Festival
Solistkoret at Ultima 2019
Intriguing program of new vocal music
Solistkoret teams up with the conductor Martina Batič in this celebration of the human voice at the Ultima festival in Oslo.
Has individual will triumphed over collective effort, has politeness become so unfashionable that it is now only used for personal gain? Composer Henrik Hellstenius is fascinated by the concept of politeness in a society that has become more self-obsessed. In a work involving choir and electronics, texts by Sartre, Emanuel Levinas and others, plus choreographic elements from Kristin Ryg Helgebostad, Politeness And Cooperation explore the ‘oil on the wheels of society’.
In addition, the Solistkor will perform a diverse range of works. In Schubert singt II, composer Eivind Buene continues to explore his fascination Schubert and tries to conjure up the composer’s imagined voice. Sweden’s Gunnar Eriksson, proposes a humanist anthem in A Human Credo. Three Autumn Songs by Slovenian Uroš Krek is a setting of the poetry of John Gracen Brown with neo-romantic and folkloric elements. Finally, Lene Grenager’s Breathe by Quivering Leaves is a musical examination of nine plant species, drawing on descriptions from Carl von Linnaeus’s historic botanical study, Systema naturae (1735).
Program
Eivind Buene: Schubert singt II (2019)
Gunnar Eriksson: ROMANSKA BÅGAR from A Human Credo (2013/ 2019, WP of new version)
Henrik Hellstenius: Politeness And Cooperation (2019, WP)
Featuring
The Norwegian Soloists' Choir
The Norwegian Soloists' Choir is an innovative young ensemble, steeped in a rich history. As one of Europe's leading chamber choirs, they perform spectacular concerts in Norway and abroad, in concert halls and churches, in caravans and in abandoned factory venues. The Norwegian Soloists' Choir consists of 26 hand-picked, professional singers who have a tremendous ability to blend their voices, resulting in a highly distinctive choral expression. Along with its celebrated artistic leader Grete Pedersen, the choir achieves ambitious artistic goals through constant development.
Conductor Martina Batič
Martina Batič (1978, Slovenia) obtained her Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Ljubljana Music Academy in 2002. She continued her studies at the Munich Academy of Music and Theatre where she finished her Masters in Choral Conducting with distinction in 2004. From 2004 to 2009, she was the choir master of the Slovenian National Opera House chorus. From 2009 she worked as the choral director of the Slovenian Philharmonics, where she also assumed the position of the artistic director of the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir in 2012/2013 season and led its programmatic and artistic agenda until December 2017. In 2006, Martina Batič won the Eric Ericson Award in this prestigious international competition for young conductors. Since then she has been engaged by the Danish Radio Choir, Danish Vocal Ensemble, Deutsche Kammerchor, BR Chor, MDR Chor, SWR Chor, ChorwerkRuhr and others, moreover she regularly collaborates with the Swedish Radio Choir, the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, RIAS Kammerchor, The Netherlands Radio Choir, Flemish Radio Choir, etc.