Sølvguttene | Kudsi Erguner: PERVANE

Imagine a swarm of blue butterflies soaring! Then imagine that they settle, each on its own white flower with yellow freshly combed stamens! They number 80, and without any Photoshop techniques or other digital processing they commence singing hymns praising life and the Lord. It's polyphonic, clean, ordered and beautifully accompanied by the east wind and migrating birds from the valleys of Anatolia. This is more or less the sound of the new CD by the Sølvguttene choir.

With Turkish flute legend Kudsi Erguner, Sølvguttene have created a bold musical bridge between Turkish traditional music and the Norwegian choir tradition. The CD is called "Pervane" – the Turkish word for butterfly. 

In this project Sølvguttene mix lyrics by Henrik Wergeland (19th-century Norwegian poet) and Hans Nielsen Hauge (19th-century Norwegian lay preacher) with Turkish Sufi poetry. Common values are anti-hierarchical religious practice and ecstatic existential poetry. This is found in both cultures, and is expressed by the followers of Rumi (who lived the last part of his life in Turkey) and by Wergeland and Hauge. The two very different Norwegian spiritual leaders may be the closest one comes to Sufism in Norwegian.

This cultural leap is to be found on the choir’s new CD "Pervane", which is being released in connection with the visit by the Norwegian King and Queen to Turkey 

in November. Sølvguttene will perform in Istanbul on 6 November in connection with the state visit.

On the record you will hear the legendary Turkish musician Kudsi Erguner playing ney (oriental flute), vocals by Bora Uymaz, Serkan Halili playing kanoon (oriental harp), Hamdi Akatay on percussion, Jo Fougner Skaansar on double bass and Andreas Utnem on grand piano.

The repertoire includes "Den prektigkledde sommerfugl" (The Pretty-Vested Butterfly), "Det første håndtrykk" (The First Handshake) and "De tre" (The Three) by Wergeland. Hans Nielsen Hauge is represented by the hymn "Jeg er hos Gud i nåde" (I am with God in Mercy), and from Turkey Kudsi Erguner has brought material comprising well-known and little-known Sufi poems, authored by the likes of Rumi and Yunus Emre.

Track list:

1. Pervane/ sommerfugl                                                                             1:12

2. Den prektigkledde sommerfugl                                                           5:00 

3. Høyere, dypere/ Gerdaniye Ilahi - Severim ben seni                          4:47

4. Jesus din søte forening å smake                                                         6:38

5. Gule Blomst/ Segah Ilahi - Sordum sari cicege                                  6:57 

6. De tre                                                                                                     4:52

7. Jeg ble til en sommerfugl/ Sem-i ruhuna                                            9:48

8. Jeg er hos Gud i nåde                                                                          7:40

9. Jeg er sliten/ Rast Ilahi - Beni Candan Usandirdi                              4:08

10. Det første håndtrykk                                                                          3:55

11. Med Jesus vil eg fara/ Ferahfeza Mevlevi Ayini (Salem-i salis)      4:40