The Norwegian Seasons. Ragnhild Hemsing

Ragnhild Hemsing’s Norwegian Seasons is a distinctive interpretation inspired by Vivaldi’s work, in which familiar melodies are given new life. Hemsing’s creative thinking is based on the idea that Vivaldi’s universal themes – the passage of time, the rhythms of nature, and the alternation of light and darkness – resonate just as strongly with people living in the Nordic countries. Her arrangements and interpretations add a new dimension to well-known music, revealing how Italian Baroque can unfold through a Nordic sound world.

A similar new vitality has been given to Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt, arranged for Hardanger fiddle and string orchestra by Tormod Tvete Vik. Familiar melodies – Morning, Anitra’s Dance, Solveig’s Song, In the Hall of the Mountain King, and others – are heard in arrangements that highlight both Grieg’s romantic sensitivity and the roots of Norwegian folk music. The result is something that feels at once deeply familiar and unexpectedly fresh.

Throughout the evening, Italian Baroque and Nordic Romanticism intertwine. Moving between these two worlds is Ragnhild Hemsing, whose music combines classical elegance with the primal character of folk tradition, and for whom the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra is a sensitive and equal partner.

If you want, I can also make a slightly more polished “concert-program style” version (a bit more elegant and natural for English concert booklets).

Program:

Antonio Vivaldi / Ragnhild Hemsing
– Spring and Summer from the cycle “The Norwegian Seasons”

Edvard Grieg / arr. Tormod Tvete Vik
– Morning Mood
– Anitra’s Dance
– Solveig’s Song
– Arabian Dance
–  Fantelladda
– Wedding March
– Åse’s Death
– In the Hall of the Mountain King

The concert includes one intermission and lasts approximately 2 hours.