On 18 February at 7 pm in Tromsø Cathedral – world premiere of Karin Rehnqvist’s latest work, Songs between light and darkness (Lávlagat gaskal čuovgga ja seavdnjadasa). For soprano soloist, alto saxophone, clarinet, piano.

Programme notes here ›

The Swedish texts are written by Gunnar Ekelöf, Karin Rehnqvist and Sandro Key-Åberg, who during the performance are supplemented with recitations in Sami.


The piece consists of three movements:

Neither the moon, the sun nor the stars – Gunnar Ekelöf | Ii mánnu, iige beaivváš dahje násttit (4 min)
The moon hovers silently in the night – Karin Rehnqvist | Mánnu jorrá jaskadit ijás (5 min)
Where the darkness was you are – Sandro Key-Åberg | Doppe gos seavdnjat lei, leat don (7 min)

If the Moon weaves silently at night in Sami, it sounds like this:

Mánnu jorrá jaskadit ijás,
nástealbmi šearrádit báita,
báitá bajábeal eatnamiid ja čáziid,
báita munno bajábeal.

In Tromsø’s cathedral – from 1861, by the way, the only church in Norway built of wood – ArcTic Sustainable Ensemble together with soprano Berit Solbacken, Tromsø, and the Oslo-based conductor Bjørk-Guinevere Kinsella Eide is responsible for the premiere performance.

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