Ketil Bjørnstad: Lofotoratoriet Marianne Beate Kielland, Brage Tørmænen & Terje Brun

• Ketil Bjørnstad (b. 1952), Terje Johanssen (1942 - 2005), Sverre Tollefsen Laupstad (b. 1988): Lofotoratoriet:
• 1 Lofotoratoriet: I. Lofoten 03:09
• Ketil Bjørnstad, Ingrid Arctander, Sverre Tollefsen Laupstad: Lofotoratoriet:
• 2 Lofotoratoriet: II. Sommernatt 05:12
• 3 Lofotoratoriet: III. Ennu e det sol 05:32
• Ketil Bjørnstad, Sverre Tollefsen Laupstad: Lofotoratoriet:
• 4 Lofotoratoriet: IV. Mellom Mosken og Lofoten 02:03
• Ketil Bjørnstad, Ingrid Arctander, Sverre Tollefsen Laupstad: Lofotoratoriet:
• 5 Lofotoratoriet: V. Bortenfor havet 02:51
• 6 Lofotoratoriet: VI. Historien 07:10
• Ketil Bjørnstad, J. P. Bahle, Sverre Tollefsen Laupstad: Lofotoratoriet:
• 7 Lofotoratoriet: VII. Historier vil vare 04:20
• Ketil Bjørnstad, Ingrid Arctander, Sverre Tollefsen Laupstad: Lofotoratoriet:
• 8 Lofotoratoriet: VIII. Mørketid 03:49
• 9 Lofotoratoriet: IX. Når mørket kommer 03:00
• Ketil Bjørnstad, Ole Bremnes, Sverre Tollefsen Laupstad: Lofotoratoriet:
• 10 Lofotoratoriet: X. Småseivise 04:01
• Ketil Bjørnstad, Frank A. Jenssen, Sverre Tollefsen Laupstad: Lofotoratoriet:
• 11 Lofotoratoriet: XI. Opptur 02:26
• Ketil Bjørnstad, J. P. Bahle, Sverre Tollefsen Laupstad: Lofotoratoriet:
• 12 Lofotoratoriet: XII. Mørketidstrollet 02:43
• Ketil Bjørnstad, Ole Bremnes, Sverre Tollefsen Laupstad: Lofotoratoriet:
• 13 Lofotoratoriet: XIII. November 03:29
• 14 Lofotoratoriet: XIV. Luggan 02:52
• 15 Lofotoratoriet: XV. Dvergen 01:01
• Ketil Bjørnstad, Sverre Tollefsen Laupstad: Lofotoratoriet:
• 16 Lofotoratoriet: XVI. Beretninger fra 1849 04:09
• 17 Lofotoratoriet: XVII. Tale til havet 07:05
• Ketil Bjørnstad, Trad., Sverre Tollefsen Laupstad
• 18 Lofotoratoriet: XVIII. Salme for alle reisende (Lofotkoralen) 03:49
• Total Runtime 01:08:41

Info for Ketil Bjørnstad: Lofotoratoriet

As so often happens, it was during a delightful dinner one evening in 2013 with Ketil Bjornstad, Wiggo Andersen, Knut Kirkesaether and Marianne Beate Kielland that an idea was hatched: Why not make a Lofoten Oratorio?

“The Lofoten Oratorio” — the story of Lofoten, northern Norway’s world-famous archipelago, dramatic, majestic, exquisitely beautiful. Changing light from one minute to the next; sumptuous sun-filled days and fierce winter storms. And its culture: a thousand-year-old cod-fishing tradition upon which Norway was built; local crafts and cooking traditions; dramatic tales of battling the sea, and of foundering boats and treacherous ocean currents swallowing up boats and men.

For hundreds of years, artists have sought to depict Lofoten — on canvas, with camera, and with the written word.

Composer Ketil Bjørnstad has turned to texts about Lofoten written by a number of different poets, including Ole H. Bremnes, Terje Johanssen, Ingrid Arctander, Frank A. Jenssen, Sølvi Ytterstad, Jan P. Bahle, Johan Bojer and Edgar Allan Poe. The arrangements are by Sverre Tollefsen Laupstad.

Music and texts have resulted in a magnificent work, “The Lofoten Oratorio”, performed here by local and regional musicians and singers. Driving force behind the production is mezzo-soprano Marianne Beate Kielland, supported by her own choir, Lofoten Voices. Other performers include MiNensemblet, Terje Brun (accordion), Brage Tørmænen (percussion), and John Inge Johansen (reciter).

“The Lofoten Oratorio” is a tribute to everything we love about Lofoten and the north. And it is a tribute to the people who live there and to their authentic way of life.

Marianne Beate Kielland, mezzo-soprano, conductor
Lofoten Voices
MiNensemblet
Terje Brun, accordion
Brage Tørmænen, percussion
John Inge Johansen, reciter

Marianne Beate Kielland
has established herself as one of the foremost singers of Scandinavia, and is one of the few Norwegian singers to have received a Grammy nomination. The versatile mezzo soprano started her international career as an ensemble member of the Staatsoper Hannover, and since then she has been working frequently with leading orchestras and ensembles and enjoying a vast concert repertoire spanning from early 17th century works through to Classical, Romantic and the contemporary eras. ​

Highlights in 17/18 season include Mahler songs with Grand Rapids Symphony and New Jersey Philharmonic, Bach Christmas oratorio with Gulbenkian Orchestra, Mahler Symphony no. 8 with Danish Radio Orchestra and with BBC Philharmonic, Mendelssohn Elijah with Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and Beethoven 9th with Calgary Philharmonic.

Her recent symphonic and oratorio appearances include Bach's St. Matthew Passion with Oslo Philharmonic, NDR Radiophilharmonie and Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Mass in B minor with Gothenburg Symphony, Gli Angeli Genève and Norwegian Baroque Orchestra, Christmas Oratorio with Tonkünstler Orchestra and Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Bach Cantatas with Bachstiftung St. Gallen, Couperin's Leçons de ténèbres with The King's Consort, Handel's Messiah with Musica Vitae, Pergolesi's Stabat Mater with Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Haydn's Arianna a Naxos with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, SWR Sinfonieorchester and Anima Eterna, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Oslo Philharmonic, Swedish Chamber Orchestra and at the Sydney Opera House, Mahler's Symphony No. 2 and Das Lied von der Erde with Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Berio's Folksongs with Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra.

She has also appeared with other major orchestras and ensembles including Wiener Symphoniker, Bergen Philharmonic, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony, Iceland Symphony, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Royal Flemish Orchestra, Akademie für alte Musik Berlin, Concerto Köln, Europa Galante, Les Talens Lyriques, RIAS Kammerchor, Anima Eterna, Le Concert des Nations, Collegium Vocale Gent and Bach Collegium Japan; and has worked with such distinguished conductors as Rinaldo Alessandrini, Fabio Biondi, Harry Christophers, Thomas Dausgaard, John Fiore, Philippe Herreweghe, Manfred Honeck, René Jacobs, Nicholas Kraemer, Andrew Manze, Marc Minkowski, Vasily Petrenko, Daniel Reuss, André de Ridder, Helmut Rilling, Christophe Rousset, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Federico Maria Sardelli, Jordi Savall, Masaaki Suzuki, Thomas Søndergård and Robin Ticciati.

Kielland is also in great demand for Baroque operatic roles including Merope in Vivaldi's Oracolo in Messenia (an extensive tour with Europa Galante), Messaggiera and Proserpina in Monteverdi’s Orfeo, Fernando in Attilio Ariosti’s La Fede nei tradimenti, Apollo in Handel's Terpsichore, Ercole in Caldara’s Il piu bel nome, Monteverdi's Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and Aronne in Francesco Nicolò Fago’s Il Faraone Sommerso.

Kielland has made more than 50 CD recordings of oratorios, operas, cantatas and songs by Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Caldara, Scarlatti, Beethoven, Schumann, Mahler, Mussorgsky, Martin, Chausson, Korngold, von Suppé, Schönberg, Webern, Berg and Sigurd Islandsmoen. In 2012 she was nominated to a GRAMMY Award in the category Best Classical Vocal Solo for the album Veslemøy Synsk, which features works by composers Edvard Grieg and Olav Anton Thommesen. She performs regularly with pianist Nils Anders Mortensen and the duo has appeared in Norway, Germany Estonia, Russia and Finland. She has also appeared with pianists such as Leif Ove Andsnes, Pascal Roge, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Lise de la Salle and Jos van Immerseel.

This album contains no booklet.