Over the years, I have attended and taken part in particular concerts that I remember vividly for a long time, and maybe will never forget. Monteverdi madrigals in Mont Saint-Michel, Thomas Luis de Victoria's Requiem in a cemetery in Guanajuato, Mexico, on Día de Muertos, or Norwegian folk songs in Yokohama; concerts where everything aligned, and it seemed like we transcended time and space together. One of my earliest concert experiences of this kind, was as a young child singing in the Norwegian Radio Girls' choir. It was a Christmas concert, I was one of the youngest girls in the choir, and we sang the whole programme by heart. The venue was the splendid medieval Oslo church of Gamle Aker. Built in the mid 12th century, the church is Oslo's oldest building today, and the atmosphere is quite unique. So, when given the opportunity to sing in Gamle Aker church again this fall, I was thrilled. For this concert, I have invited a few of my absolute favorite musicians; harpsichordist Gunnhild Tønder, traverso player Torun Torbo and gamba player Andrè Lislevand. Together, we will play a selection of French baroque music, which we share a deep love for, including music by Jean-Philipe Rameau, François Couperin, Marin Marais and Élisabeth Jaquet de La Guerre, and I'm truly excited to be singing in the stunning venue again. We will do our very best to lift us all out of time and space for a little while, it seems we could all need the healing power of music.
Below is an amazing photo from Chateau de Versailles, by photographer Julie-Christine Adélaïde Krøvel, who is a fellow admirer of French baroque music, and who has graciously allowed us to use her photo as the concert poster. Enjoy!
Photo by Julie-Christine Adélaïde Krøvel©