Grex Vocalis (The Singing Band) is a Norwegian

chamber choir A chamber choir is a small or medium-sized choir of roughly 8 to 40 singers (occasionally called 'chamber singers'), typically singing classical or religious music in a concert setting. (This is distinct from e.g. a church choir, which sings in rel ...

, formed in 1971 by Carl Høgset. The repertoire spans from the renaissance to music by contemporary composers. The choir has been awarded the Norwegian

Spellemannprisen Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizat ...

prize (the Norwegian equivalent to a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

) for three of its thirteen albums (in 1977, 1983, and 2006) and has won first prizes in national and international contests ( Arezzo,

Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gori ...

, Tolosa and the

International Chamber Choir Competition Marktoberdorf The International Chamber Choir Competition Marktoberdorf is a competition for chamber choirs held every two years in Marktoberdorf, near Munich in southern Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country i ...

). In 1999 Grex Vocalis was awarded ''Il Gran Premio Città di Arezzo'' as the overall best choir in that year's contest. Grex Vocalis is primarily an a cappella

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

, comprising ca. 35 singers, but performs on occasion also with soloists and orchestras. They have toured extensively in Europe, and also given a series of concerts in Japan and Cuba.

History

Over the years Grex Vocalis has commissioned and premiered works by several Norwegian composers, including

Knut Nystedt Knut Nystedt (3 September 1915 – 8 December 2014) was a Norwegian orchestral and choral composer. Early life Nystedt was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway, and grew up in a Christian home where hymns and classical music were an important ...

Trond Kverno Trond Hans Farner Kverno (born 20 October 1945, in Oslo) is a contemporary Norwegian composer. He received degrees in church music, music theory and choir direction from the Norwegian Academy of Music The Norwegian Academy of Music (Norwegian: '' ...

and

Arne Nordheim Arne Nordheim (20 June 1931 – 5 June 2010) was a Norwegian composer. Nordheim received numerous awards for his compositions, and from 1982 lived in the Norwegian government's honorary residence, Grotten, next to the Royal Palace in Oslo. He ...

. In 1994 the choir took part in the stage production of

's monumental ''Draumkvedet'', which with the Norwegian Broadcasting Radio Orchestra and soloists was performed 40 times. They have also performed important baroque works like Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610, Handel's

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...

Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and ...

's '' In convertendo'' and ''Quam dilecta'', Charpentier's ''

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Ch ...

'',

Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...

's ''Te Deum'', Delalande's ''Te Deum'', etc., with orchestras and soloists. Collaboration projects with Oslo Cathedral Choir and the

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 187 ...

have led to performances of larger works like

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

's Requiem, Penderecki's St. Luke Passion and

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's ''Quattro Pezzi Sacri''. The first Norwegian recording of Handel's

was released in 1997 with Grex Vocalis and Oslo Baroque Orchestra. The choir's latest CDs, including "Magnum Mysterium" with Christmas music from several eras, "Crux" with Norwegian music from the 20th century, and "Liberté" with works by Francis Poulenc, have been particularly highly praised in the media, both at home and abroad. Grex Vocalis is frequently heard on Norwegian radio and has also appeared in various television programmes. In the acclaimed Gymnaslærer Pedersens beretning om den store politiske vekkelse som har hjemsøkt vårt land 2006 film based on

Dag Solstad Dag Solstad (born 16 July 1941) is a Norwegian novelist, short-story writer, and dramatist whose work has been translated into 20 languages. He has written nearly 30 books and is the only author to have received the Norwegian Literary Critic ...

's acclaimed Gymnaslærer Pedersens beretning om den store politiske vekkelse som har hjemsøkt vårt land 1982 novel, songs from the acclaimed ''Frihetens faner på ny'' CD were used. The conductor Carl Høgset held degrees in languages and musicology from the University of Oslo as well as in voice and choral conducting from the Norwegian State Academy of Music. In 1977 he made his debut as a countertenor in a solo recital in Oslo. His solo-CD recording with songs by Purcell, Handel, Grieg and Nordheim was released in 1995. He was a member of the vocal quartet Quattro Stagioni. In December 2007 he was awarded the ''Ridder av 1. klasse av Den Kongelige St. Olavs Orden'' for his wide-ranging contributions for Norwegian choral music, in Norway as well as internationally.

Discography

* Martin Romberg: ''Witch Mass'' - Lawo Music (LWM009) with Grex Vocalis, Det Norske Jentekor and Kammerkoret NOVA, 2015 * ''

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

CHORAL MUSIC'' (2L45, 2007) *

: ''Draumkvedet'' (double-CD, Simax Classics, 2006) * ''Magnum Mysterium'' (2L26, 2004) * Francis Poulenc: ''Liberté'' (Simax Classics, 2000) * ''CRUX'' (

(QCD, 2000) *

Händel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

: Messias (double-CD, QCD, 1997) *

Terje Rypdal Terje Rypdal (born 23 August 1947) is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. He has been an important member in the Norwegian jazz community, and has also given show concerts with guitarists Ronni Le Tekrø and Mads Eriksen as "N3". Career Rypda ...

: "Ineo for Choir and Chamber Orchestra" on '' Undisonus'' (ECM, 1990) * ''Norske stemninger'' (Norwegian moods) (Polygram, 2000) * ''Frihetens faner på ny'' (Banners of Freedom) (

Kirkelig Kulturverksted Kirkelig Kulturverksted (KKV) is a Norwegian company and record label, founded in 1974 by Erik Hillestad. Among the musicians who have issued records on the label are Ketil Bjørnstad, Kari Bremnes, Erik Bye, Ole Paus, Sigvart Dagsland, Bjørn E ...

, 1988) *

: ''Aurora'', ''Tres Lamentationes'', ''Klokkesong'' (Aurora AR, 1986) * Sigvald Tveit/

Eyvind Skeie Eyvind Skeie (born 5 November 1947) is a Norwegian priest and author.Eyvind Skeie
in

, 1984) * ''Renessanse for kor'' (

, 1983) * ''Contemporary Music from Norway'' (Phillips, 1980) * ''Norwegian Folksongs & European Madrigals'' (Arne Bendiksen, 1977)

Prizes and awards

* Winner of international choir competition organised by

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

, 1975 * Winner of international chamber choir competition in Arezzo, 1977 *

in the category ''classical and contemporary music'' for ''Norwegian Folksongs & European Madrigals'', 1977 * Winner of international chamber choir competition in

, 1982 *

in the category ''classical and contemporary music'' klassen for ''Renessanse for kor'', 1983 * Winner of international chamber choir competition in Tolosa, 1992 * Winner of international chamber choir competition in Marktoberdorf, 1993 * Winner of ''Il Gran Premio Cittá di Arezzo'' (the best choir, across categories) at the international choir competition in Arezzo, 1999 *

in the category ''classical and contemporary music'' for ''

: Draumkvedet'' (jointly with the Orchestra of the Norwegian Radio Broadcasting Corporation), 2006

External links

Grex Vocalis
*

The music label 2L

Høgset is awarded the Saint Olav
{{authority control Norwegian choirs Chamber choirs Spellemannprisen winners Musical groups established in 1971 1971 establishments in Norway Musical groups from Norway with local place of origin missing