Bjørn Morten Christophersen: Oak & Mayfly - Schola Cantorum, Tone Bianca Sparre Dahl

Oak and Mayfly, based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen, is about how time is experienced by an oak tree and by a mayfly. The oak has seen centuries come and go, and can expect to live far into the unforseeable future. The mayfly, on the other hand, lives its life in thousands of very short moments. The oak expresses sympathy with this fragile creature that is in such a hurry to live, but the mayfly answers: "Well, if you take the big view you don't live so long either." The following winter the oak dreams his final and most fantastic dream, in which it grows so high that it reaches heaven. Now that very night the oak is felled by a powerful storm. In Andersen's story this happens on Christmas night – a night that betokens a new era with the birth of Jesus. Bjørn Morten Christophersen composed Oak and Mayfly for Schola Cantorum's 50th jubilee in 2014. The choir has recorded music by Christophersen earlier, on its album Audiens (2009).

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