Not so lost you miss the Grammy's, however -- particularly when your album is up for two of them.

Norwegian songstress Sissel is the rare exception. Instead of chewing her nails backstage in L.A. last Sunday, the soprano, whose 2007 album ''Spirit of the Season'' was up for Best Classical Crossover and Best Engineered Album, did what she loved. She sang. Or not.

''I might have been on the bus, or in the hotel in Boston,'' says the 37-year-old performer in the midst of a two-week, seven-city U.S. tour promoting her latest CD, ''Northern Lights.''

''I don't know; with the time zone changes I'm not sure.''

Sissel admits she has since learned ''Spirit of the Season,'' recorded with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, didn't win. She was still blithely unaware, however, of which albums did.

''It was an honor to be nominated,'' she says earnestly. ''It was a treat.''

When told the winning albums included a tribute to John Coltrane and a recording by the Phoenix Bach Choir and Kansas City Chorale, she mused appreciatively, ''They sound good.''

Sissel, born Sissel Kyrkjebo, started ''sounding good'' at the tender age of nine when the Bergen, Norway, native joined a local choir. Her appearance on a local TV show at age 14 led to her selection as intermission performer at the 1986 Eurovision Song Contest in Bergen, and, at 17, she received the Årets Spelleman award, the Norwegian equivalent of a Grammy, perhaps explaining her relaxed attitude concerning the top U.S. music honors.

In 1994, Sissel was jettisoned into the global music scene, performing a duet with tenor Plácido Domingo to open the Olympics in Lillehammer. She has shared the stage or recorded with the likes of Sting, Moby, Willie Nelson, rapper Warren G and tenor José Carreras, featured on ''Northern Lights.''

On this side of the pond, Sissel is perhaps best known for her soaring vocals gracing James Horner's Oscar-winning ''Titanic'' film soundtrack.

''[Horner] had heard my recording of a traditional Norwegian folk song on my album ''Deep Within My Soul,'' and said, 'Ah, that's my voice,''' she recalls.

Asked if her ethereal voicings were influenced by Céline Dion's award winning ''My Heart Will Go On,'' she reports the song hadn't yet been recorded when she was working on the film's score.

'' James Cameron was still editing the movie, so [Horner] would write and rewrite pieces during the night and we recorded them in the morning. It was a wonderful experience. He challenged me to use my voice as an instrument.''

From Horner back to Bach, Sissel continues to craft new sounds. Her rendition of ''Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring,'' on the ''Northern Lights'' CD, is a case in point.

''The piece is so playful, it's as if Bach were smiling when he wrote the music,'' she says. The harp's melody, doubled by her vocalizations, creates a satisfying fusion of pizzicato and lullaby. ''Many people associate this song with the holidays, but I heard it in the summertime,'' she says. ''For me it has no season.''

''Northern Lights,'' recorded in a historic cathedral in Roros, Norway, has a distinctive seasonal feel, however, with an emphasis on winter. Accompanied by a six-piece ensemble, the concert also includes selections from ''Spirit of the Season,'' sans Mormon Tabernacle Choir. ''It's a little hard to fit a choir of 350 into the bus,'' Sissel jokes, adding the choir has invited her for a return performance sometime in the future.

''I chose the songs to help describe the experience of Norway in winter, especially the feeling you get when seeing the Northern Lights'' she says.

''I just received a letter from a lady who said she had never seen the Northern Lights, but after the concert felt as though she had experienced them. This is what I want to give.''

As for experiencing winter in Norway, the recent Arctic blast hitting the Northeast helps set the tone.

''It feels a lot like Norway here,'' she says of the tour that began in Chicago. ''If I ever am nominated for another Grammy, I'll go [to Los Angeles] -- as long as I'm not touring.''

When told Glenside's forecast for Sunday is near 40 degrees, she brightens.

''Forty? Oh, that's nice!''

Hardly sunny L.A., but close enough.

Source:The Morning Call