Thursday 2 February at 1930

This evening, the audience will experience a "double bill" of music from 17th-century England, where art music and popular songs and dances merged into each other in the pubs and bars of the time. (Photo: Knut Utler)

The evening's event is a new collaboration between the Edvard Grieg Vocal Ensemble and the Baroque Soloists under the direction of Bjarte Eike, with the British star soprano Mary Bevan as guest artist.

In the evening's first section - Purcell's Playground - we get a musical portrait of one of England's greatest composers of all time, Henry Purcell. His unique musical style captured the essence of the political dramas of the time and conveys the sharp, British humour, while setting texts by Shakespeare and other great writers to music. In this concert, the Baroque Soloists and the Edvard Grieg Vocal Ensemble interpret Purcell's rich catalogue, with elements from, among others, the operas Dido and Aeneas and The Fairy Queen , church musical works and secular songs and dances.

Afterwards we move to the tavern (this evening in the form of Grieghallen's foyer) where in the 17th century you could often find a small theater stage in the back room. When Oliver Cromwell closed England's theaters in 1642, the artists moved to the pubs, where the guests could experience fairly improvised performances consisting of acting, dancing and singing - preferably a good mix of art music and more popular elements. Even after the theaters reopened, these informal concerts were so popular that they continued, becoming an important source of both income for artists and the exchange and development of the music of the time.

Bjarte Eike, the Baroque Soloists and the Edvard Grieg Vocal Ensemble take us into a real 17th-century show - perhaps with a small glass in hand.

Bjarte Eike and the Barokxolistene have created a furore and garnered praise all over Europe and in the USA with The Alehouse Sessions and related productions.

The reviewer from London's The Spectator wrote after an Alehouse performance in London's legal quarter: “… you haven't lived until you've heard a hall full of pinstriped QCs bellowing like dockers …”

Both the CD recording The Alehouse Sessions (2017) and the sequel The Playhouse Sessions (released September 2022) have been received with glowing criticism by the Norwegian and international press. The Playhouse Sessions was recently 'Editor's Choice' in Gramophone Magazine and at the time of writing has received rave reviews in the UK, German and Dutch media.