Collaboration in Oslo: Music Project for the Psalms

John Vegard Schow

In Oslo, we met with John Vegard Schow to collaborate on his innovative music project for the Psalms—a visionary initiative dedicated to reimagining these sacred texts through newly written compositions in Norwegian Nynorsk. During our productive visit, we recorded videos, exchanged detailed ideas on music production, and laid the groundwork for a promising future collaboration.

John’s project aims to create a common Nordic singing identity through newly written music for the Psalms. Building on the rich tradition of Nordic hymnody—where Danish, Swedish, and Finnish influences have long intertwined—this initiative seeks to honor our shared cultural heritage while revitalizing our native languages in contemporary hymn production. The plan is ambitious: to create, translate, and record a total of 150 new songs in various Nordic languages. As a first step, 15 new pieces under the project title "Salmane" have been composed.

Our role in this inspiring venture will be as the producer in Finland. We are excited to partner with local Finnish artists in studio to develop the Finnish language version of these newly composed hymns. Later this year, John will also visit Finland to meet the artists and further refine the project, taking our collaboration one significant step forward.

This partnership is more than just a musical production—it’s a heartfelt effort to reignite and celebrate our Nordic linguistic and cultural identity. We look forward to sharing more updates as this transformative project unfolds.

Stay tuned for further developments on this remarkable journey to unite our Nordic voices through music!