Grieg a cappella – Gli Scapoli

Grieg´s lesser known choral works

Choral music plays a marginal role in Edvard Grieg´s production. Grieg developed his personal style primarily through his piano works, his songs and his chamber music. Most of his choral works have also been overshadowed by the “Piano Concerto in A minor”, the “Peer Gynt” music and the “Lyric Pieces” for piano. Many of his choral works are seldom performed, and, with the exception of “Two Religious Choruses” and “Four Psalms”, the work on this recording by the Oslo Philharmonic Chorus have never before been recorded. This disc is also the first to present such a wide range of Grieg´s compositions of unaccompanied voices.

It is the Oslo Phiharmonic Choir, the young choir Gli Scapoli (or, “The Bachelors”), baritone Per Vollestad and tenor Kjell Magnus Sandve, and conductor Stefan Skøld, who performs Grieg´s choral works on this album, ensuring the high quality these works both demands and deserves. Spanning Grieg´s entire career – from the “Dona nobis pacem” written during his student years in Leipzig, to the last piece Grieg ever wrote, “Four Psalms” – these works are a treasure chest of beautiful music just waiting to be rediscovered.