Membra Jesu nostri - St. Johannes kirke

Valen Vokalensemble and Nivalis Barokk perform Dieterich Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri, regarded as the first Lutheran oratorio, with professional singers and musicians playing historical instruments. Between the seven cantatas, Nils Henrik Asheim's Buxtehude Echoes is heard: seven sonic echoes that give the music space and room for meditation, allowing the 17th century to meet our own time.

Membra Jesu Nostri

Dieterich Buxtehude (1637–1707) was the organist of Marienkirche in Lübeck, where his famous Abendmusiken attracted musicians from all over Europe. The young Johann Sebastian Bach is said to have walked around 400 kilometers from Arnstadt to hear him play. In the cantata cycle Membra Jesu Nostri from 1680, dedicated to the Swedish court kapellmeister Gustaf Düben and carrying the subtitle Membra Jesu nostri patientis sanctissima, "the most holy limbs of our suffering Jesus," Buxtehude meditates on the body of the crucified Christ, part by part: feet, knees, hands, side, breast, heart, and face.

The texts weave together passages from the Old Testament, above all the Song of Songs, with verses from the medieval hymn cycle Salve mundi salutare, attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux. The music is both intense and meditative, marked by contrapuntal richness and emotional depth, a "sung devotion," as Buxtehude himself called the work.

Buxtehude Echoes

Between the cantatas, we hear Nils Henrik Asheim's Buxtehude Echoes, written in 2010 at the initiative of the early music ensemble Paulus Barokk, and premiered in Stavanger domkirke. The seven short movements are built on elements from the preceding cantata, transformed into new soundscapes. While Buxtehude's cantatas are narrative music, where the text is clothed in rhetorical phrases that propel the music forward, Asheim's echoes are image-creating. The music moves back and forth between elements that are mirrored and viewed from different angles, often in a deliberately sketch-like form. They suggest and propose, leaving it to the listener to draw the connections. The work emerged from a workshop process in which composer and ensemble explored ways of playing historical instruments together.

Nivalis Barokk

Nivalis Barokk is a Norwegian early music ensemble established in 2012, consisting of professional performers who all have specialized training in historically informed performance practice. The ensemble performs both old and new music on historical instruments and maintains a high level of activity through its own concert productions, collaborative projects, courses, and engagements throughout Norway. The artistic directors are Guro Evensen, Laima Olsson, and Erik Dippenaar. In 2025, Nivalis Barokk released the complete cycle Membra Jesu Nostri / Buxtehude Echoes as a recording together with Nordic Voices.

Valen Vokalensemble

Valen Vokalensemble was established in 2019 and consists of professional singers living in Rogaland, from Tysvær in the north to Egersund in the south. The ensemble is based at Stavanger konserthus and works closely with Stavanger symfoniorkester. The eight permanent singers have experience from ensembles such as Det Norske Solistkor, Kilden vokalensemble, Trondheim vokalensemble, Den Norske Operas kor, Nordic Voices, Tabula Rasa, and Trio Mediæval, and the lineup is expanded on a project basis according to the needs of the repertoire.

The ensemble's name honors the composer Fartein Valen (1887–1952), born in Stavanger and regarded as one of Norway's greatest composers of the twentieth century. The ensemble has performed at Festspillene i Bergen and Stavanger kammermusikkfestival and has established itself as an important part of the region's cultural infrastructure.

The artistic director is Oddgeir Kjetilstad, cathedral cantor at Stavanger domkirke from 2011 to 2023. He trained as a singer at Universitetet i Stavanger and holds a master's degree in conducting and church music from Norges musikkhøgskole. He was also a permanent singer in Det norske solistkor for six years. From 2025, he serves as acting cathedral cantor at Oslo domkirke and is artistic director of Oslo domkor and Norges Ungdomskor.

Nils Henrik Asheim

Buxtehude Echoes was composed by Nils Henrik Asheim, resident organist at Stavanger konserthus and one of Norway's leading contemporary composers. Asheim is a two-time Spellemann Award winner, has received commissions from the Olympic Games and the Royal Household, and is known for bringing new perspectives to classical music.