ØRJAN MATRE: STJERNEBRU

GJERMUND LARSEN, violin || FRODE HALTLI, accordion || ANNA RUSSNES, folk song
THE NORWEGIAN GIRLS CHOIR || ANNE KARIN SUNDAL-ASK, conductor

A beautiful piece written especially for the Girls Choir

The festival wants to ensure that contemporary works have a lifespan beyond their world premieres, and offers a re-encounter with new Norwegian music when the Norwegian Girls Choir and conductor Anne Karin Sundal-Ask perform Ørjan Matre’s Stjernebru (“Bridge of Stars”). The word “Stjernebru” is taken from the hymn “Ned i vester soli glader”, and describes the passage to the beyond – the road between the worldly and the eternal. The word can also be used about the night sky, as a clear reference to star light, and “Lux Aeterna” – the light of eternity – is a common element throughout the entire piece. Matre has made arrangements of nine folk tunes for girls choir, accordion, and fiddle, with written and improvised interludes. Joining the Girls Choir is accordionist Frode Haltli, fiddle player Gjermund Larsen, and folk singer Anna Russnes as soloists.

Gjermund Larsen is one of the country’s most well-known and beloved folk musicians. With his playful and emotional fiddle playing, he has captured a diverse audience, stretching far beyond folk music’s traditional listeners. He has his musical background from his father, Geir Egil Larsen. It centres on the traditional music from Verdal, and the tradition after the fiddler Hilmar Alexandersen from Steinkjer. Larsen has composed several commissioned works for Norwegian festivals and ensembles, among them the work Salmeklang on commission of the Church Music Festival in 2015. He is also active as a soloist, playing with orchestras such as the Oslo Philharmonic, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, and Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. Larsen and the Norwegian Girls Choir have worked together for several projects, among them the choir’s last recording, Stjernebru, with music by Ørjan Matre.
Frode Haltli is an award-winning accordionist and composer, who has toured with orchestras all over the world. His background is in folk music, but he started juggling several musical genres early. His genre curiosity has led to exceptional skills on the instrument, and a broad musical understanding across different genres. Haltli and the Norwegian Girls Choir have worked together for several projects, among them the recording of The Beauty That Still Remains, with music by Marcus Paus, and the choir’s latest album, Stjernebru.
Anna Russnes is a folk singer from Oslo with roots in the singing tradition from Sogn. Through singing, she wants to express the close, the timeless, and the human in folk music. She has sung in several renowned choirs, among them the Norwegian Girls Choir, Oslo Chamber Choir, and the vocal group Song Circus. As a soloist, Russnes has taken part in the premieres of Ørjan Matre’s work Stjernebru (2022) and in the Norwegian Girls Choir’s Grammy nominated album Stille grender (2020). Russnes has studied under, among others, Unni Løvlid, Øyonn Groven Myhren, and Hilde Vehusheia.
The Norwegian Girls Choir is a choir with a proud tradition, and works at a high artistic level. The choir is an independent continuation of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation’s girls choir, established in 1947, and the talented singers are accepted from auditions. The choir has been and is a prominent institution in Norwegian cultural life, and has nurtured a number of great singers, musicians, and artists. The young girls receive a broad education in choir singing, which, in addition to the weekly choir rehearsals, consists of individual singing lessons, ear training, theory, concerts, recordings, and a large number of jobs.
Anne Karin Sundal-Ask has been the conductor and artistic director for the Norwegian Girls Choir since 2005. She has received several accolades for her choir direction, and has led several choirs to top placements in a number of international competitions. She is described as a quality-conscious and inspiring leader, with an ability to express musical goals in a way that makes each singer perform their best. A dedicated focus on tone, intonation, and working as an ensemble has become her trademark, and she is constantly working on the communication and development of the choir’s musical expression.

Photo: The Norwegian Girls Choirs: Anders Lillebo/ John-Halvdan Olsen-Halvorsen, Gjermund Larsen: Agnete Brun, Frode Haltli: Knut Bry, Anne Karin Sundal-Ask: Anders Lillebo