Lars-Erik Larsson

Norge i rødt, hvitt og blått

Norge i rødt, hvitt og blått ("Norway in Red, White and Blue") was commissioned by the Oslo Fagott Choir (yes, that is indeed a gay men’s choir) for a concert with The Staff Band of the Armed Forces in 2015. I was given artistic licence to write a more modern and somewhat ‘eclectic’ arrangement for this originally Swedish melody written by Lars-Erik Larsson, which became something of a national liberation anthem when Nazi occupation ended in May 1945 - then with new lyrics by Finn Bø, Bias Bernhoft and Arild Feldborg.

After the premiere in Oslo, and a music video with Oslo Fagott Choir and The Staff Band, broadcasted by Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) on Constitution Day during coronavirus lockdown in 2020, I was approached by many to write an instrumental version of the arrangement for concert band. This version is now available through Norsk Noteservice. Reid Gilje has made this instrumentation for Brass Band.