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Nominations for the Nordic Council's Music Prize 2007
The Nordic Council Music Prize alternates between an artist/composer one year and an ensemble or group the next year, and is awarded for high artistic and technical standards and innovation. For the first time in the history of the prize, the 2007 theme is choral singing.
Twelve choirs have been nominated: two from each of five countries and one each from the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Åland did not submit any nominations.
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Denmark: Finland: Greenland: Faroe Islands: |
Iceland: Norway: Sweden: Åland:
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DENMARK
ARS NOVA, one of the leading vocal groups in Scandinavia, specialises in classic as well as contemporary music. Paul Hillier from England, who is also a singer and author, has been the choirmaster since 2002. The combination of tradition and innovation has always been at the core of i Ars Nova's music and also constitutes the natural link between the choir and Hillier. Recent collaborations include Monteverdi's 'Maria Vesper' with Concerto Copenhagen, two concerts with Athelas Sinfonietta to mark Arvo Pärt's 70th birthday, three concerts focusing on American minimalism from John Cage to Steve Reich, and a long-standing CD project featuring Tudor composers from England. Ars Nova has performed contemporary pieces from most of the world, including premieres of more than 150 works. The repertoire features a natural bias towards Nordic composers, and Hans Abrahamsen, Jan Garbarek, Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Palle Mikkelborg, Per Nørgård, Ib Nørholm, Poul Ruders, Sven-David Sandström and Bent Sørensen have all composed for the group. Ars Nova has recorded a number of CDs featuring works from Josquin to Cage. The group launched its own label in August 2006. The first release featured music by the English Renaissance composer John Tavener and his contemporaries. Later in the year the label will release Terry Riley's minimalist classic 'In C'. www.arsnova.dk
THE DANISH RADIO VOCAL ENSEMBLE. The DR Radio Choir turns 75 in 2007, an event being marked in an appropriate fashion throughout the year. In the 70 years since DR set up a chamber choir, it has changed its name several times, before settling on the name 'Vocal Ensemble' in January 2007. The choir has toured Denmark and most of Europe, as well as Australia, the USA and Canada. It has released a number of a cappella CDs featuring Romantic and contemporary music. One high point was the performance of Stockhausen's 'Weltparlament', when Copenhagen was European City of Culture. The Vocal Ensemble's first season since its inception in January 2007 stretches from a castle in Sealand to rain forests and urban jungles to the Ålborg Opera Festival 2008. Indeed, the Ensemble will spend a great deal of time performing around Denmark and the South of Sweden. The season started with the traditional castle concerts at Ledreborg along with the Danish Radio Concert Orchestra, before progressing to the Danish Radio Concert Hall, where they will sing music from the Danish Golden Age, conducted by Michael Bojesen. In January 2008, the ensemble will take part in a series of concerts called 'From rain forest to urban jungle”. The regular choirmaster Fredrik Malmberg, who has a great interest in the more unusual parts of the world of music, proposed this series of performances. The somewhat unusual name covers classics and contemporary music from both American continents. Malmberg does not only concentrate on unknown music – he has also found time to mark the 300th anniversary of the death of Diderich Buxtehude with a series of concerts in Copenhagen and Malmø. In the autumn 2007, the Vocal Ensemble and the Radio Concert Hall will host a visit by the young Dutch star conductor Peter Dijkstra, who is head conductor for both the Bavarian Radio Choir and the Swedish Radio Choir. He will conduct a Saturday concert featuring songs by Brahms and Richard Strauss. In April, the Ensemble's 1st guest conductor, Stephen Layton from England, will present a Poulenc programme. In spring 2008, the Ensemble and the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra will work together on a youth project, and the Ensemble will be ’choir in residence’ at the Aalborg Opera Festival 2008. The Vocal Ensemble will round off the season by taking part in the 'World Symposium for Choir Music' in Copenhagen, July 2008.
FINLAND
EMO ENSEMBLE is a chamber choir, which consists of young music students and professional singers. The choir was founded at Espoo Music Institute in the autumn 2000 by its conductor, Pasi Hyökki. Three years later, it won the prize for best performance of a contemporary work at the Harald Andersén international chamber choir competition for 'Two Songs to Poems of Ann Jäderlund' composed by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Since then, the EMO Ensemble has concentrated on modern music and offering composers the services of a top-quality vocal instrument. In 2005, the choir released its first CD featuring works by leading Finnish composers like Esa-Pekka Salonen and Lotta Wennäkoski. It received great reviews and was nominated for Choir CD of the Year by the Finnish Choirmasters Association.
EMO Ensemble aims to be experimental, varied and innovative. For example, the choir attended the Songbridge international event in summer 2002, appearing in Tapiola swimming baths wearing bathing costumes and performing a programme of water music! It often deploys visual effects at its concerts, including images and lighting effects. The choir was invited to take part in the Polyfollia Festival in Normandy in summer 2003 and again in autumn 2006. www.emoensemble.com
PHILOMELA is a 40-strong women's choir based in Helsinki. It is best known for its energetic and memorable performances, which have moved audiences in many different countries. In its 20-year history, the choir has toured Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Japan, the USA and many European countries. Philomela reflects the human voice in all its forms, from sweet to angry, from soft to harsh. It often employs movements and visual effects as well as using acoustic spaces in a creative fashion. The majority of the repertoire consists of songs from contemporary Finnish composers, which combine elements from various genres and experiment with the voice in their compositions. Philomela aims to work closely with composers, commissions new works and serves as a laboratory for new musical ideas. The main theme is often the mysteries of nature and of the multi-faceted emotional lives of women. The dramatic choreography is by Päivi Järvinen. Philomela's choirmaster is Marjukka Riihimäki. As well as their own concerts, Philomela often make guest appearances along with professional symphony orchestras and at festivals in Finland and abroad. Philomela has released five CDs. www.philomela.fi
GREENLAND
GREENLAND NATIONAL CHOIR, or Erinarsoqatigiissuit , consists of approximately 100 singers from 22 choirs around the country. Choral singing has become a regular and indispensable part of the local culture and daily life, at religious celebrations, festive family occasions and official national events. Choral singing has become an integral part of the Greenland identity. Over the years, there have been choirs in all of the main towns. The first moves towards a national choir were taken in 1991 in Sisimiut, when nine choirs assembled from Sisimiut, Nuuk, Aasiaat, Maniitsoq, Paamiut, Narsaq, Qaqortoq, Nanortalik and Tasiilaq. They sang, attended courses in singing techniques and in communications between choir and conductor.
The 10-day event culminated in the foundation of the Greenland National Choir, the release of a CD and, ultimately, a national organisation. When the Greenland House of Culture, Katuaq, opened in 1997, 100 choristers from all over the country performed under the batons of Peter Hanke and Per Rosing and accompanied by the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra. This decade, the National Choir has held its own summer events. Despite the travels costs, choirs continue to attend, even though it is all entirely voluntary. In 1998, the gathering was in in Nuuk, in 2001 in Ilulissat, in 2002 in Aasiaat, in 2005 in Sisimiutin, in 2006 in Qaqortoq and this year the gathering will be in Maniitsoq. The choir has released three CDs featuring Greenland songs and various conductors, e.g. Per Rosing, Peter Hanke and Bertel Sandgrend. Today, 22 different choirs are members of Erinarsoqatigiissuit. Peter Davidsen chairs the organisation.
THE FAROE ISLANDS
TARIRA TARIRA is a chamber choir with 20 singers, the majority with long experience of choral singing and music in general. he choir was founded in spring 2002 and has been conducted by Sunleif Rasmussen since the start. As well as being the choirmaster, Rasmussen is also a composer whose works include the first Faroese symphony 'Oceanic Days', for which he was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize in 2002. Despite its relative youth, TARIRA has already made a name for itself with a large number of successful shows at home and abroad. Its Nordic tour in March 2005 took in Glyptoteket in Copenhagen, Jomala Church in Mariehamn, Åland, when 'Herrens Bön' (The Lord's Prayer) by the local composer Kjell Frisk has its premiere, Gothenburg and Stockholm. In February 2006, the choir played Renaissance music in Christ's Church Reykjavík. Its work covers everything from ceremonial appearances for Her Majesty the Queen to less conventional gigs like the partnership with the composer Kristian Blak for the recording of his radio opera 'Eyðstein and Arnhild'. TARIRA’s repertoire is varied, but the choir mainly works with Renaissance music and contemporary modern music. It has commissioned works by a number of Faroese composers. In August 2007, the choir will be in Copenhagen to record Nordic and Faroese works for its first CD. www.tarira.fo
ICELAND
HAMRAHLÍÐARKÓRINN , founded by its conductor Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir in 1967, has been a leading Icelandic choir for four decades now. It consists of young students at Hamrahlíð University in Reykjavík and has become a bit of an institution for singers in the country. More than 2,000 young Icelanders have learned about classic music through the choir, and many of them have continued in similar vein and become top-class musicians. It has, in other words, served as a foundation for many of Iceland's leading singers, musicians and composers. Among the more famous names who have sung in the choir are Björk and the composer Haukur Tómasson, both of whom have won the Nordic Council Music Prize, and the bass soloist Kristinn Sigmundsson. The educational element is a top priority but the purpose of the choir is also to put on high quality performances. The choir has a pure, flexible and well-balanced sound and works are performed with enthusiasm and a youthful approach. Hamrahlíðarkórinn has toured more than 20 countries around the world and represented Icelandic choral music at several major international choral festivals. Everywhere they have been, the critics have praised the choir for the precision of its intonation. More than 70 works have been composed specially for the choir. As well as just about every Icelandic composer, the choir has also worked with world famous composers like Arvo Pärt, John Cage and Vagn Holmboe. It has also released a large number of CDs.
SCHOLA CANTORUM is a chamber choir, which was founded 10 years ago by its conductor Hörður Áskelsson, precentor at Hallgrím's Church in Reykjavík. Since the start, the choir has played a significant role on the Icelandic music scene, especially at Hallmgrím's Church. In 1998, the choir won first prize at a major international competition in Noyon, France. Schola Cantorum has toured in France, Norway, Finland, Italy and Spain. Its biggest achievement outside Iceland was in Paris in 2004, when it performed along with the famous alternative rock band Sigur Rós in 'Hfafnagaldur Óðins'. Schola Cantorum's repertoire stretches from Renaissance and Baroque to contemporary music, primarily by Icelandic composers, and it has commissioned and premiered many new Icelandic compositions. Cantorum has released a number of CDs and taken part in releases of choral works by the likes of Jón Leifs, on the BIS label. The programme this year, includes three premieres of works by the Icelandic composers Hafliði Hallgrímsson, John Speight and Sigurður Sævarsson. The choir will also perform Handel’s 'Israel in Egypt' and contemporary Scandinavian music and take part in an international choral festival in Bochum. Schola Cantorum has recently become a professional choir and was named 'City of Reykjavik Official Music Group' in 2006.
NORWAY
THE NORWEGIAN SOLOISTS' CHOIR enjoys a unique position in Norwegian cultural life. The choir has premiered more than two hundred works, over three-quarters of which have been by composers from Norway. The choir was founded in 1950 as an elite ensemble to pursue the highest possible artistic levels in choral music. Innovation and an uncompromising approach to the repertoire and quality are the foundations on which the choir has built its reputation and these values are still embodied by the Soloists' Choir. Grete Pedersen has been the conductor since 1990. The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir has consistently maintained a high artistic level. In recent years, the choir has worked in a systematic and professional fashion, and is now a full-time choir with professional singers and administrators. The singers are handpicked youngsters, professional musicians, who are signed up on contracts for two years at a time. Since 2003, the choir has operated with a maximum of 26 singers, but often appeared with fewer. This provides great flexibility, which means that the choir is able to perform everything from contemporary works and small Baroque programmes for 12 voices to major productions for 26 singers with chamber orchestras and symphony orchestras. The choir regularly receives invites to major festivals abroad and has released no fewer than eight CDs since 1990. www.solistkoret.no
VOCAL NORTH is a 16-member choir from Tromsø, which took on its current form in 1997. Artistic leader Ragnar Rasmussen provides the choir with a firm base in North Norway. They enjoy a core audience there, in a region alive with a cornucopia of sagas, folk music, poetry, ethnic languages, cultures and musical idioms. The choir very consciously works on their artistic and musical quality, and has chosen to specialise in modern Nordic a cappella music and older European music, especially from the Baroque period. Perhaps the choir's most important job is to develop new ways of communicating and presenting choral music. The 'Stories from the North' project is one example of its continuous search for a new and unique idiom with which to put over its music and touch its audiences. Vocal North has a genuine desire to reach out to as many people as possible, so it is important for the choir to perform and tour in villages and cities in Norway and abroad. Vocal North has participated in and done very well at major international choir competitions and has also released CDs. Vocal North has big plans for the next few years. www.vokalnord.com
SWEDEN
ERIC ERICSON'S CHAMBER CHOIR, founded by Eric Ericson in 1945, is a legendary and trendsetting ensemble on the Swedish and international music scene. Standing invites to the most important music festivals and co-operation with the world's leading orchestras like the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics make EEKK something of a flagship for Swedish choral music. Longstanding co-operation with its sister choir, The Swedish Radio Choir, represents a magnificent example of the international impact of Swedish choral music. Its great interest in finding new music all the time and new ways of working means the choir's
repertoire is very broad: from Renaissance music to avant garde. For several generations of Swedish composers 'the Chamber Choir' has served as an ideal with its typically 'Nordic' sound and immense virtuosity. Eric Ericson's Chamber Choir is apart of the absolute international elite of professional ensembles, and has won several awards such as the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis and the Edison Prize. EEKK makes multiple tours abroad every year in Europe, the USA and Canada. It has recorded much of its a cappella repertoire for a variety of labels. The choir also works with the Stockholm Concert House, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble, with which it has toured and recorded Bach's Mass in H-minor, Christmas Oritorium, St. John's Passion and St. Matthew's Passion. www.eekk.se
THE SWEDISH RADIO CHOIR , established in 1932 and now consisting of 32 professional singers, has been one of the world leading a cappella choirs for several decades and been hired by orchestra conductors like Claudio Abbado and Riccardo Muti for concerts, tours and recordings. In 1952, Eric Ericson was appointed head conductor and he proved to be a master at rediscovering works by Richard Strauss and Max Reger, which the choir has rehearsed and restored to their rightful place in musical history. The choir has also provided many Swedish composers with an instrument with which to formulate and communicate their musical ideas. Several of these works have gone on to be classics in choir repertoires at home and abroad. In the early 1960s, the choir travelled to Berlin to hold concerts which established its international reputation and led to many recordings and a host of invitations to all corners of the globe. Composers and conductors even travelled to Sweden to study with and learn from the choir. Anders Öhrwall took over as conductor in the 1980s and expanded the repertoire with challenging Baroque pieces. When Tõnu Kaljuste took over he expanded the choir's horizons to the East with Russian music as well as new compositions from composers who were unknown at the time such as Arvo Pärt, Alfred Schnittke and Krzysztof Penderecki. Contact with these composers has led to several prize-winning recordings as well as memorable tours all over the world. Since 2006, the choir has worked without a chief conductor but with two guest conductors, Tõnu Kaljuste from Estonia and Peter Dijkstra from the Netherlands. Over the course of its 70-year history, the choir has released more than 40 recordings.
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2007-06-29