with translations by Bill Halverson –

The piece features texts based on poems from Norwegian poet Arne Garborg’s verse novel Haugtussa, in new English translations by Dr. William Halverson.

Dr. Halverson has also recently published his translation of the entire Garborg work, originally written in Nynorsk (“New Norwegian”), under the title Haugtussa: The Clairvoyant Mountain Maid.

Asked recently why he undertook this monumental task, he replied: “Most people familiar withHaugtussa know it from the Edvard Grieg song cycle, in which a young shepherdess named Veslemøy herds cattle and goats in the mountains, falls in love, is jilted by her lover, and is last seen weeping beside a mountain stream.

“But there is so much more to her story. The most important fact about Veslemøy is that she is clairvoyant. She is cursed with the ability to see things that other people cannot see, to know things that other people do not know, to converse with ghosts and goblins and trolls. She is tempted to use her unusual powers to wreak revenge on the woman who stole her lover, to lure him back to her—or, if all else fails, to escape the unrelenting pain of life in this world by becoming a troll herself.”

Melissa Holm-Johansen, soprano
Justin Anthony Spenner, baritone
TBD, mezzo-soprano
Bryon Wilson, piano
Carrie Vecchione, oboe
Rolf Erdahl, double bass