04 June 2021

Primal presentation of the elements of nature.

Hear composer Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen's own thoughts on the work.

The four traditional elements from ancient Greece, fire, earth, air and water, as well as the element "wood" from Chinese philosophy, form the basis for this concert in Håkonshallen.

Five elements is a commissioned piece from the Edvard Grieg Choir which will have its premiere during this year's festival. The piece was written by the Westland-based composer Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen, and the text written by Malin Kjelsrud. Having grown up in the sea gap in Lofoten, the composer is not unfamiliar with the elements of nature as a source of inspiration.

The rest of the program also revolves around the five elements, with, among other things, madrigals from the 17th century by Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schütz and music by the living American composers Caroline Shaw, David Lang and Frank Ticheli.

In the madrigals, the elements are often metaphors for the transience of love, but this concert also features music depicting the destruction of paradise. Lang's rarely performed "By Fire" combines an interview with an unidentified CIA analyst about a nuclear test on a Pacific atoll with an excerpt from Sun Tzu's The Art of War about the use of fire.

Edvard Grieg Choir is the ensemble in residence at Edvard Grieg's home Troldhaugen. The choir has achieved a status as a leading eight-part a cappella ensemble, and has received recognition internationally, including through a Grammy nomination in 2017.