his compositional technique and in his interest in using musical impulses from more exotic parts of the world.