No Resting Place

Ars Nova Copenhagen presents in this Easter program a collection of works that explore the themes of sorrow and comfort – from the spiritual depths of the Renaissance to modern interpretations of liturgical texts. The program brings together voices from music across centuries, demonstrating how vocal music has always been inspired by the sombreness and hope of the Easter period.

The concert’s title and main work are drawn from the American composer Nico Muhly, whose No Resting Place is performed for the first time in Denmark. This significant work was written by one of today’s most sought-after – and, yes, to put it plainly, cool – composers, who has collaborated with Philip Glass, Björk, Sufjan Stevens, and Bryce Dessner, among others. No Resting Place draws inspiration from the Renaissance lamentations and combines them with modern testimonies from the Windrush generation – Caribbean immigrants who were invited to rebuild post-war Britain but later faced systemic racism and forced relocation. Through its moving music and text, the work explores the universal and contemporary struggle for identity and belonging.

Nico Muhly is accompanied by the American composer Caroline Shaw, one of today’s most renowned composers. Her work And the Swallow, based on Psalm 84, reflects on the longing for peace and hope. The Danish composer Vagn Holmboe, one of Denmark’s foremost vocal composers, adds a Nordic voice to the program with his raw and intensely dark Miserere.

From the Christian music tradition, we also hear William Byrd’s timeless Ave verum corpus – a simple, heartfelt prayer that has had a profound influence on all Western church music. In Ave verum corpus re-imagined, the British composer Roderick Williams interprets Byrd’s work in a modern and elegant tribute, assembling his favorite fragments from the original in a new and fascinating version.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, one of the most significant figures of the Renaissance, celebrates his 500th anniversary this year. His eight-voice Stabat Mater for double choir is an intense and moving depiction of Mary’s sorrow at the cross. Continuing the tradition, the Portuguese composer Manuel Cardoso follows in Palestrina’s footsteps with his Lamentationes, a meditative and touching version of Jeremiah’s Lamentations – likely performed here for the first time in modern times.

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