Jury's reasoning This year's prize winner can look back on almost 50 years of work in Norwegian music. In his music, he has often been inspired by political themes. He has also done so in the work A Bible Story, written for 1 actor and 15 musicians. In the work, the prize winner outlines the Bible story in 44 minutes. The text consists of excerpts […]
/ 01/04/2014 / codexThis year's prize winner can look back on almost 50 years of work in Norwegian music. In his music, he has often been inspired by political themes. He has also done so in the work A Bible Story, written for 1 actor and 15 musicians. In the work, the prize winner outlines the Bible story in 44 minutes. The text consists of excerpts from the Bible that are put together in a poetic-rhythmic form into a coherent story. It begins with the account of creation and ends, like the Bible, with the Revelation of John. It follows a biblical historical development that describes how and why the Bible, for better or worse, has had an impact on the current situation in the world. The class struggle is a recurring theme; how some become slaves and some become masters, an issue that strongly engages the prize winner. A Bible Story is a powerful work with a captivating dramaturgical momentum. The work is dynamically and transparently orchestrated in such a way that the text always stands out clearly, while the orchestral movement appears intense and powerful. The Edvard jury sees A Bible Story as a strong commentary on today's debate about freedom of expression, self-determination and Muhammad cartoons. The work was commissioned by the Oslo Sinfonietta.