Stave Church Songs / Martyred Saints & Sisterbells – Elisabeth Vatn

The traditional musical tribute to St Thomas

St Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered by Henry II’s men in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December 1170. He was subsequently revered as a martyr by the common people, and was canonised by Pope Alexander III in 1173. This historical event was the point of departure for a work commissioned by Concerts Norway for the Norwegian Year of Cultural Heritage 2009, Tjære Være Treklang, which has toured in Norwegian stave churches since then. Now, in 2011, the recorded version of the concert is being released under the title Stave Church Songs / Martyred Saints & Sister Bells.

In 1973 a parchment roll with the notation for a medieval sequence from 1173, the St Thomas Hymn – Aquas Plenas Amaritudine, was discovered under the floor of Lom Stave Church. This sequence has now been performed using improvisations, new compositions and original arrangements, and has been combined with variants of the traditional musical tribute to St Thomas: the Bells of St Thomas Airs.