Henning Sommerro - Henning Sommerro // People of the Book

Henning Sommerro releases music inspired by the three largest Middle Eastern religions

Inspired by Henrik Wergeland, Henning Sommerro has put three compositions together on a new album he calls “People of the Book”.

Here he takes a musical look at the three largest Middle Eastern religions, as Wergeland did in his poem “De tre” [The three] from 1842. However, the recording does not build on Wergeland’s words, but rather on the words of representatives of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Sommerro wants to focus more on similarities than what separates the three traditions.

Like everyone else, Sommerro is appalled by what is now transpiring in the Middle East - Gaza, the West Bank and more. Negotiations, weapons, revenge, the absurdity that such a monumental human tragedy appears to be unstoppable. In the middle of all these horrors the three religions represent something that should be able to unite, but which the parties in the conflict often use to fuel the fire.

“My modest contribution is to look at similarities in what unites us,” Sommerro says. “In particular what unites us through music. Music is a limitless expression that opens for possibilities in a way that politics and polemics are often unable to do.”

The album opens with “People of the Book” which is also what gives the title to the whole. The seven movements address Judaism, which is the oldest of the three. The lyrics are from the time of Moses, imparted through the Spanish Middle Ages poet Judah Halevi up to our time’s German-Swedish poet Nelly Sachs. The Jewish festival in Trondheim commissioned the work (with no mandate), which was composed and debuted in 2022. Here we have Sverre Johan Aal on vocals, Ola Lindset on violin, Rick de Geyter on clarinet, Hans Petter Stangnes on trumpet, Mona Spigseth on piano, Marit Aspås on cello, Rolf Hoff Balterzen on double bass and Anders Kristiansen on percussion.

Then follows “Suite Sanctus Olavus” representing Christianity, four movements with musical material from Middle Ages Olav’s music. This work is based on the story of Saint Olav, who died in 1030. This is the oldest written music we have in Norway. The suite was written and first performed by the Trondheim Soloists in 2000, and this is also the ensemble on this recording, under the baton of Ola Lindset.

The last work on the album is “I’ve seen...” here representing Islam, the youngest of the three Middle Eastern religions. It was initially performed during Jericho’s 10000 years’ anniversary in 2009. The lyrics are from the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, who is well known in the Middle East and North Africa. The Trondheim soloists are also featured here, with Karim Essahli reciting in Arabic, Henning Sommerro and Kari Harneshaug on vocals and Kyrre Geithus Laastad on percussion.

Henning Sommerro:

“People of the Book”

KKV 2024