The Idea of North And The Sydney Chamber Choir Explore The Music of Bjork and Scandinavia
The Sydney Chamber Choir directed by Paul Stanhope presents Going Bjork, a concert in which they will be joined by ARIA Award-winning a cappella quartet The Idea of North to explore the music of Icelandic pop princess Bjørk, and Scandinavian composers both popular and classical, including The Real Group, Knut Nystedt, Jan Sandström and ABBA.
Also in the program is the premiere of a new work by Australian composer Dan Walker. Exploring the ethereal sound-world of Iceland’s Sigur Rós, this new work is scored for voices and bowed electric guitar.
A tribute to the rich vein of folk and a cappella singing of Scandinavian and Nordic countries, the concert
started as an idea over a BBQ, when Paul Stanhope and Naomi Crellin discussed their mutual love for this
area of music.
“I’ve been exploring the music of far Northern Europe for some time now with Sydney Chamber Choir,”
says Paul. “There is a wonderful tradition of singing in Scandinavian countries and places like Iceland
where they also have a wonderful pop music scene.”
“Naomi and I got talking about our mutual interest in music from Scandinavia and our enthusiasm for Björk’s Medulla album, which is made entirely from sounds derived from the human voice,” says Paul. “This was the germ of our idea and we began Going Björk on this!”
Naomi expands on the collaborations saying, “When Paul and I were co-salivating over our love of Scandinavian vocal music, the seed was planted to make this shared passion a musical reality for our groups. Paul introduced me to Björk’s a cappella album Medulla, which gives quite an intriguing twist to the theme. Her raw expression and willingness to step outside the musical box have lent a flavour to this collaboration,” says Naomi. “I doubt many Australian audiences have been exposed to music quite like this.It will stretch us artistically and lift the singers to a different sphere. I would happily perform this concert ten times over!”
The Idea of North and the Sydney Chamber Choir invite you to leave your preconceptions behind and join them on an epic musical adventure.
Tickets: From $35 ($25 conc)
Click here to book or call (02) 8256 2222
