Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir
Encyclopedia
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
choir in Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
, consisting of 76 boys and men as of spring 2008. It represents a tradition of boy and men cathedral choristers in Nidaros Cathedral
Nidaros Cathedral
Nidaros Cathedral is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It was the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nidaros from its establishment in 1152 until its abolition in 1537. Since the Reformation, it has been the cathedral of the...
stretching back almost 900 years. As of 2007, the choir is one of the leading boys' choirs in Europe and has built an international reputation through tours, performances in radio and TV, as well as numerous CD-recordings. The present artistic manager and conductor is Bjørn Moe
Bjørn Moe
Bjørn Moe is a Norwegian conductor. He is an associate professor at the Department for Music at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and has since 1973 been conductor of Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir. He started as a boy soprano in the choir at the age of 8, and has later sung both...
.
History
The Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir has been closely linked to Trondheim KatedralskoleTrondheim Katedralskole
Trondheim katedralskole is an upper secondary school located next to the Nidaros Cathedral in the center of Trondheim, Norway....
(the Cathedral School), across the street from the cathedral, for 900 years. The choir holds its regular rehearsals there. At the end of the 11th century Norwegian and English stone carvers came to Trondheim to build the Christ Church, the predecessor to the cathedral. In one of the chapels the stonecarvers' sons were instructed by the clergymen in Gregorian songs and liturgy, and the boys sang at masses, just like today's choir. This was the beginning of Trondheim Cathedral School and the tradition of a boys' choir in the cathedral. New classrooms were soon built near the church - probably where the school is situated today.
In 1806 the official bonds to the Cathedral School were broken. From then on the song duty was attended to by the Common Parish School, and from 1862 by the Waisenhuset school (Orphanage school) until 1905. For 22 years Trondheim had no boys' choir. But when planning the 900th anniversary of the death of St. Olav, chaplain Arne Fjellbu
Arne Fjellbu
Arne Fjellbu was a Norwegian bishop. During World War II, he played a central role in the Church's resistance against the Nazi authorities...
, later to become bishop, took the initiative to establish a new boys' choir in Trondheim.
In the autumn of 1927 Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir was re-established under the leadership of conductor Erik Saltnessand.
In 1948, organist Ludvig Nielsen took over as conductor.
Bjørn Moe
Bjørn Moe
Bjørn Moe is a Norwegian conductor. He is an associate professor at the Department for Music at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and has since 1973 been conductor of Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir. He started as a boy soprano in the choir at the age of 8, and has later sung both...
took over as conductor in 1973.
Discography
- Jul i Nidarosdomen (1992)
- Laudate (1994)
- Julekveld (1995)
- Våre vakreste salmer og sanger (1996)
- Snørosa with Åge AleksandersenÅge AleksandersenÅge Aleksandersen is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is one of his country's most famous singer/songwriters, musicians....
, Ulf Risnes and Bjarne BrøndboBjarne BrøndboBjarne Arnstein Brøndbo , is the vocalist and the front figure in the Norwegian rock group D.D.E. since the start in 1992. Brøndbo has previously played in the bands Humanic and After Dark ....
(1996) - Stille Natt with Arve TellefsenArve TellefsenArve Tellefsen is a Norwegian violinist.He was born and raised in Trondheim, Norway. When he was 6 years old, he began playing the violin in 'Trondheims musikkskole'...
(1998) - Jul med guttekoret (1999)
- Våre beste julesanger with Arve TellefsenArve TellefsenArve Tellefsen is a Norwegian violinist.He was born and raised in Trondheim, Norway. When he was 6 years old, he began playing the violin in 'Trondheims musikkskole'...
(2001) - Evige Øyeblikk (2003)
- Frelsesarmeens Julesanger, a charity-record for the Norwegian Salvation Army, with Ole Edvard AntonsenOle Edvard AntonsenOle Edvard Antonsen is a Norwegian trumpeter, musician and conductor.Antonsen was born in Vang, Hedmark, now part of Hamar. He is best known as a solo trumpeter, active in different genres of music; classical music, chamber music, baroque, jazz and pop. Since the mid 2000s, he has also been...
(2004) - Aria with Arve TellefsenArve TellefsenArve Tellefsen is a Norwegian violinist.He was born and raised in Trondheim, Norway. When he was 6 years old, he began playing the violin in 'Trondheims musikkskole'...
(2006) - I Wish (2008)
External links
Official websiteImages of the choir