Nova Singers Presents: Music of the Deep North
Sweden, Finland, and the Baltics are famous for their wealth of choral and folk music. This unique program features a wide variety of music from this extraordinary part of the world. Canticum Calamitatis Maritimae, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi's masterpiece, which tells the story of a 1994 maritime disaster, is one of the most powerful and challenging pieces written for choir. Brahms wrote his Nachtwache I and II at the end of his life and loved them so much that he wanted them sung at his funeral! Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's Nunc dimittis is quietly beautiful. Northern Lights, written by young Latvian composer Eriks E?envalds, combines a folk song with English poetry, chimes and water-tuned glasses to evoke the experience of viewing the northern lights. A set of Swedish folk songs, in Swedish and English, rounds out this Scandinavian program.
Artistic Director Laura Lane says, "This is the coolest program we've done since Drum Song! Every piece is completely different from every other piece, each one offering its own unique beauty and soundscape. I think audience members will love hearing the traditional sounds of Brahms and the simple beauty of the Swedish folk songs. But folks will also hear special vocal techniques including whispering, chanting, humming, sliding and traditional Lithuanian tongue-clicking. This program also features some instruments that I've never heard live before, such as an ocarina and water-tuned glasses. I'm really excited to be doing Esenvalds' Northern Lights: the chimes and the water-tuned glasses give it a uniquely haunting atmosphere."
Nova Singers, a professional vocal ensemble under the direction of Dr. Laura Lane, hopes to share our musical soul with you. Nova Singers is known for bringing a wide variety of choral music to its audiences, and for the beauty and charm the singers impart to their music.
Tickets will be available at the door. Admission is $18 for adults and $15 for seniors. Students are admitted free of charge. Nova Singers season tickets will still be available through this performance. For information about tickets, recordings, or other Nova Singers events, call 309-341-7038, or e-mail nova@knox.edu or like our Facebook page.
Music of the Deep North is sponsored by Blick Art Materials. Nova Singers' 2013-2014 season is partially funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.??
