Guest artist from Wellington Hanne Jostensen sings and plays a number of Norwegian songs.
Guest artist from Wellington Hanne Jostensen sings and plays a number of Norwegian songs.
A Norwegian singer-songwriter was the opening performance at the concert held at the Old Dairy Factory for Norway Day.
Organisers were thrilled to host Hanne Jostensen, now resident in Wellington, who opened the afternoon’s programme with some beautiful and often haunting Norwegian songs some in Norwegian and others in English.
The full venue was transported into a different culture and really enjoyed Jostensen’s performance.
David Selfe plays his own composition linking New Zealand and Norway, “Fiordland”.
David Selfe, owner of The Old Dairy Factory, then performed his own composition Fiordland on the grand piano, his musical skills accentuating the passion of the piece seeking to highlight a similarity between Norway and New Zealand.
MC John Ellison took the opportunity to recognise Terry and Diane Kitt, especially the latter for their role in researching the history of Norsewood which led to the book Norsewood: a Special Settlement.
MC John Ellison holds a tapestry honouring the Kitt family’s contribution to Norsewood history.
Diane recently passed away, leaving a legacy of information particularly on previous Norway Day celebrations, and John displayed a tapestry reflecting her contributions to accompany a short eulogy.
The remainder of the concert was presented by Norsewood’s other guests – The Viking Choir.
It started with Hanne joining them in the rendition of the Norwegian Wedding Song which was a real challenge – the lyrics in Norwegian and Hanne providing the solo. While the choir had rehearsed for this item for weeks it only came together with Hanne for a five-minute combined presentation just before the concert.
The performance was great and Hanne let out a whoop of exhilaration as it concluded.
The Viking Choir performs “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry.
It was then over to the choir to do its own “party pieces” starting with a fast-moving Johnny B Goode by Chuck Berry, slowing to the gentle Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, by Bach, picking up momentum with an arrangement of Amazing Grace and concluding with the powerful You Raise Me Up.
This year The Viking Choir has expanded its musical opportunities under conductor Lyn Faulkner, a separate singing sextet calling itself The Harmony Sisters and the Tararua Instrumental Group rehearsing weekly.
The Tararua Instrumental Group played “Its Been A Hard Day’s Night”.
They had their impressive debuts interspersed between items of the choir, The Harmony Sisters singing Lonesome Road and the instrumentalist rattling out It’s a Hard Day’s Night and concluding the concert with Sound of Silence.
The Viking Choir will perform again, this time with the Dannevirke Brass Band and Highland Pipe Bands in the Knox Church at 7pm on June 22.
Dave Murdoch is a part-time photo-journalist based in Dannevirke. For the past 11 years he has covered any community story telling good news about the district.
