Barokksolistene

Norway's Barokksolistene presents Baroque music in historically informed but novel ways, collaborating with a wide range of other artists. The group has contributed music to theatrical and film productions and accompanied opera. Barokksolistene (meaning "Baroque Soloists," but the Norwegian name is used even in anglophone contexts) was founded in 2005 by Baroque violinist Bjarte Eike, who remains artistic director and continues to perform with the group as of the early 2020s. Eike is a freelance violinist and Grieg Academy graduate known for novel projects such as a collaboration with jazz pianist Jon Balke and with the project Siwan that explores mutual influences among North African Arabic, Andalusian, and Baroque styles. In 2009, Barokksolistene contributed a key performance of Handel's aria "Lascia ch'io pianga" to the film Antichrist by director Lars von Trier. Signed to the BIS label, Barokksolistene released its debut album, London Calling, in 2012, featuring the music of Handel and his contemporaries. The Image of Melancholy followed two years later and began to cross genres, exploring the idea of melancholy in English Baroque, Scandinavian folk, and experimental traditions. The 2017 album The Alehouse Sessions, released on Rubicon Classics, moved Barokksolistene further in the direction of presenting Baroque music in unusual ways. Based on live performances in which traditional tunes and music by Purcell and others were performed in a pub-like setting, the album won Germany's Opus Klassik Award in 2018. The Alehouse Sessions garnered Barokksolistene international recognition as it toured with the music around continental Europe, the U.K. and Ireland, and the U.S., generating invitations to return with new projects. The orchestra, in its Alehouse Boys guise, appeared in 2019 as part of a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Barokksolistene appeared on Siwan's 2022 album Hafla, and that year, the group returned on Rubicon Classics with the album The Playhouse Sessions.
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