Concept: Malene Schjønning and Søren Møller
Choreography: Mette Rasmussen, Mejse Vedel and Kristian Tirsgaard
Composer: Søren Møller
Conductor: Helle Høyer
Choir: Aarhus Girls' Choir
Dancers: Mejse Vedel and Kristian Tirsgaard
About the Work:
The Biblical poem Song of Songs is one of the oldest and most beautiful love poems in the world. In its entirety, the poem can be read as a metaphor for the free and lively nature of love. Inspired by the poem, Malene Schjønning and Søren Møller have created a performance concept that involves a women's choir and two contemporary dancers. As the 2400 year old text is brought into our modern world through contemporary choir music and dance, the unconditional love between a man and woman is in focus.
The Choreography:
In the performance Song of Songs the choir expresses the innocent youthful and romantic love, symbolized in the poem as the “daughters of Jerusalem,” while the dancers express nuances of physical love and the related emotions as described in the eight poems.
The Composition:
The music draws on a variety of influences from European classical composers such as Arvo Pärt and Johann Sebastian Bach to American Minimalists such as Meredith Monk and Steve Reich. The orchestration for a cappella choir represents every aspect of human love from the sacred and peaceful to the wild and improvised screams with the body as a human beat box.
New and Old Scandinavian Choral Music
Choir: Aarhus Girls' Choir
Conductor: Helle Høyer
Sancta Maria
Composer: Knut Nystedt (Norwegian, b. 1915)
Ave Maria / Regina Caeli
Composer: Leif Kayser (Danish, 1919 – 2001)
Swinging in the Rain
Composer: Per Nørgård (Danish, b. 1932)
Sommersalme
Composer: Waldemar Åhlen (Swedish, 1894 - 1982)
Uti vår hage
Composer: Unknown
Swedish melody / arr. by Hugo Alfvén and Jan Åke Hillerud
April / Rondeau / Yndigt dufter Danmark
Composer: Svend S.Schultz (Danish, 1913 – 1998)
Kuka nukkuu
Composer: Anna-Mari Kähärä (Finnish, b. 1963)
Fred hviler over land og by
Composer: Niels la Cour (Danish, b. 1944)
Duration of program: 1 hour and 15 minutes.
(Subject to Change)
