And I gave my heart Jakob Bloch Jespersen & Peter Navarro-Alonso

• Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen (1932 - 2016): I:
• 1 Gudmundsen-Holmgreen: I: Bah! Vanity… 04:01
• II:
• 2 Gudmundsen-Holmgreen: II: And I gave my heart… 04:23
• III:
• 3 Gudmundsen-Holmgreen: III: It is a grievous evil… 02:07
• IV:
• 4 Gudmundsen-Holmgreen: IV: And I gave my heart… 05:00
• V:
• 5 Gudmundsen-Holmgreen: V: Madness and folly! 01:43
• VI:
• 6 Gudmundsen-Holmgreen: VI: Great were my deeds… 04:32
• VII:
• 7 Gudmundsen-Holmgreen: VII: Then I looked upon all I had done… 03:41
• Bent Lorentzen (b. 1987): To meet you, my sweet treasure:
• 8 Lorentzen: To meet you, my sweet treasure 02:28
• You abyss of terror, which threatens us:
• 9 Lorentzen: You abyss of terror, which threatens us 03:03
• And when your strong voice one day:
• 10 Lorentzen: And when your strong voice one day 02:20
• My fine treasure:
• 11 Lorentzen: My fine treasure 01:56
• Jesus, sweet rose-cheeks:
• 12 Lorentzen: Jesus, sweet rose-cheeks 04:34
• My breath, so close:
• 13 Lorentzen: My breath, so close 03:17
• How shall I meet you:
• 14 Lorentzen: How shall I meet you 03:10
• So, so, my dear:
• 15 Lorentzen: So, so, my dear 01:58
• I lie at Jesus’ breast so close:
• 16 Lorentzen: I lie at Jesus’ breast so close 03:05
• Nicolai Worsaae (b. 1980): Faith:
• 17 Worsaae: Faith 02:28
• Passacaglia:
• 18 Worsaae: Passacaglia 02:29
• The Lightning:
• 19 Worsaae: The Lightning 02:15
• Recitativo:
• 20 Worsaae: Recitativo 03:04
• The Night’s Funeral Procession:
• 21 Worsaae: The Night’s Funeral Procession 04:20
• Revelation:
• 22 Worsaae: Revelation 02:12
• The Waves:
• 23 Worsaae: The Waves 05:40
• Total Runtime 01:13:46

Info for And I gave my heart

It is a great pleasure that OUR Recordings is releasing this exceptional album that has been on its way for 10 years. It is a tribute to organist Jens E. Christensen.

When one imagines the sound of a magisterial bass voice accompanied by a pipe organ, one cannot help but imagine a glorious Vox Dei proclaiming eternal truths from the numinous beyond. In this extraordinary recital by Danish-Spanish organist and composer and acclaimed Danish bass-baritone Jakob Bloch Jespersen, however, Eros and Agape are twined and intertwined.

Three profoundly contrasting song cycles by outstanding Danish composers explore this unique sound world. The late Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen is represented by what may well be his musical Last Will and Testament: a set of transcriptions from his opera Sun Rises, Sun Sets, based on the biblical Song of Solomon. The late Bent Lorentzen, one of the key figures and pioneers of early Danish electronic music, explored themes of love, sensual and divine, in a manner at times reminiscent of a Nordic Messiaen in his song cycle Erotic Hymns.

The recital concludes with Nicolai Worsaae’s emotionally and sonically devastating theatre piece for bass voice and organ, A Shipwreck. This work explores themes of life, death, and resurrection, pushing the magnificent organ at Our Saviour’s Church (Vor Frelsers Kirke), Copenhagen, to its expressive limits. The performance is captured with striking immediacy by one of Denmark’s most celebrated recording engineers, Preben Iwan.

A MUST-HEAR for vocal and organ aficionados!

Bass-baritone Jakob Bloch Jespersen trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, debuting in 2002 at the Royal Danish Theatre. A highly sought-after concert and opera singer across Europe, his repertoire spans Baroque to contemporary music, with a special focus on Buxtehude and Bach.

He is an award-winning artist and an active lecturer at leading Danish music academies. On this album Jacob is playing all the percussion while singing-Danish-Spanish organist and composer Peter Navarro-Alonso studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid.

He has given over 400 recitals across Europe and the US, focusing on contemporary music and premiering around 100 commissioned works. Since 2021, he has served as organist at Our Saviour’s Church in Copenhagen.

Jakob Bloch Jespersen, bass-baritone
Peter Navarro-Alonso, organ

Jakob Bloch Jespersen
acquired his initial musical education and interest in singing as a member of the Copenhagen Boy’s Choir. This led to his earning a diploma from the Royal Danish Academy of Music and to further studies at the Opera Academy of the Royal Danish Theatre.

In 2013, Jakob Bloch Jespersen was awarded the Music Reviewers’ Artist Prize, in 2014 the Aksel Schiøtz Prize, and in 2020 the Music Price of the Danish Composers’ society.

Jakob Bloch Jespersen made his stage debut at the Royal Danish Theatre in 2006, where he has subsequently taken part in among others Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen and Light – Bach Dances with Concerto Copenhagen, under the leadership of Lars Ulrik Mortensen. Worth mentioning is also his role as Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Norwegian National Opera, Basilio in Rossini’s The Barber in Seville, Pistola in Verdi’s Falstaff as well as a large number of roles in contemporary music theatre and opera.

As a concert singer, Jakob Bloch Jespersen is in demand throughout Europe, with a repertoire ranging from the 17th to the 21st century. He has especially concentrated on German Baroque music in collaboration with such ensembles as Concerto Copenhagen, Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht, Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lautten Compagney, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Australian Brandenburg Orchestra with conductors such as Stephen Layton, Johannes Leertouwer, Andrea Marcon, Olof Boman, Paul Hillier, Andrew Lawrence-King, and Lars Ulrik Mortensen.

In the contemporary repertoire, Jakob Bloch Jespersen has taken part in numerous world premiers in collaboration with ensembles such as Theatre of Voices Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, Figura Ensemble, Scenatet, and London Sinfonietta.

Amongst his extensive discography are Kurt Weill’s Berliner Requiem on the label Glossa, the Grammy Award and Pulizer Prize-winning Little Match Girl Passion by David Lang with Theatre of Voices on Harmonia Mundi, and several recordings on the Danish label Dacapo, including Poul Schierbecks opera Fête Galante with Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, DVD-recording of Carl Nielsen’s Maskarade, the part of Christus in the three passions of Heinrich Schütz with Ars Nova Copenhagen and Paul Hillier, numerous recordings of early German baroque cantatas with both Theatre of Voices and Concerto Copenhagen, and not least own productions of Sacred Songbooks of the 17th and 18th century Danish hymnists Thomas Kingo and Hans Adolf Brorson.

Since 2023 Jakob Bloch Jespersen has been teaching singing at the Danish National Academy of Music (SDMK) in Odense.

Peter Navarro-Alonso
The compositional focal point for Navarro-Alonso has always been the dramatic and narrative, along with a deep fascination with sound. His works repeatedly delve into the anatomy of timbre, turning it inside out, smashing it, and devouring it from within. Through his compositions, he explores the human mind while striving to understand why the phenomenon of hope exists at all.

Navarro-Alonso has composed vocal music, chamber and orchestral works, two operas, as well as a number of pieces investigating the relationship between electroacoustic and acoustic instruments. He has been nominated for the Nordic Council Music Prize and the Danish Music Awards (four times), has received awards from the Danish Arts Foundation, and in 2023 was granted Denmark’s most restigious national music prize, the Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Honorary Award.

Booklet for And I gave my heart