Und ich gab mein Herz

The celebrated Danish bass-baritone Jakob Bloch Jespersen, who also plays all the percussion instruments here, and the Danish-Spanish organist and composer Peter Navarro-Alonso spent ten years working on this album, which is a tribute to the organist Jens E. Christensen. Three contrasting song cycles by outstanding Danish composers explore this unique sound world. The late Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen is represented with his musical legacy, a series of transcriptions from his opera "Sun Rises, Sun Sets," which is based on the biblical Song of Solomon. The also late Bent Lorentzen, one of the key figures and pioneers of early Danish electronic music, explored themes of sensual and divine love in his song cycle "Erotic Hymns," at times reminiscent of a Nordic Messiaen. The concert ends with Nicolai Worsaaes' emotionally and sonically overwhelming theater piece for bass voice and organ, "A Shipwreck." This work deals with the themes of life, death, and resurrection and pushes the expressive possibilities of the magnificent organ of Vor Frelsers Kirke (Church of Our Saviour) in Copenhagen to the limit. The performance was captured with impressive immediacy by one of Denmark's most renowned sound engineers, Preben Iwan. Bass-baritone Jakob Bloch Jespersen is a sought-after concert and opera singer throughout Europe, and his repertoire ranges from Baroque to contemporary music, with a special focus on Dieterich Buxtehude and Johann Sebastian Bach. Organist and composer Peter Navarro-Alonso has given over 400 concerts in Europe and the USA, focusing on contemporary music and premiering around 100 commissioned works. Since 2021, he has been an organist at Our Saviour's Church in Copenhagen.