VAAPSTENJEANOE – BIG RIVER

VAAPSTENJEANOE – BIG RIVER

A musical journey through rivers, landscapes AND history

Inspired by the great river Vefsna in Nordland Country, Norway, Jan Gunnar Hoff composed this piece,  “Vaapstenjeanoe”  in 2020, a commission for Helgeland Sinfonietta in Mosjøen, Nordland. The composition “Vaapstenjeanoe- Big River”, with its warm and strong artistic expression, combines elements of folklore, classical and jazz. The “Vaapstenjeanoe”- chamber orchestra is completed by great Nordic jazz names such as trumpeter Arve Henriksen, bassist Mats Eilertsen and composer/pianist Jan Gunnar Hoff.

 “Vaapstenjeanoe”, meaning “the great river Vefsna” in the South Sami language, is the largest watercourse in Nordland county. Many believe that Vaapstenjeanoe is the very origin, the lifeblood that founded the city Mosjøen. She is quietly and majestically, she races past mighty waterfalls at breakneck speed. She is a monumental and eternal monument in the local fauna.

Excerpt from the “Vaapstenjeanoe” – performance in Mo I Rana, Smeltedigelen, October 2021: 

Full Vaapstenjeanoe-performance at Smeltedigelen, Mo i Rana, October 2021:

 

  1. City Z (2018) Jan Gunnar Hoff Group feat Mike Stern 4:23
  2. Some Day (2018) Jan Gunnar Hoff Group feat Mike Stern 6:33
  3. Common Ground (2018) Jan Gunnar Hoff Group feat Mike Stern 7:39
  4. Living (Losen records 2014) Hoff, Mazur, Henriksen, Jormin 6:54
  5. FLY NORTH (Losen 2013) Hoff - Jormin - Mazur - Henriksen
  6. Beginning Hoff Ensemble: Jan Gunnar Hoff, Audun Kleive & Anders Jormin 3:14