The newspaper Gudbrandsdølen wrote a nice piece about Song Circus
«A truly rare and magical musical moment in Lillehammer Church!» here it is.
Thank you, Gudbrandsdalen!
It was lovely performing Eivind Buene’s Leçons de ténèbres in Lillehammer and Dombås — a work of quiet intensity, rich contrasts, and deep reflection. Grateful to share this music in such evocative spaces.
Happy International Women’s Day!
Here in Volda, Song Circus is gathering golden memories. What a festival and concert series they’ve created at Tonehimmel — and what an incredible composer and musician we’ve found in Jorun Marie! We’ve spent days diving deep into rehearsals, and that kind of focus really brings the music to life.
On Thursday, Jorun Marie and her family treated us to homemade bacalao and freshly pressed apple juice — caught in the fjord, dried by the wall of the house. That’s real cod, right there! ❤️
Yesterday, in Folkestad, the concert room was packed with warm, welcoming people. It truly felt like home. They’ve created such a beautiful space in the old Læremiddelfabrikk — we’re so inspired.
Tonight, on International Women’s Day, we’re performing again — and we’re using our voices 💪🏻
World premiere of «Vardøger»!
We’re so excited to be working on Vardøger — a brand new piece by Jorun Marie R. Kvernberg, written especially for Song Circus. Rehearsals are in full swing, and we can’t wait to share it with you in Volda on March 7th and 8th. This music is stunning — lush, mysterious, and full of heart. Such a joy to sing!
Vardøger dives deep into our relationship with nature, the environmental crisis, and the search for hope.This piece is a heartfelt, musical plea to protect our natural world — blending tradition and innovation in a soundscape that reaches both backward and forward in time.
We are visiting Dombås and Lillehammer!
Song Circus are touring again, together with our lovely viola da gamba player André Lislevand (IT/NO).
Together, we will perform Eivind Buene’s beautiful, contrasting, and insightful concert, Leçons de ténèbres.
Dombås Church – March 21 at 19:00
Lillehammer Church – March 22 at 15:00
Aksel Tollali, scenekunst.no:
«Buene’s Leçons conveys immense suffering in a strikingly sober manner.»
Eystein Sandvik, NRK:
«It is a piece that grabs hold of me and moves me on different levels and in different ways. It has a distinctive musical expression, a clear concept, and, above all, a powerful message. A work that is deeply connected to both history and the present.»
Maren Ørstavik, Aftenposten:
«The cultural sphere speaks loudly about Gaza. Some aspects of the conflict are easy to take a stand on through benefit concerts and petitions (…). The humanitarian catastrophe cannot be ignored, regardless of one’s stance on the conflict’s origins. To delve deeper through artistic means is a challenge. Composer Eivind Buene does so with respect, historical awareness, and beauty.»
A Prayer for Mother Earth
Når fiskane flotnar og røtene rotnar
og ingenting botnar i graver me grev utan vit.
Kor skal songane sveva og
draumane leva
og menneska streva i
luft utan von?
This collaboration is truly special!
In March, we premiere Vardøger by Jorun Marie R. Kvernberg – a stunning piece and a heartfelt plea for the protection of our nature. Ancient prayers, rhymes, and weather spells blend seamlessly with chilling scientific texts. A rich and beautifully crafted musical work that gives us performers so much space to explore. We can’t wait!
Among the festivals where you can hear us in 2025 are Tonehimmel, Only Connect, Hardanger Musikkfest… and concert halls all across the country!
«Birds» at Nordic Filmdays Lübeck
At the Nordic Film Days Lübeck awards ceremony, ‘Birds’ was presented alongside a beautiful string trio. How wonderful that this, too, has become part of our film’s story.
A new work is born!
A new work is born! Song Circus, Walker/Tarozzi, and Catherine Lamb… What a beautiful collaboration!
«Dance is Like a Fine Wine» – an arts-based creative aging program
When dementia took hold and conversations became wordless, what remained? Nonverbal communication, connection, trust, touch; gestures, breath, movement, the music in our language… My husband was like a quiet child, with a lifetime of experiences stored in his body.
This fall, ‘Birds’ was showcased at the Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema in Boulder, Colorado, as part of the program ‘Dance is Like a Fine Wine.’ Since 2019, the festival has included a segment for older adults in public or private care. Together, they watch films, discuss them, express themselves, and interact through dance… We are thrilled to be part of this important project!
Vardøger – Song Circus & Jorun Marie Kvernberg
A Vardøger is traditionally seen as a protective spirit or companion that precedes a person, warning of their arrival or impending dangers. Today, it often refers to a premonition indicating someone is about to appear.
A group of songs within folk music consists of prayers for good weather for bountiful crops, or chants believed to have magical effects on nature. These are the types of texts that Jorun Marie Kvernberg has drawn upon for her new work for Song Circus. The piece also includes texts taken from the aquaculture industry’s own propaganda apparatus, as well as academic texts of various kinds.
The overarching idea behind the work is to mirror these texts in our time, where we, modern and enlightened individuals, have placed ourselves in a situation where we once again must ask Mother Earth for good weather.
Vardøger is a piece that gives us as an ensemble a large space for co-creative expression. The form and theme of the work have been developed in close collaboration between Jorun Marie and Song Circus, led by Liv Runesdatter.
Vardøger is a musical defense of nature and the protection of fish stocks in our seas. In developing the work, Jorun Marie focuses more on sound fragments than on written music. The music springs from fiddle playing, but also from Jorun Marie’s singing and vocal sound play. Vardøger also incorporates sounds from her father Kvernberg’s silversmithing. Lush, beautiful, and imaginative music!
Når fiskane flotnar
og røtene rotnar
og ingenting botnar
i graver me grev utan vit.
Kor skal
songane sveva og
draumane leva og
menneska streva i
luft utan von?
Svar, måne, svar!
Svar, måne, svar!
English translation:
When the fish float
and the roots rot
and nothing buds
in graves we dig without knowing.
Where shall
the songs soar and
the dreams live and
humans struggle in
air without hope?
Answer, moon, answer!
Answer, moon, answer!
Jorun Marie writes:
“The music should reflect the drama of this obvious truth that again demands our attention: that we are dependent on nature, and that weather and climate both give and take life – even in our modern time. In ancient times, they used magical rituals and songs to awaken the fields in spring. Where do we turn today when the poles are melting and temperatures are rising?
Both musically and thematically, I will try to reflect the span between the past and the present, folk music and contemporary music, the struggle for existence in pre-industrial society, and the fight for repair and redress of our own destruction in our time.”
Live excerpts:
9th International Film Award for Birds! 🌟
«We just won our 9th international film award with Birds! 🌟 I’m beyond grateful and incredibly proud of this achievement. 🙏🏻
«Birds wins yet another award!
At the Idaho Screendance Festival, Birds received yet another award 🎉, in the category of Professional Film Artists Screendance ❤️🙏🏻
«Birds» wins Consonance Music and Dance Film festival!
Imagine, the audience in Tbilisi voted our film as Festival Winner 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Feeling incredibly grateful and humbled by the recognition we received yesterday at the Cosonance Music & Dance Film Festival! 🎉 Not only did we take home the Audience Award/Main Award, but we also won Best Experimental Film! 🏆✨ I am so proud of my team!
«Birds» Wins Best Cinematographer at Toronto Art Film Spirit Awards
It was producer Bjarte Mørner Tveit who introduced me to the cinematographer, Joakim. It was the summer of 2018, and we met over a café table.
I shared a bit about my intentions and the themes, and handed him the headphones with the music. He sat there, silent, in deep concentration, for a long, long time. He listened to the soundtracks from start to finish. Then he took off the headphones, looked into my eyes, opened his mouth, and shared his associations with just a few words. I had no doubt that Joakim was pure gold.
Joakim is the embodiment of calm. He moves gently around his surroundings, yet his presence is strong.
Eventually, Joakim took over the producer role for Birds.
The Toronto Art Film Spirit Awards is quite a prestigious «arthouse film» festival. We won the award for Best Cinematographer. This is Joakim’s award.
Song Circus reviewed by Eystein Sandvik on Norwegian Broadcasting
«I’m excited and grateful for Eystein Sandvik’s insightful review of our concert with Leçons de Ténèbres. I’m also glad that we chose Eivind Buene when commissioning a piece based on Couperin’s version, set in the context of the current situation in Israel and Palestine.
READ EXCERPTS FROM THE REVIEW HERE, OR LISTEN TO THE LINK
- «It’s a work that grabs me and touches me on various levels and in different ways. It has a distinctive musical expression, a clear concept, and, not least, a clear message.»
- «It is a work with strong connections, both to history and to the present.»
- «The French Baroque music is very different. It is much more stripped-down, simple, intimate, and yet deeply expressive and very beautiful, despite the strong expressions of suffering portrayed in these Lamentations. I think Eivind Buene has succeeded in creating a modern version of the same slightly Baroque aesthetic.»
- «The fundamental approach in this piece is to juxtapose the Lamentations from the Old Testament, which are poetic texts depicting the suffering of a war-torn Israeli people, with Israel’s role today as a long-standing occupying power, and the brutal conduct of the Israeli army toward the Palestinian population.»
- «There’s a clear and distinct message here that Israel is not living up to its own ideals and has gone down the wrong path. Particularly one line from the Lamentations is repeated several times, albeit in Latin. In Norwegian, it becomes ‘Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,’ which can naturally be interpreted as a call to today’s Israel to reflect on the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population.»
- «In Couperin’s version, there are partly two bright female voices over a very simple accompaniment. Here, there are four female voices from Song Circus, partly singing in a very high register, cultivating this very bright, shimmering sound over the viola da gamba. It’s a combination of voices and ensemble rarely heard in music composed today, with a subtle use of finger cymbals adding to the expression.»
- «It’s not very intense or extreme, and there aren’t many of the vocal special effects often heard in contemporary music written for voices. It’s kept within this simple expression, and it leaves an impression. The simplicity and the unique sound that emerges from this ensemble is both moving and fascinating.»
- «There is, of course, an entirely different context here, which the composer could not have foreseen when he completed his work before this date. But I believe the conditions for the massive warfare we now see from Israel are rooted in a dehumanization of the civilian population affected, a dehumanization that is clearly expressed in these testimonies from Israeli soldiers. It is terrifying and horrific to listen to, even though the testimonies unfortunately pale in comparison to the reality now unfolding in Gaza, which makes me experience the power of this otherwise rather quiet music, the setting of the Lamentations, as even greater.»
LINK:
«Birds» awarded ‘Best Art Film’
«Birds won the award for ‘Best Art Film’ at the Montevideo World Film Festival in Uruguay! So thrilled!» 🥳🥰 🙏
Birds Wins Award at Aryan Film Festival
Look at this beautiful crowd of people 🥰 ‘Birds’ just won an award in the Short Fiction category at the Aryan International Children’s Film Festival of Jaipur (ICFF). 🙏🏻🇮🇳
Birds Wins Best Short Film Europe!
Imagine, ‘Birds’ just won the ‘Best Short Film Europe’ award at the KIDS International Family Film Festival Award 2024! ❤️ Dream team! 🙏🏻
«Leçons de ténèbres» – review
The first review is by Maren Ørstavik in Aftenposten, covering the premiere of Leçons de ténèbres:
«The cultural sphere speaks loudly about Gaza. Some aspects of the conflict are easy to take a stand on through benefit concerts and petitions—like the number of dead children and the obstruction of humanitarian aid. The humanitarian catastrophe cannot be ignored, no matter one’s stance on the conflict itself. To delve deeper, using artistic expression, is challenging. Eivind Buene accomplishes this with respect, sensitivity, and beauty.»
«Much of the piece is wordless and comes across as musically abstract, beautifully performed by the quartet Song Circus and viol player André Lislevand. Occasionally, this is interrupted by recorded texts over the loudspeakers, recounting specific, brutal stories from the ground: mothers blown apart, occupiers urinating on the occupied.»
«Following Couperin’s tradition, the candles surrounding the performers are extinguished one by one throughout the work, until the room is completely dark at the end.»
«All of this constitutes powerful elements. The contrasts are immense—the shifting perspectives between Israelis and Palestinians, between past and present, between beauty and violence, between light and darkness. Buene makes it all work, with strong support from the performers.»
«The vocal lines are tight; the four women of Song Circus often sing almost the same notes, separated only by a half or whole tone in tense clusters. Harmonies are rare, even though each individual voice is pure and beautiful on its own. The quartet’s cohesion, combined with Lislevand’s emotional engagement, made it compelling to follow the musical narrative itself, even if it wasn’t always clear which words or perspectives were being illustrated at any given moment.»
The immersive world of The Digitale Cucumber
Step into the immersive world of #thedigitalecucumber, where the fusion of multimedia and music theatre explores themes crucial to our era. Delve into the realms of bubbles, media technology, and the courage to dream, believe, and even stumble. Available for booking!
«Best Performance» at Canadian Wildsound Film Festival!
Hooray! Birds won ‘Best Performance’ at the Canadian Wildsound Film Festival! 🎉 They’ve also made a lovely film review, which you can watch here:
Song Circus is joining Oslo Music Factory
We are happy to announce that Song Circus has started a collaboration with Bjarne Kvinnsland and Eirik Raude at Oslo Music Factory management!
And together with a small bunch of our favourite Norwegian musicians and ensembles!
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Vi er glade for å kunne fortelle at Song Circus har inngått samarbeid med Oslo Music Factory Management!
More info at www.oslomusicfactory.no
