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"Nordic voices is a mixed, six-voice ensemble with ringing, clear timbres and an impressive blend."
Gramophone

"...the group charged the evening with entirely unaccompanied singing no less than extraordinary -- even far beyond the basic yardstick measurements. Intonation? Impeccable. Ensemble? Unfailing precision in phrasing, dynamics, color -- everything finely tuned for a succession of works ever-changing in style and expressive meaning."
Washington Post

"Specialists in all kinds of vocal expression, this ensemble’s control of intonation and phrasing is absolute. Their default ensemble colour is warm and deep, though they do of course create a remarkable range of texture and timbre.”
Music Web International

"...the richness of the Nordic Voices flooded the immensity of the concert hall....left everyone in the audience with the perfect blend of sensations reminiscent of this emotional experience, a mixture as varied and delightful as the evening’s performance..."
The China Post (Taipei)

"Impeccable intonation combined with incredibly dulcet melodious phasing permeated this performance."
Yellow Springs News

"Nordic Voices are a force to be reckoned with, as much because of their adventurousness and range as because of their specialty and expertise in choral music."
The Live Music Report (www.thelivemusicreport.com)

"The singing was excellent, sharp as a knife, and the balance was beyond reproach."
Morgunbladid, Reykjavik, Iceland

"The a cappella ensemble combined modality and atonality, and text-setting styles ranging from the sublime to the delightfully ridiculous, into a seamless argument - that Scandinavian choral music is a beautiful world unto itself."
Birmingham News

'With its virtuous and humor-filled interpretation of Ligeti's "Nonsense Madrigals", Nordic Voices seizes any audience."
Stavanger Aftenblad, Stavanger

"...the songs open up many possibilities for creating nuances and making musical points. Nordic Voices never missed any of these opportunities, but let blessed Monteverdi and Gesualdo appear with all the resounding rhetoric ever desired."
Tønsberg Blad

"The Church Music Festival seemed to have reached new heights this year, and the concert by Nordic Voices was no exception. Every soloist had an exceptional voice, all of which combined to make the perfect instrument." Morgunbladid, Reykjavik, Iceland

"The vocal ensemble Nordic Voices, showing off a clear and secure intonation, virginal pureness and lots of temperament, performed three songs of the eccentric Italian composer Giacinto Scelsi."
Värt Land, Oslo, Norway

Nordic Voices is:
Tone Elisabeth Braaten, soprano
Ingrid Hanken, soprano
Ebba Rydh, mezzo soprano
Per Kristian Amundrød, tenor
Frank Havrøy, baritone
Trond Olav Reinholdtsen, bass

Press Kit
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Tour Programs 2012
Tour Programs 2013
Artist Website

Media

Luca Marenzio - Madrigal
Havrøy - Bysjan Bysjan
Ablinger - Tog, Viftereim

Thoresen - Solbon
Monteverdi

Thoresen
Havroy

Selections from Lamentations

Berio: A-Ronne (segments)

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Nordic Voices

Nordic Voices is a six-voice a cappella ensemble acclaimed for the depth of it programming and extraordinary vocal skills. A technically brilliant ensemble, Nordic Voices made a quick sensation in international vocal circles and is now acknowledged as a leader of the a cappella artform. Now expanding into collaborations, they perform a repertoire ranging from the medieval to the contemporary. Nordic Voices is unrivaled in the fine art of sophisticated music-making and stylish performance, and as a result have been hailed by international critics for their live appearances and remarkable recordings.

"Such mesmerizing talent is rare.... Whatever language, it was the group's astonishing range of sonic vocabulary... that thrilled the senses and sent an emotional message no listener could miss" [Washington Post]

One of Nordic Voices' main goals is to be in the forefront of research into vocal art. The group explores new vocal techniques and new ways of using the classically trained voice. They can produce a wide range of techniques, from ordinary classical sounds to Mongolian overtone singing.

In performance from Kyoto to New York, and from Munich to Toronto, Nordic Voices has plied a wide spectrum of musical expression, from plainchant to newly works commissioned from leading Norwegian composers, including both the most sacred of religious texts and the decidedly profane. The group's programming revolves around themes, for example historical figures or textual links, bringing the music to life in sometimes unexpected ways. Their path connects the extremes: Lassus rubs shoulders with Ligeti and Norwegian contemporary composer Henrik Hellstenius, and Dufay with Huber and Nystedt. In a recent programme, Nordic Voices made their first foray into the world of electronics, with works exploiting not only electronic amplification, but sampling, mixing and video-art.

Chandos released the Nordic Voices recording, 'Lamentations' in 2009 to quick critical acclaim: "sublime performances...Top class work from Norway's leading vocal ensemble." [Classic FM Magazine] . The release tour included concerts in Oslo, Bergen and Haugesund in Norway, as well as Stockholm, Helsinki and London. Chandos has also released 'Reges terrae' - featuring 16th century music from the times of Carlos V - which was enthusiastically received and was nominated for the Norwegian Grammy Award (Spellemannprisen in 2007); followed by "Djånki Don", featuring contemporary music by various Norwegian composers (also nominated, in 2008). The group's first CD, Sense and nonSense, was released on the Jonathan Digital label in 2002. The CD celebrates a focus on different approaches toward text in vocal music, from the use of abstract phonemes to pictorial storytelling.

"their clear, radiant performances, full of character, are vividly captured by the DSD recording... the music is sumptuously textured and elegantly phrased in these gorgeous realisations." [BBC Music Magazine]

A recent sampling of their performance schedule includes: a North American tour featuring their Canadian debut at Soundstreams/Northern Encounters Festival; their Japanese debut in Kyoto at the World Symposium on Choral Music; a project with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and performances at the Fartein Valen Festival, the Greek festival Modelo in Patras; and a set of seven concerts in five days at the Hardanger Musikkfest in Norway followed by the Festival in Noirlac, France.

Based in Oslo, Norway, the members of Nordic Voices were educated at the State Academy of Music in Oslo and the National Academy of Operatic Art in Oslo, where they specialized in opera, composition, church music and pedagogy.