Hanne Tofte Jespersen
Singer, pianist, organist. Composer
Member of DJBFA
My main instruments are my voice and the piano.
I compose for and perform with musicians and groups
within both classical and contemporary music.
I am dedicated to make the invisible world audible.
In autumn 2007 I formed Music for the Mysteries with that purpose. What has been handed down through the ages serves as marks of connections , bridging inner and outer - be it scripts, symbols, all sorts of signs of tales wowen into nature and culture.
As a composer I have over the later years been inspired by poems as well as handed down ancient scripts and scrolls of poetic nature. These include two compositions for poems by the English poet George Herbert (1593-1633) for mixed choir, violine, double bass, and organ. The first work was commisioned for a series of church concerts titled ”The Arch Maker” in 2005 which combined live music and projected images. The visual part were based on photos which I took in 2003 when for the first time visiting Glastonbury Abbey, with a number of slides focussing on the arches of the Lady Chapel.
I have ever since been captured by the beauty of the abbey ground. I revisited it in 2007 shortly after a successfull first performance in Denmark of a 24 minutes piece titled ”Vision of Enoch” (for 2 voices - mezzo soprano and alto - violine, double bass, piano and percussions) and a period of leave spent in Snowdonia, Wales during which I started a composition for the same set up of instruments titled ”The 7 Natures”, based on a short extract of the creation myth according to Enoch combined with an Arthurian text.
The lyrics for Vision of Enoch is an extract from an Essene scroll text titled The Essene Gospel of Peace.
Apart from music for Ensemble Music for the Mysteries, my later works include music for choir and mixed groups.
Other current performances
I also work in a trio as a singer and storyteller in concerts for children with Insektudsigten - that is " Weather forecast for insects" (!) which in 2004-07 has had 90 performances for children from 3-10 years. I have written the story in which a swarm of honey bees plays a major role.
The same trio created a 1 hour sacred concert in 2001 based on another portion of the above mentioned Essene Gospel of Peace:
The Sevenfold Peace.
