Slow TV Choir 'Cantus' - Album Review

Cantus' Northern Lights - New Album

Cantus. Not only are they the choir singing in the choral music to Disney's 'Frozen', more importantly for this blog, they are one of the many choirs who featured in NRK's Hymn Book Slow TV. And they have a new album out. And it's rather good.

In November 2014, there was a huge Slow TV production in Trondheim - 60 hours of singing the entire Norwegian Hymnbook, cover to cover, with a couple hundred choirs and a few thousand singers rostered in during those days.

I was blessed to be in Trondheim to cover the Salmeboka Minutt for Minutt Slow TV for my Masters Degree, which majored on Slow TV.

I followed a few of the choirs on social media during my time in Trondheim and in the time following. So, when Cantus' marketing kicked in, my ears pricked up and I thought, 'this is something I need to investigate'.

I bought the CD from a UK high street retailer (I like to help keep alive physical music shops you can walk in to, browse and purchase music) and have listened to it many times over in the time since its release

Here's a short review from my instagram account:

My 1 minute #review of @cantusnorway #NorthernLights CD. Longer video on slowtelevision.blogspot.no Thursday morning 25th May. #ClassicalMusic #ChoralMusic #ClassicFM #Norway #Frozen #WomensChoir #FrodeFjellheim #Choir

A post shared by Tim Prevett (@the_slow_tv_blogger) on May 24, 2017 at 2:09pm PDT

Here's a longer review from my YouTube account:

I was absolutely entranced by Cantus' performance of "Mitt hjerte alltid vanker" (audio used in the below video). It remains one of my favourite musical moments during Salmeboka Minutt for Minutt, so I am pleased there's a short reference to it in 'Northern Lights'.

The video is made of offcuts which didn't make it into the final edit of my main documentary. All music used with permission.

It's great to hear Cantus' 'Northern Lights' on Classic FM in the UK (chart announcement below). Let's hope they can dominate the chart.

@cantusnorway #NorthernLights entered @classicfm chart at Number 2! Other UK #ClassicalMusic chart at Number 1. Maybe it'll get higher this week on the #ClassicFM #MusicChart? #ChoralMusic #Norway

A post shared by Tim Prevett (@the_slow_tv_blogger) on May 25, 2017 at 1:26am PDT

Cantus performed for a few hymns, and all segments of Salmeboka Minutt for Minutt with Cantus can be seen HERE, the first performance just before 29 minutes in, at this link

Follow Cantus on their Facebook page

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Slow TV and Cantus - 'Frozen' Choir - New Album

Cantus performing during the Hymn Book Slow TV, 2015

It turns out there's a very good Norwegian Slow TV link with the animated blockbuster, Frozen.

Before the film was made, the women's choir, Cantus, had a CD out which the producers of Frozen picked up and played as they carried out some of their pre-production around Norway; this helped inform some of the aesthetics of the film and got Cantus the job of singing for the film.

In November 2014, there was a huge Slow TV production in Trondheim - 60 hours of singing the entire Norwegian Hymnbook, cover to cover, with a couple hundred choirs and a few thousand singers rostered in during those days.

I was blessed to be in Trondheim to cover the Salmeboka Minutt for Minutt for my Masters Degree, which majored on Slow TV. An unforgettable few days which I will carry with me for my years on Earth.

The above video features Cantus singing in the first song; the video is made of offcuts which didn't make it into the final edit of my main documentary. All music used with permission.

I was absolutely entranced by the performance of "Mitt hjerte alltid vanker" (audio used in the above video), a spine-tingling advent hymn, unaware of the choir's link to the hugely successful film. It remains one of my two clear favourite musical moments during Salmeboka Minutt for Minutt, the other being the performance by Embla Damene of Grieg's "I Himmelen", which was new for me. Both tunes I find myself humming from time to time. Sometimes bits of music bore deep into your being and lodge there with great meaning and resonance.

Cantus' Northern Lights - New Album

With any luck, I hope to hear Cantus' 'Northern Lights' on Classic FM in the UK before long, and I'm also pre-ordering my copy.

Cantus performed for a few hymns, and all segments of Salmeboka Minutt for Minutt with Cantus can be seen HERE, the first performance just before 29 minutes in, at this link

Follow Cantus on their Facebook page

More Norwegian Slow TV about to happen within the next few days (April 2017); see the second brief digest of news about a week of Reindeer Migration on The Slow TV Blog.

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Slow TV News and Reviews No. 10 - Memories of Slow TV, The Hymn Book and Trondheim

"Minner om Sakte TV, Salmeboka og Trondheim​"

From filming at Salmeboka Minutt for Minutt / The Hymn Book Minute by Minute, NRK Slow TV Production in Trondheim, Norway. As is the case with filming a documentary, you film much more than you will use in the final film; these montages are clips which didn't get used due to space, or weren't the quality I needed for my submitted film but nevertheles give a memory for the event and add to the 'scrapbook'.

Featured Music from
Norsk Salmebok 2013 
Used with permission

Mitt hjerte alltid vanker
Number 38
Sung by Cantus

Deg å få skoda
Number 482 
Sung by Os Mannskor, Mannskoret Lerka 
and Anne Vada

Ja, vi elsker dette landet
Number 755
Sung by Mannskoret Nøkken, Singsaker Songlag 
and Congregation

Høyr kor englar syng frå sky
Number 39
Sung by Koret Ad Libitum

I Himmelen
Number 883
Sung by Embla and Congregation

Grateful acknowledgement of

Petter Ingholm Gustavsen, NRK
and all NRK staff who enabled research and filming

Thomas Hellum
Principal NRK Slow TV Liaison

All photography copyright
Tim Prevett
MMXV

Filmed with Canon 7D and Sony Xperia Z
Edited with Windows Movie Maker 
and Audacity

Slow Television - The Slow TV Blog

Slow TV News and Reviews No. 9 - Hymn Book Slow TV Montage 3 of 3

From filming at Salmeboka Minutt for Minutt / The Hymn Book Minute by Minute, NRK Slow TV Production in Trondheim, Norway.  

These are offcuts from making a documentary about Norwegian Slow TV - the pictures and video weren't relevant or weren't the best quality for the final cut, similarly the hymns didn't work with the completed project. Nevertheless, I wanted some kind of audio-visual scrapbook to remember a very special few days of production behind the scenes at this one off event. 

Music "Høyr kor englar syng frå sky", No.39, sung by Koret Ad Libitum and "I Himmelen", No. 883, sung by Embla and Congregation.

Slow Television - The Slow TV Blog

Slow TV News and Reviews No. 8 - Hymnbook Slow TV Montage 2 of 3 and Trondheim Julegatetenning

From filming at Salmeboka Minutt for Minutt / The Hymn Book Minute by Minute, NRK Slow TV Production in Trondheim, Norway.  These are offcuts from making a documentary about Norwegian Slow TV - the pictures and video weren't relevant or weren't the best quality for the final cut, similarly the hymns didn't work with the completed project. 

Nevertheless, I wanted some kind of audio-visual scrapbook to remember a very special few days of production behind the scenes at this one off event. 

Music "Deg å få skoda" (Be Thou my Vision), Number 482 sung by Os Mannskor, Mannskoret Lerka and Anne Vada; "Ja, ​v​i ​e​lsker ​d​ette ​l​andet", Number 755, sung by Mannskoret Nøkken, Singsaker Songlag​ and the congregation​, used with permission from the publisher.

Footage also from the Christmas lights switch on - the Julegatetenning - in Trondheim.

Slow Television - The Slow TV Blog

Slow TV News and Reviews No. 7 - Hymnbook Slow TV Montage 1 of 3

From filming at Salmeboka Minutt for Minutt / The Hymn Book Minute by Minute, NRK Slow TV Production in Trondheim, Norway. Music "Mitt Hjerte Alltid Vanker" sung by Cantus, used with permission from the publisher.

As is the case with filming a documentary, you film much more than you will use in the final film; these montages are clips which didn't get used due to space, or weren't the quality I needed for my submitted film but nevertheles give a memory for the event and add to the 'scrapbook'.

Slow Television - The Slow TV Blog

Keeping up - busy with Slow TV in Trondheim

I'm not having much time to keep up with blog posts here (but there will be a couple more in the next 36 hours!) - for the moment, there are pictures from Salmeboka Minutt for Minutt here on a public facebook album or here on instagram.

Slow Television -The Slow TV Blog

All systems go in Trondheim for the next Slow TV event

Approaching Oslo at Sunset

Yesterday's leaving beloved family and familiarity of home seem long gone, even if just 30 hours or so. It's nearly the end of my my first day in Trondheim; NRK are setting up, I have been out and about familiarising myself with the city.  I'll post pictures and text here when I can, which will be a few times. My focus of being in the city is to interview people and get insights and footage at the hymn book event  - Salmeboka Minutt for Minutt.

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