Christmas is a time for tradition and remembering the long lines of human history. Perhaps that is why the music of Christmas is often very old. Our familiar songs about the child in the manger, the shepherds in the fields and the wise men from the East often have roots going back more than 500 years in time, before Modernism, Romanticism, Classicism, yes even before the Baroque era. The oldest Christmas songs hail from a time when it was not so important to know who had composed the music. Thus we know little about how these songs came about.

Music from these long ago days also differs from the tonal language of our own time in that it does not insist on anything. It just is. And it lives to this day. Not only at Christmas. The old European musical heritage is cultivated and loved by dedicated performers in most countries in our part of the world. They play lute, triple harp, theorbe and other musical instruments that have long been out of fashion. One of these dedicated performers is Rolf Lislevand. A Norwegian national, he lives along the shores of Lake Garda in Italy, performing his music in Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain and Italy. Rolf is one of the most recognized lute players in Europe.  

Early music seeks to release the listener's co-creative imagination. When we let the music in, into our innermost reaches, it reminds us that each and every one of us is divine. This is the message the child in the manger wanted to tell us through his arrival. Perhaps this is why his birth has been answered by a myriad of wonderful songs from innumerable nameless composers throughout history.

Track list:

1. Mitt hjerte alltid vanker                                                                     4:16

2. Et barn er født i Betlehem
    Canon
    En rose er utsprunget
    La Spagna                                                                                          7:07

3. Ave Maris Stella
    Den fagreste rosa
    Canctus simus
    Gammel Mariavise                                                                             7:11

4. Jeg synger julekvad                                                                          4:18

5. O Sanctissima
    Ruggiero
    Allemande
    Ding dong merrily on high                                                                6:26

6. Folkefrelsar til oss kom                                                                    2:26

7. Twenty wars upon a bell
     Et lidet barn så lystelig                                                                    5:12

8. Å kom, å kom, Immanuel                                                                  2:32

9. Angels we have heard on high                                                                  
     Passamezzo                                                                                     3:04

10. No koma guds englar 
      Kling no klokka                                                                                4:17