One often thinks of brass bands in connection with the music of the former Yugoslavia—all that crazy Balkan funk. Amira Medunjanin focuses instead on melancholy Balkan soul with intensely passionate singing rising from melodies of maximum yearning. Her voice is a precise instrument, going deep into the emotions behind the words. For Ascending, the Bosnian singer is accompanied by a young Norwegian chamber orchestra, the TrondheimSolistene.