Colours in the Water: Classic Music and Photo
In the middle of April Arkhangelsk City saw what could be called a Norwegian weekend when artists from Northern Norway presented music and visual arts.
First of all, on April 10, there was a concert of the star singer Anne-Lise Berntsen accompanied by Vardo musicians Hovard Woehni (clarinet) and Diana Pal (piano, organ) in the best concert hall of Pomor Philharmonia in the building of a former Lutheran church. It is not often professional musicians from Finnmark perform classic music in Arkhangelsk, so the performance evoked great interest of the public. Judging by the applause the concert was a success and Anne-Lise Berntsen won all the hearts. On the programme of the concert were pieces by G.F. Hendel, Louis Causak, W.A. Mozart, Ph. Gaubert, Edvard Grieg and Norwegian folk music – all united by the theme of water, whether it is rain coming from high heaven, sea waves playing with the wind, or tears shed by a young girl.
The same subject “Colours in the Water” was the contents of the photo exhibition presented by Vardoe artist Asbjoern Nilsen. For a number of years Asbjorn Nilsen has been organizing exhibitions of Russian colleagues in Northern Norway in the “NK-galleriet” in Vardo and many of his local friends came to the Fine Arts Gallery to congratulate the artist upon the opening of the first exhibition of his works in Arhangelsk.
“Vardoe - Waterway to Russia”
The cultural visit from Vardoe to Arhangelsk and performances held under the motto “Colours in the Water” marked the beginning of a big-scale Barents project “Vardoe - Waterway to Russia”. The leader of the project Anne-Lise Berntsen, opera singer deeply interested in the of Norwegian-Russian history, has received financial support from the Barents Secretariats culture programme “BarentsKult” for revival of close historical ties between Vardoe and Arhangelsk through cooperation of professional musicians from Norway and North-West Russia.
The 3-year project aimed at deepening of spiritual ties between the people of the Barents and White Sea coast was presented to the city and regional authorities in Arhangelsk. Both Mayor Viktor Pavlenko and Governor Ilja Mihalchuk approved further strengthening of cultural cooperation between the two twin-cities and the Barents counties of Finnmark and Arhangelsk. The introductory event to the project was the concert and the photo exhibition in Arhangelsk organized in April. Next step will be taken in June 2009 when Norwegian and Russian students of music colleges shall participate together in a solo-course and midnight concerts “Vardoe Nights”. The four students of Arhangelsk music college selected for the course by Anne-Lise Berntsen are happy to get the chance of tuition abroad under the guidance of a famous singer and expect much of the experience. In 2010 Arhangelsk Chamber Orchestra will take part in a tour under the title “The Darkness will Surrender for the Sun” in Arhangelsk, Petrozavodsk, Murmansk and Vardoe “ The core of this performance is the 14th Symphony by Shostakovich. This summer twin-cities Arhangelsk and Vardoe will celebrate the 20th anniversary of theirfriendship and mark this jubilee with exchange of delegations planned for June and July.
by Ludmila Istomina