The work is a large-scale symphonic piece divided in three movements, I. Fantasia, II. Canzona, III. Sonata.

The first movement, Fantasia, is rhapsodic in character. The cellist is accompanied by intricately woven orchestral textures. Occasionally the soloist is commented by large outbursts from a tutti orchestra. Towards the end of the first movement there is a ‘solo’ cadenza accompanied by percussion, timpani and harp, which serves as an airy chamber music element in the symphonic setting.
The second movement, Canzona, is a calm song in ternary form. It has a unifying effect on the work as a whole and contrasts the two more diverse outer sections.
The third movement, Sonata, is a rapid, quite stringent scherzo-like movement superseded by calm and peaceful sections. Before the coda, it culminates in a large tutti orchestra section which underlines the symphonic character of the piece.

A main focus in the work is the play between the orchestra and the soloist which merge and divide in different ways throughout the piece, the singular versus the diverse in a dialectic story. The cello presents singing, lyric phrases, contrasted by technically demanding sections which to some extent have a more transcendental role through their inherent complexity. The classical tradition is present throughout the work, particularly in the formal structure of the work.

The work was first composed and completed in 2014, but went later through a major revision finished in 2022. The second movement has been added, and the last movement has been replaced by a new movement.

The Cello Concerto was commissioned by the Norwegian cellist Audun Sandvik.
The work had its world premiere with cellist Audun Sandvik and Norwegian Radio Orchestra in April 2024. It was released on LAWO Classics in November 2024 together with a Piano Concerto.

The work Concordia Discors, Etudes for Solo Piano are concentrated and highly condensed character pieces where each etude focuses and cultivates one particular texture or character. Elaborate superimposed linear movements which form complex nets of lines are vital. Different rows of notes are carefully worked out and put together, forming symmetry and asymmetry in a multitude of musical events. The music is often controlled by rigid frames, tight boundaries which the music at some stages escapes from.
The doctrine of concordia discors (discordant harmony) – the idea that the numerous conflicts between the four elements in nature (air, earth, fire and water) paradoxically create an overall harmony in the world – stems from the Greek philosophers Pythagoras, Heraclitus and Empedocles. The notion was picked up in the Renaissance, and a composer like Bach for instance was influenced by this concept by using extended polyphony as a symbol of Gods presence in the world (Bach has a small two voiced Canon called Concordia Discors, BWV 1086).
Tension and resolution, strict control and dissolution, extremes and contrasts are important principles in the etudes.

The work Concordia Discors, Etudes for Solo Piano are concentrated and highly condensed character pieces where each etude focuses and cultivates one particular texture or character. Elaborate superimposed linear movements which form complex nets of lines are vital. Different rows of notes are carefully worked out and put together, forming symmetry and asymmetry in a multitude of musical events. The music is often controlled by rigid frames, tight boundaries which the music at some stages escapes from.
The doctrine of concordia discors (discordant harmony) – the idea that the numerous conflicts between the four elements in nature (air, earth, fire and water) paradoxically create an overall harmony in the world – stems from the Greek philosophers Pythagoras, Heraclitus and Empedocles. The notion was picked up in the Renaissance, and a composer like Bach for instance was influenced by this concept by using extended polyphony as a symbol of Gods presence in the world (Bach has a small two voiced Canon called Concordia Discors, BWV 1086).
Tension and resolution, strict control and dissolution, extremes and contrasts are important principles in the etudes.
The first performance took place under the World Music Days (ISCM festival) and the Transit Festival in Belgium in October 2012 with the pianist Ian Pace.

The work Concordia Discors, Etudes for Solo Piano are concentrated and highly condensed character pieces where each etude focuses and cultivates one particular texture or character. Elaborate superimposed linear movements which form complex nets of lines are vital. Different rows of notes are carefully worked out and put together, forming symmetry and asymmetry in a multitude of musical events. The music is often controlled by rigid frames, tight boundaries which the music at some stages escapes from.
The doctrine of concordia discors (discordant harmony) – the idea that the numerous conflicts between the four elements in nature (air, earth, fire and water) paradoxically create an overall harmony in the world – stems from the Greek philosophers Pythagoras, Heraclitus and Empedocles. The notion was picked up in the Renaissance, and a composer like Bach for instance was influenced by this concept by using extended polyphony as a symbol of Gods presence in the world (Bach has a small two voiced Canon called Concordia Discors, BWV 1086).
Tension and resolution, strict control and dissolution, extremes and contrasts are important principles in the etudes.

The work Concordia Discors, Etudes for Solo Piano are concentrated and highly condensed character pieces where each etude focuses and cultivates one particular texture or character. Elaborate superimposed linear movements which form complex nets of lines are vital. Different rows of notes are carefully worked out and put together, forming symmetry and asymmetry in a multitude of musical events. The music is often controlled by rigid frames, tight boundaries which the music at some stages escapes from.
The doctrine of concordia discors (discordant harmony) – the idea that the numerous conflicts between the four elements in nature (air, earth, fire and water) paradoxically create an overall harmony in the world – stems from the Greek philosophers Pythagoras, Heraclitus and Empedocles. The notion was picked up in the Renaissance, and a composer like Bach for instance was influenced by this concept by using extended polyphony as a symbol of Gods presence in the world (Bach has a small two voiced Canon called Concordia Discors, BWV 1086).
Tension and resolution, strict control and dissolution, extremes and contrasts are important principles in the etudes.

“Danksagung an den Bach” for soprano and ensemble was written in 2004. The piece is a personal reading of a lied by Schubert with the same title from the song cycle “Die schöne Müllerin”. The soprano performs the whole song as in the original with the same text and the same pitches, but stretched and compressed. The orchestra accompanies the soprano, comments on it, and in fact changes the lied completely so that a new piece arises.
The historic and iconic music of Schubert is treated as vague memories of a time that once was. But the borrowed melodic lines are still poignant and vibrant in their strength. The soprano is the controlling element that keeps the music together. In the end the soprano stops singing and the piece crumbles away, there are merely fragments left of melody and tonality.
The piece was first performed by the Ensemble UNKO in Helsinki during the UNM Festival in 2005.

‘Den annen sang’ (‘The second Song’, in English) is a syclic work for Alto soloist and 9 part string orchestra. The text used in the work, ‘Herre Gud ditt dyre navn og ære’ (‘Mighty Lord, to thy dear name be given’, in English), is a poem by the Norwegian poet and priest Petter Dass (1647-1707), published in 1715 after his death. It is written to the second prayer in Lord’s prayer (…hallowed be your name), hence the title ‘The second Song’.

This poem has had a central role in Scandinavian culture. In Norway, it is the first psalm in the official psalm book used in public churches, a fact which indeed shows the poem’s prominent position in Norwegian culture.

In the poem the whole Creation salutes God: the whale and the fish in the sea, dry bones and stones, even the unborn child in mother’s womb exalts God. In the second half of the poem, Man is encouraged to live a virtuous life according to christian moral standards. The poem is in many ways a product of its time. In it we find both doomsday and Lutheran virtue ethics, which may seem quite irrelevant to most of us today. In spite of this, it was the poem’s important position in Norwegian culture, alongside a beautiful linguistic musicality, and powerful literary imagery which were decisive factors for putting the text to music. At the same time the text focuses on Man’s contact with nature and the elements, and in particular with all life in the sea. Additionally, it is more or less as if the whole Creation and all life forms are referred to on equal terms in an existential symbioses – almost as a holistic vision – a quite modern feature of the text, now in a time of environmental protection and ecology.

In Vogt’s work there are three different Norwegian folk songs, which traditionally have been used to sing this poem. The composition is formed as a variation work. All sixteen strophes are presented chronologically with occasional intermezzi in the ensemble. The folk music element is emphasized through elaborate ornamentation in the solo part. The soloist may be a folk singer, just as well as a classically trained singer.

The work was commissioned by conductor Lars-Erik ter Jung, and had its world premiere with the TerJung Ensemble during the ULTIMA Festival in Oslo in September 2020. It is recorded by them and published by the label FABRA, and is available on all streaming platforms.

“Die liebe Farbe” for cello and piano was written in 2005. Material is derived from the song with the same title by Schubert, from “Die schöne Müllerin”. Schubert is stretched and veiled and appears as a vague and melancholy reminiscence of history.
The work was first performed at the UNM festival in Copenhagen in 2006, and was selected for the World New Music Days (ISCM Festival) in Sydney 2010.

”Escher Triptych” is written to the Norwegian trio POING.
The work is divided in three parts, all based on a polyphony of lines, which creates a web of melodies in different densities. Linear movements and scales are superimposed, stretched and compressed. Ending, starting and meeting points are vital in the piece. Lines end, start, start again, are intertwined, and new lines are formed by the combination of different lines etc. The combination of horizontal events creates vertical formations, to such an extent that the vertical and the horizontal become two aspects of the same.
The title refers to the Dutch artist M.C. Escher and his twisted, but yet organic, perspectives and views on the world.

The work was first performed at Ultima Festival 2015 with Frevo Guitar Duo

Verket Firmamentum infinitum for messingkvintett og orgel er i tre deler – _Preludium – Toccata e
Corale – Kyrie_. Verket ble påbegynt i dagene rett før Russlands invasjon av Ukraina og fullført i juni.
Disse gruoppvekkende hendelsene har funnet sin vei inn i musikken.
Verkets tittel kan oversettes med ‘uendelig hvelving’ (‘hvelving’ som i et ‘kirkerom’ eller
‘himmelhvelvet’). Tittelen symboliserer en idé om et åndelig rom som kan tjene til håp og lengsler om
en lysere fremtid, på én måte en beskyttende hvelving, men samtidig åpnende både i tid og rom ut
mot evigheten.
I verket forekommer en ukrainsk Kyrie eleison (norsk salmebok 976.4) som en firstemt koral. Verket
avsluttes med en langtrukken Kyrie-sats basert på en ukrainsk monodi fra 1400-tallet. De to Kyriene er
kontrastert av periodevis mer utadvendte og kraftfulle partier. Sannheten og det gode skal og må
seire til slutt.
Verket er bestilt av NyNorsk Messingkvintett til Oslo Orgelfestival.

‘Graves Songs’ er skrevet over tre dikt av den engelske poeten Robert Graves (1895-1985).
Diktene hans spenner vidt, alt fra kjærlighetsdikt til dikt om det å leve med og i krig. Graves kjempet selv i skyttergravene i første verdenskrig, og ble ved slaget ved Somme i 1916 så hardt skadet av en granatsplint gjennom lungen at han faktisk ble erklært død.
Diktene skrevet under krigen er tidvis preget av vare og drømmeaktige stemningsbilder.

De to yttersatsene er basert på dikt fra 1. verdenskrig, mens diktet i mellomsatsen ble skrevet langt senere.
1. Cherry-Time (1918) er et krigsdikt om død, med en eventyraktig parallell virkelighet som bakteppe. 3. The Voice of Beauty drowned (1918) handler om den enslige lille sangfuglen i skogen som blir overdøvet av de andre fuglene som lager spetakkel. Diktet kan tolkes som en lengsel etter ro, og det enkle og vakre, samtidig som det saktens kan være sprunget ut av faktiske opplevelser av fuglesang i skogen midt oppe i krigsmarerittet. Kjærlighetsdiktet, 2. Counting the Beats, er plassert i midten av verket og balanserer og kontrasterer de to andre. Diktet karakteriseres av uro, men med en undrende filosofisk vinkling.

‘Graves Songs’ ble urfremført av Lydia Hoen Tjore og Telemark Kammerorkester i november 2023.

The title Kazbek is taken from the mountain with the same name in the Caucasus mountain range in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. A trip there in 2000 made an immense impression on Vogt, the majestic nature shifts from barren to colourful, from hard and stubborn to soft and luxuriant.
(We were hiring a room in the house of a war invalid from the battle of Stalingrad during World War II and his wife in the remote mountainous village of Kazbek just south of the Russian border. The setting and environment is fascinating, with the ongoing conflict between the two countries, and the road through the village being the only physical connection between them.)
The piece is based on different statements that are placed together as in a kind of collage. The statements are solid, almost fixed elements, which form a strong and rigorous landscape, contrasted with subtle and poetic passages.
The piece was first performed by Norwegian Radio Orchestra conducted by Per Kristian Skalstad in 2002.

Laudato si (english title ‘Praise Be to You’) is a musical rendering of a poem by Francis of Assisi from about 1225. The poem is a quiet and gentle text which praises God through his creations and all the beauty in nature and all that surrounds us. In the end Francis even exalts God through the bodily death as a natural part of existence, alongside the life affirming atmosphere in the rest of the poem.

In 2018 Vogt wrote an orchestra piece, Solsangen (Canticle of the Sun, Eng.), to the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra which took this poem as a starting point. In the orchestra work Vogt focused on a life affirming rejoicing and exultation contrasted by the sober elements in the poem, which resulted in a work full of extremities from the loudest tutti orchestra passages to the softest and most transparent soundscapes.
In the chamber work with Alto soloist on the other hand, Vogt wanted to focus on the more quiet atmosphere, and the repetitive structure in the poem formed as a prayer. The music is governed by beauty, wonder, and awe in a fragile setting.
The text used in the work is the English translation given by the Franciscan Friars Third Order Regular.
The work was written to Bragernes Barokk, who has recorded it for LAWO Classics.

The title of the work, Light Shall Shine Out of Darkness, is taken from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians in the translation of the New American Standard Bible (2 Corinthians, chapter 4): ‘For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.’ The light metaphor is used by Paul to describe Jesus as the light of the world, while at the same time alluding to the creation of the Earth in Genesis (‘Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.’). Regarded in the light (!) of today’s scientific understanding of the beginning of the universe with the Big Bang, the title represents moreover a poetic image of the origin of the world from nothing. All matter, all light, all life, all thoughts and ideas, everything, originated in absolute emptiness.

The work is divided into five parts.

Part 1, The Kingdom Is Within You, and It Is Outside You, takes its title from the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas (saying 3). A possible version of this quotation of Jesus is found in the canonical gospels. Indeed we have two different translations of Luke 17:21 with somewhat different meanings: ‘… for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.’ (King James Bible/New King James Version); and the alternative translation: ‘… because the kingdom of God is in your midst.’ (New International Version). The variant saying in the Gospel of Thomas can be interpreted as offering deeper insight: It is through getting to know oneself that one is able to see the beauty of the world and become fully human. ‘When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will know that it is you who are the sons of the living Father.’ (Gospel of Thomas, saying 3) The movement is laid out as contemplative, inner-directed music.

Part 2, I Am the Light of the World, takes its title from the Gospel of John: ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ (John 8:12, English Standard Version) The antithesis light/darkness in the Gospel of John is, for that matter, compatible with the Essenes’ use of the concepts, whereby light is a symbol for truth and goodness, while darkness represents deceit and malice. The Essenes were a Jewish sect in Judea before, during and after Jesus’s time (cf. the Dead Sea Scrolls). A possible connection between the Essenes, John the Baptist and Jesus has been brought up in a number of different contexts. This is a powerful and luminous movement with fiery crescendos and diminuendos, punctuated in a middle section by tranquil tonal textures.

The title of part 3 has two parts: See the Saviour’s outstretched Hands; And He Took the Children in His Arms. The first quotation is taken from Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, where Jesus is hanging on the cross, an alto aria with choir (text by Christian Friedrich Henrici [Picander]):

Sehet, Jesus hat die Hand,
Uns zu fassen, ausgespannt,
Kommt! – Wohin? – in Jesu Armen
Sucht Erlösung, nehmt Erbarmen,
Suchet! – Wo? – in Jesu Armen.
Lebet, sterbet, ruhet hier,
Ihr verlass’nen Küchlein ihr,
Bleibet – Wo? – in Jesu Armen.

The movement’s second title is taken from the Gospel of Mark (Mark 10: 15-16): ‘Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.’ (English Standard Version) This movement is placed in the middle of the work, as a symbol of the cross, as the cross is in itself a symbol of Jesus’s outstretched arms. The movement is a lullaby.

Part 4, You Are the Light of the World, takes its title from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 5:14), where Jesus refers to His disciples as the light of the world. There is a similar utterance in the Gospel of Thomas: ‘There is light within a man of light, and he lights up the whole world. If he does not shine, he is darkness.’ (saying 24) The movement presents continuous rhythmic music, like a grand-sounding march. It symbolizes a steadfast faith in love and goodness that can be found in us humans, and the possibility we have of choosing our actions, and faith in our good potential.

Part 5, Our Lasting Peace; May He Find Rest in Me, which concludes the work, is designed as a prayer. The title is not a quotation, but rather alludes to the many references to peace in the New Testament, for example, in Paul’s letter to the Galatians (5:22): ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, …’ (English Standard Version) The movement is at the same time both peaceful and subtle.

The entire work also exists as a version for Church Organ (original version).
The orchestra version was recorded by the Oslo Philharmonic in May 2024, and is planned for release in 2025 on LAWO Classics. The orchestra version is planned for a concert with the Oslo Philharmonic and the conductor Aivis Greters in March 2026.

(Present text: Herman Vogt (copyright), translation by Jim Skurdall)

The title of the work, Light Shall Shine Out of Darkness, is taken from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians in the translation of the New American Standard Bible (2 Corinthians, chapter 4): ‘For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.’ The light metaphor is used by Paul to describe Jesus as the light of the world, while at the same time alluding to the creation of the Earth in Genesis (‘Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.’). Regarded in the light (!) of today’s scientific understanding of the beginning of the universe with the Big Bang, the title represents moreover a poetic image of the origin of the world from nothing. All matter, all light, all life, all thoughts and ideas, everything, originated in absolute emptiness.

The work is divided into five parts.

Part 1, The Kingdom Is Within You, and It Is Outside You, takes its title from the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas (saying 3). A possible version of this quotation of Jesus is found in the canonical gospels. Indeed we have two different translations of Luke 17:21 with somewhat different meanings: ‘… for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.’ (King James Bible/New King James Version); and the alternative translation: ‘… because the kingdom of God is in your midst.’ (New International Version). The variant saying in the Gospel of Thomas can be interpreted as offering deeper insight: It is through getting to know oneself that one is able to see the beauty of the world and become fully human. ‘When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will know that it is you who are the sons of the living Father.’ (Gospel of Thomas, saying 3) The movement is laid out as contemplative, inner-directed music.

Part 2, I Am the Light of the World, takes its title from the Gospel of John: ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ (John 8:12, English Standard Version) The antithesis light/darkness in the Gospel of John is, for that matter, compatible with the Essenes’ use of the concepts, whereby light is a symbol for truth and goodness, while darkness represents deceit and malice. The Essenes were a Jewish sect in Judea before, during and after Jesus’s time (cf. the Dead Sea Scrolls). A possible connection between the Essenes, John the Baptist and Jesus has been brought up in a number of different contexts. This is a powerful and luminous movement with fiery crescendos and diminuendos, punctuated in a middle section by tranquil tonal textures.

The title of part 3 has two parts: See the Saviour’s outstretched Hands; And He Took the Children in His Arms. The first quotation is taken from Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, where Jesus is hanging on the cross, an alto aria with choir (text by Christian Friedrich Henrici [Picander]):

Sehet, Jesus hat die Hand,
Uns zu fassen, ausgespannt,
Kommt! – Wohin? – in Jesu Armen
Sucht Erlösung, nehmt Erbarmen,
Suchet! – Wo? – in Jesu Armen.
Lebet, sterbet, ruhet hier,
Ihr verlass’nen Küchlein ihr,
Bleibet – Wo? – in Jesu Armen.

The movement’s second title is taken from the Gospel of Mark (Mark 10: 15-16): ‘Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.’ (English Standard Version) This movement is placed in the middle of the work, as a symbol of the cross, as the cross is in itself a symbol of Jesus’s outstretched arms. The movement is a lullaby.

Part 4, You Are the Light of the World, takes its title from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 5:14), where Jesus refers to His disciples as the light of the world. There is a similar utterance in the Gospel of Thomas: ‘There is light within a man of light, and he lights up the whole world. If he does not shine, he is darkness.’ (saying 24) The movement presents continuous rhythmic music, like a grand-sounding march. It symbolizes a steadfast faith in love and goodness that can be found in us humans, and the possibility we have of choosing our actions, and faith in our good potential.

Part 5, Our Lasting Peace; May He Find Rest in Me, which concludes the work, is designed as a prayer. The title is not a quotation, but rather alludes to the many references to peace in the New Testament, for example, in Paul’s letter to the Galatians (5:22): ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, …’ (English Standard Version) The movement is at the same time both peaceful and subtle.

The entire work also exists as an instrumental version for symphony orchestra (2021).
The work was commissioned by Anders Eidsten Dahl and was premiered in Oslo Cathedral in 2020.

(Present text: Herman Vogt (copyright), translation by Jim Skurdall)

The work was released on LAWO Classics in 2022.

Movements:
1. Kyrie, chorus
2. Gloria in excelsis Deo, chorus
3. Gratias agimus tibi, bass
4. Domine Fili unigenite, soprano, alto
5. Qui tollis peccata mundi, tenor
6. Cum Sancto Spiritu, chorus

The work Missa Brevis is written to Norsk Barokkorkester in 2011. It is scored for Baroque ensemble, four soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) and four-part choir.
The work follows the form of the traditional Lutheran Mass (e.g. the four Missae Breves by Bach): a choral “Kyrie” followed by a five-movement Gloria in which a choral “Gloria in excelsis Deo” and “Cum Sancto Spiritu” frame three solo movements.
The music is worked out with extensive polyphony, e.g. the Kyrie which opens with a fugue and subsequently a double fugue, contrasted with sections of transparency and simplicity. The music is alternately tonal and bi-tonal, with a tonality which shifts from being chromatic, flexible and mobile to creating the most fixed tonal progressions. The kinship with polyphonic baroque music is apparent in the phrasing and the fortspinnung. The work is highly influenced by Bach’s music, particularly the Cantatas and the Masses. Subsequently the music can be described as a neo-baroque work.
The work is yet unperformed.

The piece Möbius Band is inspired by the phenomenon as described by the German mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius in 1858, and in particular depictions by the Dutch artist M.C. Escher. The phenomenon consists of a band or strip which is twisted 180°. It gives a sensation of motion and flow, as well as unity and continuity.
In the piece linear and circular movements are layered and twisted in a continuous flow as entwined chains. But on the other hand abrupt breaks are vital elements of the piece, which is an expression of the duality of the Möbius Band: It has in fact only one side if you follow the band in two rounds (you have covered both sides and you end up where you started), but locally it has indeed two sides wherever you look at it. The cyclical and circular elements in the music are superseded by almost static elements which work as frozen moments and partitions in the continuous course. The work ‘bites itself in its own tail’ and closes the cyclical form by ending as it begun.
The piece was first performed by Trondheim Symphony Orchestra under Ingar Bergby in May 2017.

The starting point of the Piano Concerto is a neoclassical idea, in this work characterized by clarity and simplicity in the musical expression. This is a result of a long-lasting fascination for Mozart’s Piano Concertos. The orchestra in this work is modeled after his ensembles: one flute, woodwinds and brass in pairs, timpani and string ensemble, but with two percussionists added.

The classical element in the music is signified through motives and themes partly based on triads, relatively clear musical forms, together with an instrumentation with distinctly defined instrument groups.
The first movement has a recurring motile element with a somewhat mechanical character. A fast harmonic pulse gives a chasing temperament, followed by episodes ruled by beauty and inner calmness. The movement picks up on one of the most iconic features of music from the classical era: the sonata form. But here the sonata form is sort of veiled and blurred, as well as it has an added opening section (as in many symphonies by the ‘classicist’ Haydn). The exposition and the development sections are rather intermingled. The recapitulation is merely a reminiscence of the exposition, and quickly it dissolves into a kind of fiery solo cadenza ending with orchestra accompaniment.
Second movement is an elegiac contemplation with slow and tender lines. It is ruled by a peaceful soreness which stands in sharp contrast to the first movement’s occasional restlessness.
Third movement is a stringent tarantella-like movement, almost as a ‘moto perpetuo’, with superseding calm and lingering sections.

The Piano Concerto is a personal expression of a search for musical clarity, as well as an attempt to revitalize a classical expression in a unique manner. It marks the end of a project which Vogt started in 2011 in writing three concertos for soloists with orchestra: one for violin, one for cello, and finally this concerto for piano.

The work was recorded on LAWO Classics in April 2024 with pianist Sveinung Bjelland and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. The recording was released in autumn 2024 together with a Cello Concerto.

The piano trio as an ensemble emerged in the wiener classic period. The ensemble as such is linked to a great extent to this era. The work “Piano Trio” by Herman Vogt starts with some fragmented and rather distorted quotes from Beethoven’s “Ghost Trio”. The Beethoven quotes are veiled and erased. There are merely vague reminiscences left, as a vague memory of something that once was, something almost lost. Beethoven’s ghost can be vaguely heard, so to speak. As the work evolves it escapes these historic boundaries.

The trio consists of three movements, each with its distinctive character. But the movements are linked with related material. First movement is a kind of confused, fumbling beginning, which does not establish any unity. Second movement is marked by unity and consonance. Third movement is a contrast to the second movement, and is marked by the instruments’ individual fight to gain control. The form of the piece is a bow form. The piece starts with the Beethoven quotes as small isolated “islands”, or fragments, which gradually come closer and closer. The work ends in short, strong impulses with gradually increasing silence in between. The piece disperses, crumbles away. In the end only reminiscences of the piece itself remain, in the same way as the piece opens with reminiscences of history.

The Recorder Concerto is set for Alto Recorder and String Orchestra. It has a classical three movement structure, 1. Allegro moderato, 2. Aria, 3. Rondo. The work is inspired by the baroque and classical solo concerto form, in particular the Vivaldi Concerti for solo recorder and strings. Since this is a type of work which occurred during the baroque era, and among others with the recorder as a solo instrument, this historic connection is present in the work.

The work is ruled by classical clarity, vital energy and transparent beauty.

It was commissioned by the Norwegian recorder player Caroline Eidsten Dahl, and is planned for first performance in 2025 with Ensemble Allegria.

The title is derived from the Latin word Resurrexit’ (‘He is risen’). The word is split up and translated into French, where ‘Ré’ means both the note and the chord ‘D’, as well as it refers to the prefix ‘ré-’ meaning ‘again‘. This duplicity is emphasized in the music by a recurring D chord which represents what is coming again.
The piece ‘Ré-sur-Ré…exit’ opens with a depiction of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is followed by a harmonic calmness in slow moving waves. Successively there is a dialectic battle going on, representing our human struggle, pleasures and sorrows, faith and doubt and trials in our lives. In the end the memory of Christ’s resurrection vibrates. It reverberates as an eternal idea. But at the same time it leaves us with the challenge of choices and dilemmas, as it fades out as an open question.

The work ‘Sinfonia’ is written for string orchestra, and is in three separate movements.

It is a rather classical work, in terms of form and expression. As a core idea is an idiom of neo-romanticism. How to express new, unheard music in a landscape of broad string textures?

The work was written to the Junior Ensemble at Barratt Due Institute of Music, and will have its first performance in February 2025.

The orchestra piece Solsangen (Eng. Canticle of the Sun) borrows its title from the famous poem by Francis of Assisi from ca. 1225. The text, which is dictated from the sickbed by a nearly blind Francis, is a praise of God and a personal tribute to His creations – the sun, the moon, the stars, the four elements, love, life, and finally death.

In the piece Vogt is inspired by the vitality and the life affirming exuberance in the poem, alongside a sober atmosphere which reflects a wondering over life and our part, as humans, in the world. Vogt has given a musical expression to the duality between rejoicing on the one hand and fragile contemplation on the other. Ambiguity is a central aspect in the musical treatment of the poem, it is reflected in bitonality and shifting tonal centres which so to speak ‘slip through the hands’. In this double-sidedness lies the drama of the poem: a rejoicing of our existence and of life itself, while death simultaneously is embedded in it all.

Solsangen was commissioned by the Oslo Philharmonic, and was first performed on 23 August 2018 by the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra under Vasily Petrenko.
The present recording was done by NRK, and was kindly permitted for streaming on this website.

The work was recorded by the Oslo Philharmonic and conductor Aivis Greters in 2024, together with ‘Light Shall Shine Out of Darkness’, and is planned for a release on LAWO Classics in 2025.

The Sonata in A for Solo Violin was written to Norwegian violinist Geir Inge Lotsberg in 2009. It consists of four movements: Preludio, Fuga, Largo and Gigue. All four movements are based on the same material, rows of tones that radiate from one focal point. The Sonata in A is a very personal, intricate and highly complex work. The superimposition of lines form a web, worked out as immanent polyphony. The ambiguity between horizontal and vertical, linear and simultaneous, melodic and harmonic, occurrences is omnipresent. Tension and resolution, rigidity and flexibility, are opposites throughout the work.

The work was first performed in its wholeness by Geir Inge Lotsberg in 2010 (Preludio and Largo was written to Hardanger Musikkfest 2007 and was then given their first performance by students from Barratt Dues Musikkinstitutt).

The work is divided in three movements that are linked with transitional passages. The work displays utter loneliness, isolation and despair, at some stages though deep inner calmness and tranquillity as well as loud energetic outbursts. The chorale “Es ist genug” is quoted in the piece. This psalm has a particular meaning in classical music, from the Church Cantata by Bach, “O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort II” and through the citations in Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto (‘To the memory of an angel’).
The title ‘Sonata in D’ states the ambiguity of the work. It is not in any clear tonal key, but has tonal centers that float and change all the time, and often with simultanious competing tonal centers resulting in a restless sensation. But it is still a ‘classical’ piece in its form and shape with the historical links regarding its citations, hence the title ‘Sonata’.
It is a ‘tour de force’ for the musicians involved, intended to be a transcendental experience for both the performers and the audience.
The work is dedicated to the 77 people who lost their lives on July the 22nd 2011 in Norway.
The Sonata in D for Violin and Piano was commissioned by the Norwegian violinist Bjarne Magnus Jensen.
The work is yet not performed.

The String Quartet No. 2 was commissioned by Hardanger Musikkfest 2025 for the Opus13 ensemble.
The work is in three movements. It is indeed a response to the classical format used so many times by so many composers, for centuries and up to this date. Although the classical string quartet form is in four movements, this work follows a classical three movement formula, modeled on the whole as a ‘fast-slow-fast’-form.

‘In this work I wanted to find my personal angle of making a classical inspired string quartet, a form which to a great extent is linked to the genre of classical music.’ The form was invented by Joseph Haydn in the 1700s, and has for more than 250 years been a vital part of western art music. The term ‘string quartet’ is used both to describe the ensemble itself, consisting of two violins, viola and cello, but also as describing a work, in most cases following a form consisting of several separate movements.

‘To me the clue was to write a music of contrasts. The ensemble in itself is an ensemble of homogeneous sound, in opposition to many other ensembles consisting of rather different sounding instruments. Thus in this work I wanted to let the level of contrast lie in the music itself. This is represented both by contrasts between different sections of the music (as the music can be rather homogeneous at one given moment), or by simultaneous contrasting layers (as the music at times can be more intricate or complex at one given moment). In other words sections are often quite homogeneous in them selves but contrast one another. Still, the contrast may as well appear at the same time represented by different musical material or by counterpoint. Why this notion of contrast is a central idea behind the work, is because of the aforementioned timbral nature of the ensemble, being a rather conformal sounding body.of instruments. This homogeneous property differs from much of pop & rock music of course, but from many classical ensembles as well, often consisting of both string instruments and piano, or various combinations of strings, winds and percussion et cetera. This embedded property of homogeneity is the reason why I wanted to emphasize this aspect in the work, and to really underline the nature of the ensemble as such. But still I wanted at times to try to go against it with simultaneous timbral or contrapuntal variety.’

The String Quartet No. 2 is ruled by vital energy powered by fast moving ‘patterns’, alternating with more subtle and quiet passages.

The work will have its first performance by the string quartet Opus13 at the Hardanger Musikkfest, late August 2025.

The work was written in 2017. It is a single movement work in an ABA’-form, roughly speaking. Much of the same musical material is used throughout the piece, but in rather different ways so that there is an overarching wholeness in the work which is perhaps not necessarily perceived consciously by the listener, but which might hopefully give a sensation of unity. The constituent and defining features are intertwined between the overall formal structures.
The opening gesture is a tonal whirl, self-generating by overlapping fugato entries. This musical event is a decisive situation for the rest of the piece, and different versions of it redefine the piece as a whole. Melody and harmony, the horizontal and the vertical, become two sides of the same as the singular events pile up in a musical web. Restless motion versus sections of almost static standstill are dialectical oppositions that create a musical drama.
The String Quartet No. 1 is not yet performed.

The Marvel of Turin is inspired by the amazing phenomenon of the Shroud of Turin (in Italian: Sindone di Torino, Sacra Sindone). This shroud is according to Christian tradition the historical burial cloth of Jesus Christ, and displays to the naked eye a vague depiction of a man with crossed hands and wounds with actual blood stains on feet, in wrists, in the ribs and on the forehead. In a negative photograph of the shroud this picture is startlingly clear, and the face of a bearded man comes forth.
The shroud has on some occasions been examined by international scientists to find out how the picture of the man actually came to be. It has been a subject of dispute for decades, of its dating and geographical origin and historical authenticity.
But nevertheless, the shroud is a mysterious and intriguing object that has raised more questions than answers by the scientific examinations it has been subjected to. Even after all this thorough research, it still comes down to a question of belief.
The work is inspired by this surprising object and its strange and still quite unknown story. It depicts duality and floating mysticism, followed by glittering outbursts, always with an underlying ambiguity…
The Marvel of Turin was commissioned by the Norwegian organist Anders Eidsten Dahl and first performed in 2013.

The work ‘Three Spheres’ was commissioned by the Trio ClariNord ensemble.
It is not yet performed.

The piece “Vanishing Points” is a work of intricate linear movements and polyphonic structures. The superimposition of lines form an elaborate network, ultimately forming combined super lines. The music is shifting back and forth from fragile to massive events.
The piece is inspired by the work of the dutch artist M.C. Escher. In dealing with multiple vanishing points that are twisted, curved and turned around he achieves a world of distortion, but also a world of continuation and unexpected cyclic events when working with fractal structures etc. The piece is also inspired by a picture taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, called Pillars of Creation. It shows a giant nebula (remnants of a supernova explosion, a large cloud of debris consisting of dust and gas), displaying beautiful curved structures, almost resembling a thin cloth of silk, of enormous proportions (many light years in width), but still with extremely low density. But this nebula does not exist any more! It was blown apart by a vast supernova explotion relatively close to it. But since light moves in space with a certain speed, we can still observe the nebula here on Earth. Hence it is actually a ghost image of a non existing structure we observe today.
The work is in its broader sence about how things appear, but not necessarily how they actually are in reality, and how history can be a result of continuation but nevertheless a result of chance. Cause and effect, as well as breaches and sudden turning points, are inherent quantities in the work.
The work was commissioned by CIKADA ensemble, it is yet not performed.

‘Vinterblommer’
- Fire dikt av Henrik Arnold Wergeland, tonesatt av Herman Vogt.

I. Hvor ofte skal Gud takkes?
II. Sommerfuglen
III. Gid jeg var en Fugl!
IV. Til min Gyldenlak

De fire tonesatte Wergeland-diktene i verket ‘Vinterblommer’ uttrykker kjærlighet til livet og naturen. Som i Wergelands diktning for øvrig finner vi i kjernen av de fire diktene en dyptgripende humanisme. Samtidig lengter kanskje noen av oss også etter ro i en flyktig og tidvis kaotisk tilværelsen, noe som kommer sterkt til uttrykk i disse Wergeland-diktene.
Hvordan mennesket ser seg selv i forhold til det store hele, naturen, skaperverket, eksistensen og det guddommelige, er et fundament i Wergelands tenkning. Wergeland er en kraftfull representant for opplysningstidens humanistiske idealer, og har hatt betydning for Norge som nasjon i nasjonsbyggingstiden på 1800-tallet som ledet frem til nasjonal selvstendighet i 1905. Hans idéer kan finnes igjen i idealer som har vært fremtredende i Norge: blant annet ideer om likhet, individets muligheter og barns egenverdi.

Det er i spennet mellom skjønnheten i det lille og nære og de evig store eksistensielle spørsmålene, verket til Bragernes Barokk balanserer.
Verket er et bestillingsverk i anledning Bragernes kirkes 150-årsjubileum.

Verket er innspilt på LAWO Classics og er planlagt utgitt i 2025.

The Violin Concerto was completed in 2012, and rewritten substantially in 2015.
The work is composed as a classical/romantic solo concerto in its general form, consisting of three movements.
It is a large scale symphonic work, where the violin partly has an obligato role while the orchestra has the conductive structures. The violin and the orchestra represent in different passages opposites which are played out as contrasts, the singular versus the massive.
The work was first performed by Geir Inge Lotsberg and Norwegian Radio Orchestra under Bjarte Engeset in 2016. NRK made a television production of the live performance, it was also released on CD on the label Afontibus in 2016.
It is available on Spotify, iTunes, Tidal and on CD.

The title “Wenn alle Länder wüsst lägen…” is taken from a Norwegian psalm by the 17th century Norwegian poet and priest Petter Dass. This text is fatalistic, partly panteistic and apocalyptic. This work is based on organic and evolving forms, and on sudden contrasting breaks and ruptures which open up for new musical events. This follows the general idea of evolution of life on Earth. The work opens with a distorted tonal circle of fifths all the way through all the major chords from the highest A major to the broadest A major. The piece ends with the psalm of Dass which on one hand assembles, on the other hand disintegrates, the piece. A longing for peace and fulfilment closes the piece.
The work was first performed by Ensemble BIT20 at the Borealis Festival in Bergen in 2009.
The work was rewritten substantially in 2010 for the Athelas Sinfonietta during Nordic Music Days in Copenhagen.

Wiegenlied for solo Violin was written to the Norwegian violinist Geir Inge Lotsberg in 2010. The piece consists of evolving lines that are constantly moving. Fragile waving lines create a sorrow and longing atmosphere, in search for resolution and peace.

“Wood and wind immanent” utilizes the clarinet as a harmonic instrument, with immanent polyphony, arpeggiated chords, and multiphonics as tonal chord progressions. The use of simultaneous sub tones creates at certain points subtle polyphonic structures. Melodic and harmonic thinking, horizontal and vertical, are more or less the same issue. When performed in a room or hall with good resonance the arpeggiated chords emerge in their full duality.
The piece has never been performed.