Ensemble Hermes: Arvo Pärt and Karmen Rõivassepp

This evening Ensemble Hermes invites the audience in to an atmospheric concert with music by Arvo Pärt and songs by Karmen Rõivassepp in new musical interpretations. Ensemble Hermes weaves the works together into a story about silence and sound, about tradition and renewal, about spiritual longing and modern identity. The concert is a repeat of the musicians’ first joint concert project, which took place in the autumn of 2025 and sold out at Musikhuset Aarhus two months in advance. With a wish to share the music with a larger audience, the team is now going on tour in April 2026. Arvo Pärt is a well-liked composer all over the world - and with good reason. He has created a unique musical universe characterised by silence, simplicity and purity of sound. Karmen Roivassepp is known as a singer and composer at the crossroads between modern jazz and Nordic sonic aesthetics. The two share not only their Estonian origins - Karmen’s compositions are marked by lyrical clarity, and there is a purity in her voice that makes the two kindred, even when the music expresses itself with rhythmic drive or through improvisation. The composer and pianist Christian Balvig has arranged Rõivassepp’s songs for the occasion. Hermes and Balvig have by now worked together in many contexts, not least in connection with our joint album FindAndYouWillSeek from 2026. We mirror ourselves in each other’s worlds and speak a shared, clear and honest musical language. Duration approx. 60 min.

• Karmen Rõivasseppsang