Nordic and Baltic choral music speaks clearly and deeply to the twenty-first century soul. Its mystery and clarity, its enfolding of the traditional and the innovative carry the listener from the roots to the stars.
Our concert is a delicious smörgåsbord of choral pieces from past and present composers of those northern lands where the extremes of nature seem to fuel an understanding of the myriad possibilities of the human voice. Join us for a thrilling exploration of this vast and surprising musical landscape.
Icelandic composers Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson and Anna Thorvaldsdottir start from ancient texts and transport them to a primal yet uniquely contemporary soundworld.
Estonian Urmas Sisask combines old-world polyphony with unexpected rhythmic splashes.
Danish composer Per Nørgård and Norwegian Knut Nystedt deconstruct traditional harmonies but somehow increase musical and emotional effects with their magical shifting sounds.
Latvian Ūriks Eenvalds weaves folktale with the records of Arctic explorers to thrilling effect while Jaakko Mõntyjõrvi creates a piece of vocal theatre with his humorous look at the stereotype of Lapland folk music.
Add beautiful pieces by the godfathers of Nordic and Baltic music, Jean Sibelius and Arvo Pärt, and we have a concert brimming with the elemental energy and compelling unpredictability of the north.
We are also proud to present the Edinburgh première of The Lost Lichts, our recent commission from Ailie Robertson, setting the words of three female poets from north-east Scotland – a bright new star in this northern firmament.