New Arts International

The annual Christmas concert series at Oslo Cathedral, ‘Klinge skal et jubelkor’, has long been a highlight of the pre-Christmas period in Norway’s capital city. Once every year, all of the choirs associated with the cathedral come together to perform a programme of Christmas music, from the youngest fledglings in the boys’ choir to the veteran choristers who have sung at the cathedral their whole lives. Together with brass, timpani, harp, and two organs, the choirs perform Christmas carols central to the traditions of the Church of Norway.

The annual Christmas concert series at Oslo Cathedral, ‘Klinge skal et jubelkor’, has long been a highlight of the pre-Christmas period in Norway’s capital city. Once every year, all of the choirs associated with the cathedral come together to perform a programme of Christmas music, from the youngest fledglings in the boys’ choir to the veteran choristers who have sung at the cathedral their whole lives. Together with brass, timpani, harp, and two organs, the choirs perform Christmas carols central to the traditions of the Church of Norway.

For more than a century, Oslo Cathedral has been an important centre for choral music, and some of the greatest works in the history of Norwegian church music were given their first performance here. The architect behind the cathedral’s rich offering of choirs was Terje Kvam, who became Cantor (choirmaster) at the cathedral in 1982. With tireless passion and ambition for sacred choral music, Kvam founded the adult Cathedral Choir, the Youth Choir, the Boys’ Choir, the Girls’ Choir, and the Consortium Vocale, which performs medieval plainchant. Ever since, the cathedral has been a flourishing centre for the performance of choral music, where all age groups are represented.

Considering this, it made perfect sense to bring all of the choirs together for an annual Christmas concert. Over time, the concert series generated its own traditions by utilising all areas of the cathedral’s cruciform design (the form of the Holy Cross). In the first half of the concert, the choirs stand separately in the four wings of the cathedral (the nave, north and south parts of the transept, and the chancel) recalling the multi-choir sound of great Italian churches circa 1600. Later in the programme, all of the choirs process towards the chancel, where they sing the most famous Christmas carols, culminating in the much-loved Norwegian carol ‘Deilig er Jorden’ (‘Pleasant is the Earth’). Composer Trond H.F. Kverno reworked several carols to be used in the annual Christmas programme, including powerful settings of the medieval carol ‘Resonet in Laudibus’ to the Norwegian text ‘Klinge skal et jubelkor’ and the Norwegian folk tune ‘I denne søte juletid’—these arrangements have always formed part of the programme. The inclusion of Widor’s famous Toccata for organ also became inextricable from the yearly concerts.

This recording of Oslo Cathedral’s Christmas programme demonstrates that the cathedral continues to thrum with its rich musical tradition. Vivianne Sydnes, who succeeded Kvam as Choirmaster in 2015, has brought the quality of the cathedral’s choral music to new heights. While maintaining a strong sense of tradition, Sydnes has invigorated and developed the musical activities of the cathedral.

The album begins with ‘Veni, redemptor gentium’ (‘Come, Saviour of mankind’), an ancient church hymn for Advent and Christmastide. Bringing new generations together to sing these ancient melodies is one of the finest and most meaningful things a church can do. The concert culminates triumphantly with the last verse of ‘Deilig er jorden’, where the choirs sing of the Angels’ wish for peace from Bethlehem: ‘Fred over jorden, menneske, fryd deg! Oss er en evig Frelser født’ (‘Peace on Earth, men, rejoice! Unto us a Saviour is born’).

– Kåre Nordstoga,
Organist at Oslo Cathedral