The Norwegian Soloists' Choir
and Grete Pedersen

Johann Sebastian Bach's motets are shrouded in mystery, and little is known about when or why they were composed. Yet, these works are resilient, as though they were created to endure through the centuries. Many of the motets were composed for funerals, featuring texts about grace, peace, and hope.

In this concert, Bach's motets serve as the foundation for a musical conversation on consolation. The motets brim with life and hope for an existence in the next world and will be performed by the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir. Grete Pedersen is known for her original concert programmes and will conduct the performance.

The Soloists’ Choir has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Diapason d’or de l’année for their interpretations of Bach’s motets. ‘It is done with such extraordinary alertness. The singing makes your skin tingle,’ wrote Norwegian newspaper Vårt Land about the album Bach – The Motets, while BBC Magazine hailed it as ‘A real tour de force!’

In contrast to Bach's baroque sound world, the concert also includes Mahler's poetic Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen, Helmut Lachenmann’s Consolation, where a medieval prayer is fragmented into syllables and sounds, and a work by Bente L. Thorsen marked by sorrow, euphoria, and fits of laughter.

Program

Johann Sebastian Bach: Singet Dem Herrn in neues lied
Johann Sebastian Bach: Komm, Jesu, komm
Johann Sebastian Bach: Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf
Helmut Lachenmann: Consolation II
Gustav Mahler: Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen
Bente Leiknes Thorsen: Laughing my head off / Singing your heart in