Kontakion for Bornholm was written in memory of the tragic events on and around the distant Danish island, Bornholm, at the end of WW2.

 

While the rest of Denmark celebrated its liberation, Bornholm was being bombed and invaded by the Russians, surrounded by blood-red seas.

 

This Cantata was performed by local people in 2006, and is scored for 3 soloists (Russian, Danish and German), choirs, oboe, organ and percussion. The lyrics comprise poems, newspaper articles and letters, and conclude with the fervently anti-war Norwegian poem "Kringsatt af fiender".  The Russian hymn for the dead - Kontakion - forms the central point of the cantata.

​

It has recently been translated and this is the first performance sung in English.