the land of the living

THE LAND OF THE LIVING

Grundtvig was a priest, writer, hymn-maker, philosopher, poet, politician. He was a free-thinker, a liberal and a defender of freedom.

In 1866 he told the conservative majority in the national assembly that its views were rooted "in privilege, in the purse and in arithmetic; three areas that will hardly ever be popular in Denmark”.

Grundtvig has been credited with profound influence on the formulation of modern Danish national consciousness. A church was commissioned to be built in his honour. Its striking design makes the Grundtvig Church one of the best known churches in Denmark.

The Church made itself available for a celebration of Grundtvig's legacy through an interpretation in light and sound of the hymn '"O Kristelighed" ("Oh Christianity"). Composer Kristian Rymker and I cooperated in the creation of a 3-hour abstract staging of the poem's stanzas, with light, music and sound working together through the transitions of content and mood.

Site-specific light and sound installation, Grundtvigs Kirke, Copenhagen 2014