Songs from the Book of Qohelet

“Everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” – the Teacher, Ecclesiastes

Musician and theologian Jo Hegle Sjøflot, unites his two fields of study in projects combining classical music, early music, jazz, and folk music with religious texts from all of the world religions. The result is new and exciting musical and cultural encounters. Together with Qohelet Ensemble, Sjøholt presents the work Songs from the Book of Qohelet. Sjøflot has made music for parts of the Hebrew original text of Ecclesiastes from the Old Testament (Hebr. Qohelet), and he himself sings in Hebrew. The grief and beauty of Qohelet’s poetry made Sjøflot think about singing to a child going to sleep. A lullaby about how everything ends; a gentle and friendly reminder of the anxiety that can seize us all when encountering life’s fleetingness and eternity. At the concert, his new work Psalmi et Genesis will also be performed, which explores the story of creation from Genesis and combines this with selected Psalms of David.