FULL WITCH HUNT or When the Raven Black Turns White (Rehnquist) Longyearbyen 2018 Berit Norbakken Solset
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: WITCH HUNT or When the Raven Black Turns White or När korpen vitnar
- Composer: Rehnquist Karin
- Libretto: various
- Venue & Opera Company: Longyearbyen Kulturhus, Svalbard, Norway
- Recorded: February 16, 2018
- Type: Concert Live
- Singers: Berit Norbakken Solset
- Conductor: Tim Weiss
- Orchestra: The Arctic Philharmonic Sinfonietta
- Stage Director:
- Costume Designer:
Information about the Recording
- Published by: Arctic Philharmonic
- Date Published: 2023
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: nosubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
Rehnquist based her work “When the Raven Black Turns White” on the
Witch Trials in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries when people, usually women, were groundlessly sentenced to burning at the stake for sorcery, witchcraft and having dealings with Satan.
“Not until I had finished composing the piece did I find out that the nightmare text in the final movement was written by a contemporary Roma author, Rosa Taikon. This coincidental fact made the connection between incitement and persecution (witch trials) of individuals and peoples in our time painfully distinct and direct,” wrote the composer of her work. In the other work, Sun Song, the composer uses a traditional Swedish technique (no vibrato) originally used to call the cattle home. Combined with a more traditional use of the voice, the piece has strong contrasts and nuances in expression.