For 25 years the Oslo Chamber Choir has delved into the soloist tradition of Norwegian folk song, thus creating a very specific expression as a choir. When classical music by Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and Bruckner are combined with religious folk tunes the result is a novel contemporary expression, where two very different melodies, singing techniques and texts are juxtaposed. The STRUGGLE that arises reveal new dimentions of music. This surround sound recording retains the intimacy of the performance and the enveloping atmosphere that arises when the choir surrounds its audience, each member of the choir singing the old religious tunes directly to each member of the audience. The purpose of combining the intimacy of religious folk music with the complexities of larger religious classical choral pieces is to highlight the universality of the hymns, and the simple sincerity of classical music, finding the common ground between two musical cultures.

Sondre Bratland has ov...