Award-Winning "Song of the Earth" Marks Rolf Gupta’s Return to Composition

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With Song of the Earth, composer and conductor Rolf Gupta returns to composition after 25 years marked by artistic self-censorship. The result was a work that received outstanding critical acclaim, was awarded the Norwegian Critics’ Prize, received the Norwegian Society of Composers’ prestigious “Work of the Year” award, and deeply moved audiences in performances in Oslo, Trondheim, and Kristiansand.

Song of the Earth is a monumental work for soloists, mixed choir, children’s choir, and orchestra. Across six movements, Gupta explores creation, destruction, hope, and reconciliation in a musical universe where Western classical music meets Indian musical traditions. The work unfolds from near-total silence and primordial sound to a concluding epilogue built around an extended C major sonority, opening a space for contemplation and peace.

The music emerges from Gupta’s desire to restore communication between the artwork and its audience. As early as 2007, he criticized developments within parts of contemporary music for having lost touch with the listener. In Song of the Earth, he unites intellect and emotion, complexity and immediacy, in a work that both challenges and profoundly affects its audience.

Critic and musicologist Erling Guldbrandsen described the work as “a musical masterpiece,” highlighting Gupta’s ability to bring together a wide range of musical, cultural, and philosophical traditions into a rare and compelling whole. The result is a work that embraces the great questions of humanity’s place in the world, the fragility of nature, and the hope for peace.

The libretto draws inspiration from sources including the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Book of Genesis, Friedrich Schiller, and Gustav Mahler. At the same time, the work is deeply rooted in the present day, reflecting on war, environmental crisis, and human coexistence.

Featured performers on the recording include the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir (Det Norske Solistkor), Solistkoret Ung, Oslo Cathedral Boys’ Choir, Trefoldighet Girls’ Choir, and the Children’s Chorus of the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, conducted by Peter Szilvay, with soloists Caroline Wettergreen, Julian Borchgrevink Næss, and Inga Lohne-Otterstad.

Song of the Earth is both an artistic vision and an existential reflection—a work that invites the listener on a journey from primordial darkness toward a hopeful light.

Composer: Rolf Gupta

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Peter Szilvay, conductor
Caroline Wettergreen, soprano
Julian Borchgrevink Næss, boy soprano
Inga Lohne-Otterstad, girl soprano

The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir, Solistkoret Ung and Oslo Cathedral Boys’ Choir
Grete Pedersen, artistic director
Julia Blank, chorus preparation

Trefoldighet Girls’ Choir and the Children’s Chorus of the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet
Edle Stray-Pedersen and David Maiwald, chorus preparation
Marianne Willumsen Lewis, boy soprano preparation