Kim Andre Arnesen is one of Norway’s most frequently performed contemporary composers. International recognition of his music includes a performance of the beautifully evocative Cradle Hymn at the White House for Barack Obama in 2016. Arnesen’s association with Denver’s Kantorei resulted in their commissioning the warmly expressive ‘The gift I’ll leave you’ and the eloquent ‘Making or Breaking.’ ‘Even when He Is Silent’ sets a text written by a prisoner on a concentration camp wall, and Arnesen’s own summing-up of ‘Flight Song’ is that “music making is the song of new life, fragile as the fall of a feather.” All of these songs are available on Infinity: Choral Works.

Track Listing

1. Even When He Is Silent (6:21)
2. Flight Song (4:22)
3. O Sacrum Convivium (5:54)
4. Child of Song (4:51)
5. The Gift I’ll Leave You (5:48)
6. Dormi Jesu (5:16)
7. Making or Breaking (4:39)
8. Cradle Hymn (6:19)
9. The Lamb (5:36)
10. Pie Jesu (4:15)
11. Infinity (7:40)
12. There We Shall Rest (5:31)

Total 66:00
Released 2018

About The Making of Infinity

The project was funded in part by Kantorei’s “30/30/30” campaign, a crowdfunding initiative which created a seed fund for the project. The Arnesen project is Kantorei’s first professionally-produced recording.

The project was recorded by Grammy-award-winning producer Blanton Alspaugh and engineer John Newton, both  of Soundmirror. Says Alspaugh, “Joel Rinsema and Kantorei sang a challenging program of new music with insight and style. It was a rewarding collaboration for all of us.”

Kantorei’s Artistic Director, Joel Rinsema, says that  “Kantorei is honored to release its first professional recording with Naxos. As the world’s leading classical music label, Naxos’ commitment to providing the best possible access to recorded classical music in the world, provides Kantorei the opportunity to expand its artistic reach to a global audience.  As a rising star in the choral world, Kim André Arnesen composes music that is heartfelt and filled with artistic and emotional integrity. Audiences around the world will be moved by our performances of his fresh and unique writing.”

What people are saying

“What finer advocates for his music could a composer have than these excellent singers of Kantorei?”
– David Vernier, Classics Today, April 2018

“…This is an impressive ensemble, always precise and always well-blended.”

– Raymond Tuttle, Fanfare Magazine, July 2018

“Maestro Rinsema’s Kantorei sound gorgeous here.”
Philip Greenfield, American Record Guide, July 2018