About the ensemble Currentes

Currentes

Currentes was founded in 2006 by its artistic director, Jostein Gundersen. Since then, it has performed in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Czech Republic, France, Portugal and Italy. Currentes´ artistic goal is to explore and create new modes of expression. The ensemble specialises in polyphonic music from the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Their interest in new forms of expression has also led to collaborations with the composers Eivind Buene, Morten Eide Pedersen, Ruben S. Gjertsen and Alwynne Pritchard. Together with Gjertsen and Pritchard, Currentes was involved in the artistic research project "Wheels within Wheels" at the University of Bergen, the Grieg Academy - Department of music from 2015 to 2018. The project led to several concerts, with ample documentation and reflections published in the Nordic peer-reviewed journal VIS. Currentes' collaborations with composers continues in 2021, as the ensemble works with the Borealis to premiere works by four young composers.

The ensemble´s first CD, "Spinato intorno al cor", was released in January 2012 on LAWO Classics. It was selected one of the three best CDs of the month in the Italian magazine Ameadeus´ May issue 2013, and runner-up to Medieval CD of the year at www.medieval.org. The second CD, "Altera Luce", was released in 2017 ad received very favourable reviews by Norwegian, German, American, and Spanish reviewers. A third CD will be recorded in 2021.

Jostein Gundersen graduated in 2009 from the Norwegian Artistic Research Programme (equivalent to an academic PhD), as the first artist with historical music as speciality. Besides his concert activities, Jostein Gundersen is associate professor at the University of Bergen, Grieg Academy - Department of Music, and teaches historical improvisation at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy" in Leipzig.

Currentes receives ensemble support from Arts Council Norway and City of Bergen, and has through the years been generously funded by Fund for performing artists and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.