Ros: Songs of Christmas – Det Norske Solistkor, Grete Pedersen (2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 52:30 minutes | 860 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: eClassical | Digital Booklet | @ BIS Records
Recorded: April 2013 at Ris Kirke, Oslo, Norway
“The performances are all sublime, the arrangements equally so, the recording everything you would expect from this source…” musicweb-international.com, 11/2013
“A superb release.” International Record Review 12/2013
In Christian symbolism, the rose is closely associated with the Mystery of the Nativity, and therefore with both Jesus Christ and Mary. The idea of the perfect flower, springing forth from a thorny stem, has – like the Nativity itself – captured the imagination of poets and musicians throughout the ages and from all stations of life. With this original and wide-ranging Christmas collection, Grete Pedersen – the artistic director of the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir – has created what might be compared to a rosary, combining 12th-century hymns by Hildegard of Bingen with a carol by the Danish 20th-century composer Per Nørgård, as well as traditional Christmas psalms, in many cases sung to Norwegian folk tunes following age-old usages. Grete Pedersen and the choir have reached a wide international audience through four previous discs on BIS, ranging from collections of Grieg, or of Brahms and Schubert, to the folk-inspired White Night and, most recently, Refractions: the unexpected combination of three 20th-century giants – Berg, Webern and Messiaen – with their Norwegian contemporary Fartein Valen. On the present disc, the team is once again joined by the singer Berit Opheim and the violinist Gjermund Larsen – both with a background in folk music – as well as by Rolf Lislevand, internationally acclaimed lutenist, and the highly respected jazz bassist Bjørn Kjellemyr.
Tracklist:
Michael Praetorius
1. Det hev ei rose sprunge (Behold, a Rose is Springing) 2’54
Traditional
2. Old Marian Song (instrumental) 0’32
3. No koma Guds englar (The Angels of God) 3’04
4. Improvisation on Ricercata Segunda (instrumental) 1’24
Hildegard of Bingen
5. O vis æternitatis (O Eternal Force) 2’12
6. O frondens virga (O Leafy Branch) 2’51
Traditional
7. Eit barn er født i Betlehem (A Child is Born in Bethlehem) 4’33
Hildegard of Bingen
8. Ave, generosa (Hail, Magnanimous) 0’53
Ola O. Fagerheim
9. I denne søte juletid (In this Blessed Christmas Time) 6’18
Traditional
10. Den fagraste rosa (The Fairest of Roses) 3’02
11. Maria, hun er en jomfru ren (Mary is a Virgin Pure) (instrumental) 1’09
12. Mitt hjerte alltid vanker (My Heart Forever Dwells) 5’46
Hildegard of Bingen
13. O vis æternitatis (O Eternal Force) 4’42
Per Nørgård
14. Julens glæde (Himmelfalden) (The Joy of Christmas) 2’47
Traditional
15. Tarantella 3’18
16. Jolevers (Et lite barn så lystelig) (Christmas Verse) 3’23
Gustaf Nordquist
17. Jul, jul, strålande jul (Yule, Yule, Radiant Yule) 2’36
Personnel:
Runa Hestad Jenssen, vocals
Ingeborg Dalheim, vocals
Ditte Marie Bræin, vocals
Berit Opheim Versto, vocals
Rolf Lislevand, lute
Gjermund Larsen, violin
Bjørn Kjellemyr, double bass
Det Norske Solistkor, choir
Grete Pedersen, conductor
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