The Norwegian Soloists’ Choirwith Grete Pedersen

Johann Sebastian Bach's motets are shrouded in mystery, and little is known about when or why they were composed. Yet, these works are resilient, as though they were created to endure through the centuries. Many of the motets were composed for funerals, featuring texts about grace, peace, and hope.

In this concert in Korskirken, Bach's motets serve as the foundation for a musical conversation on consolation. The motets brim with life and hope for an existence in the next world and will be performed by the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir. Grete Pedersen, the 2025 Festival musician, is known for her original concert programmes and will conduct the performance.

The Soloists’ Choir has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Diapason d’or de l’année for their interpretations of Bach’s motets. ‘It is done with such extraordinary alertness. The singing makes your skin tingle,’ wrote Norwegian newspaperVårt Land about the album Bach – The Motets, while BBC Magazine hailed it as ‘A real tour de force!’

In contrast to Bach's baroque sound world, the concert also includes Mahler's poetic Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen, Helmut Lachenmann’s Consolation, where a medieval prayer is fragmented into syllables and sounds, and a work by Bente L. Thorsen marked by sorrow, euphoria, and fits of laughter.

The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir consists of 26 handpicked professional singers with exceptional expressive power. Under Grete Pedersen’s leadership, the choir has reached new musical heights and left a profound mark on both Norwegian and international music. In 2025, Pedersen will conclude her final projects with the choir after 35 years as its artistic director.

Photo: Bård Gundersen

Venue

Korskirken

Contributors

• The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir

• Grete Pedersen conductor

• More musicians to be announced later

Music by

• Bach 

• Lachenmann

• Mahler

• Thorsen

Works

• Johann Sebastian Bach:
  Singet Dem Herrn in neues lied 

• Johann Sebastian Bach:
  Komm, Jesu, komm

• Johann Sebastian Bach:
  Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf 

• Helmut Lachenmann:
  Consolation II 

• Gustav Mahler:
  Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen 

• Bente L. Thorsen:
  Laughing my head off / Singing your heart in