Nordlichter - Works for A Cappella Choir. Music by Nystedt, Grieg, Arnesen, Olsson and others

The Kammerchor Baden-Württemberg brings its a cappella programme "Nordlichter" to Heidelberg, dedicated to Norwegian choral music. From the second half of the 19th century, a vibrant civic musical culture took root in Norway, with singing societies united by a shared passion for folk music and poetry.

Beginning with Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composers enriched this movement with their choral works. Otto Olsson, Knut Nystedt, and Trond Kverno shaped a distinctly Norwegian musical language over more than a century - meditative, clearly structured, and emotionally resonant. That tradition continues today in the compositions of Ola Gjeilo and Kim André Arnesen.

The programme spans from Grieg's "Ave maris stella" through Gjeilo's "Northern Lights" to Arnesen's "Even when he is silent" - a cross-section of a choral tradition in which longing and hope keep finding new expression.