About Currentes

Currentes was founded in 2006 by artistic director, Jostein Gundersen. The ensemble has performed in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Germany, 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 extensive collaborations with contemporary composers, most notably Eivind Buene, Alwynne Pritchard and Ruben Sverre Gjertsen.

Gundersen holds a PhD in artistic research and is associate professor for music performance at the Grieg Academy - Department of music, and Vice dean of research at the Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design, University of Bergen. He taught historical improvisation at Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy" in Leipzig from 2011 to 2022.

Our music

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 Amadeus´ May issue 2013, and runner-up to Medieval CD of the year atwww.medieval.org.

The second CD, "Altera Luce", was released in 2017andreceived very favourable reviews by Norwegian, German, American, and Spanish reviewers.

In November 2023, Currentes will record their third album, a medieval mass including improvisations and compositions in medieval styles by the ensemble members.

In January 2024 we will record "ARK", composed for Currentes by Alwynne Pritchard.