Helligaandskirken's new CD and songbook w/ songs from Night Church - "Pilgrim: Songs for Prayer and Travel"

Published in April: "Pilgrim - sange til andagt og vandring" by Mikkel Vale, Night Church pastor at Helligaandskirken on the Strøget inCopenhagen

Promotional video on YouTube with excerpts, footage from rehearsals

Review article by Rasmus Koppelhus, organist in Simeon's Church in Nørrebro, in Kirken i København (link here for the original Danish article and here for an English translation by Google. Says Koppelhus:

Think of a church that Helligaandskirken manages, within its own ranks, to embrace as wide as last year's releases from the church testifies. In the autumn of 2011 appeared "Psalm Tax," which was the result of Carina Wøhlk vicar and organist Hans Ole Thers' cooperation on the 30 new hymns. And now this pilgrim songbook made in cooperation with Church Foundation. Helligaandskirken are not just a parish church for them within the ramparts, but manages through fine publications that parts of creativity works out to all of us outside the ramparts. Thank you.

Koppelhus has this to say about the music:

The composer Mikkel Vale have even tried their hand at Taize genre, and the result may in particular be tested in the song "God is everywhere." The song shows in the finest manner Mikkel Vales understanding of Baroque affective learning (that is, how specific intervals or a melodic progression of thought that could express the exact feelings and moods). Thus, there is almost an octave difference between the words "heaven" (light-register) and "earth" (dark register). The text on top of that is written by an anonymous karmelitternonne, helps give the song a spiritual credibility.

Same formula, but without karmelitternonnen, apply by Mikkel Vales music to the Lord's Prayer. However, it all becomes a bit far-fetched, because the only dissonance that occurs, is present on the first syllable of the word "temptation". The idea is of course good, but perhaps a more economical use of affect doctrine would do well.

That word Google didn't have in its memory bank, karmelitternonnen, is probably the Danish word for a Carmelite nun.

"Pilgrim - sange til andagt og vandring" is a joint publication of Helligaandskirken and Kirkefondet (the Church Foundation) of Copenhagen. Details at www.kirkefondet.dk. The songbook costs DKR 200 and the CD costs DKR 150.