Iver Kleive and Knut Reiersrud in Nidaros Cathedral – finally! 

Iver Kleive and Knut Reiersrud have long dreamed about recording their music in Nidaros Cathedral. For four winter nights they set up camp in the west nave under the beautiful rose window, breathing in the ambience of the walls that have been the goal of pilgrims for centuries. It was here, in close contact with the most wonderful of everything on earth, that they created the music for their new album. 

“All our earlier albums have been recorded in Danish churches. Only a few churches in Norway have the same format as the grand Danish cathedrals, both when it comes to organs and acoustics. But Nidaros Cathedral is equal or better,” the dynamic duo of Kleive and Reiersrud claim.  

They breathed new life into hymns and Norwegian folk tunes more than 30 years ago, and now they have found new magical musical moments in the vast space in the church.  

Kleive and Reiersrud began their collaboration with the legendary album “Blå Koral” (Blue Coral) in 1991. They have explored the interaction between organ and guitar in a number of releases. They have mostly used the repertoire of hymns, often the treasure trove of folk songs, but also created new music.  

A total of four records have resulted: “Blå koral” (1991), “Himmelskip” (1996), “Nåde over nåde” (2006) and “Natt i desember” (2018). The Danish singer Povl Dissing has also performed on two albums in this series: “Den signede dag” (2000) and “Som den gyldne sol” (2013). 

The repertoire on “Vidunderligst av alt på jord” clearly reflects that it was recorded in this Norwegian national shrine. Its history reaches all the way back to Gregorian chants and the liturgy used in the celebration of Saint Olav, via Norwegian folk tunes to more recent national treasures such as Til Ungdommen. The musicians have also contributed with their own compositions on the album. 

Erik Hillestad has produced this album as he has done for all their earlier albums. Alf Christian Hvidsten has been the audio technician.