Live at Bragernes kirke in Drammen: Requiem by Torbjørn Dyrud

The piece is scored for choir, narrator, string trio, and wind trio, and was commissioned by Oslo Cathedral Choir and Bergen Cathedral Choir. Between the movements, texts describing near-death experiences will be read aloud. The work will be performed simultaneously in Oslo Cathedral and Bergen Cathedral, in addition to concerts at Hoff Church on November 14 and Bragernes Church on November 15. Composer and musician Torbjørn Dyrud lived with a serious cancer diagnosis for seven years. He passed away on July 19 this year, shortly after delivering the completed work to us. During his final years, he found great comfort in accounts of near-death experiences and other similarly incomprehensible phenomena. Torbjørn was a deeply optimistic person, and part of the intention behind this work was to encourage us, here on earth, to recognize more clearly that the world is in fact filled with light and love. Near-death experiences are stories and encounters that challenge our understanding of reality at a fundamental level. Many people who have had such experiences insist that who we truly are continues to exist even after the death of the physical body. In the void left by Torbjørn's passing, we return to the intention behind the work and read what Torbjørn himself wrote in a new light: "For me, as a church musician, this literature has opened up my spiritual life in a fundamental way. It seems increasingly credible that accounts of a more real reality, beyond time and space, a state in which unconditional love fills everything, are simply true. Something within me opens up when I read these personal narratives in the light of the Bible and other historical sources." Requiem lasts approximately 45 minutes. The concert will also feature three of Torbjørn's other well-known songs and hymns composed for choir. The total duration of the concert is approximately one hour.