Article in the newspaper Fædrelandsvennen, Tuesday December 9. 1997.
| Translation by Dag Sirnes: Daring twist at Advent concert Lars Andreas Larssen visited the Fortress in Kristiansand a year and a half ago with erotic folk tales. Yesterday he visited the Cathedral, with (texts by) Petter Dass, Inger Hagerup, Arnulf Øverland and Rolf Jakobsen - the last three (are) not exactly known as church-oriented poets. Concert '' Det hev ei rose sprunge '', music and reading by Arild Andersen, Kirsten Bråten Berg, Silje Nergaard, Nils Vinjor and Lars Andreas Larsen. Organizer: Kjell Kalleklev Management. * * *
Kristiansand: This evening the audience was not in line as much as you will find at other church concerts at the moment. It could seem as if most people had had their Advent experience needs satisfied during the weekend, with Jahn Teigen and others in the Cathedral on Saturday night, and the city's combined resources of popular choirs and brass bands on Sunday night. These two concerts had a total of 1400 visitors. Just over a hundred people paid their 160 kroner to experience the pre-Christmas atmosphere with the above-mentioned ensemble. Taken as a whole, it was a concert more for the non-church people than for the congregation's faithful visitors. Who would have thought that Øverland, Hagerup and Rolf Jakobsen could be used in an Advent concert - for the occasion paired with folk stories and jokes from Stokmarknes? Then add songs and 'stev's [*] from Setesdal, a dash Ellington and a negro spiritual, and you have about the pre-Christmas mix the four artists and the organizer will bring out to all the people in four churches in addition to the Cathedral in Kristiansand: Slagen church in Tønsberg, Johannes church in Bergen, Koppervik church and St. Petri church in Stavanger. [* A 'stev' is a form of Norwegian folk song consisting of four line lyric stanzas. Often sung by a single singer - only voice and no intrument accompaniment.] It started with "Det hev ei rose sprunge" (A Rose has opened) in an almost duet between Bråten Berg and Nergaard, with Arild Andersen's bass and Nils Vinjor's guitar as accompaniment. Then followed ''Den fyrste song eg høyre fekk'', and then Lars Andreas Larssen took over with a thunderous voice in the loudspeaker columns, reader letters from Stokmarknes newspaper and the first song he remembered in life, a grotesque lullaby about the Libbe-libbe lamb and the hen. Arild Andersen and Kirsten Bråten Berg followed up with a bunch of Setesdals-stevs, in the superb style we have gradually become so familiar with from these two artists. There were several stories from Northern Norway, and a text about 'Broerne' (the Bridges), and then a turn into (the poet) Petter Dass. Silje Nergaard sang ''Nærast er du når du er borte'' (You are closest when you are gone), and then pulled Duke Elington's "Almighty God" from Sacred Concert - it was Ellington in the pop version more than with a jazzy groove. A beautiful guitar solo formed the transition to Edvard Hoem's new hymn ''Eit lite barn vaks opp til mann'' (A little child grows up to a man), and Lars Andreas Larssen celebrated Dass' anniversary with an exalted performance of some stanzas from ''Herre Gud ditt dyre navn og ære'' (Lord God your dear name and glory). This is how it continued, alternating between the artists, without it being possible to find the completely common thread. Finally came Øverland's ''Om kvelden når det mørkner'' (In the evening when it gets dark), followed by ''Jeg råde vil alle i ungdommens dage'' (I will advise everyone in the days of youth), insofar as a fairly clear appeal for conversion. It all lasted an hour and a quarter, and the great atmosphere was absent. Still, it is conceivable that it was according to the intentions: more an evening of reflection and wonder than of Christmas feeling and sentimentality. In this case, no one should be able to accuse the performers of going for easy pre-Christmas romance. On the contrary. Emil Otto Syvertsen Caption: Well-known duo: Kirsten Bråten Berg and Arild Andersen carried much of the program in the Cathedral yesterday. (Photo: Torstein Øen) |