At the weekend, Det Norske Jentekor – with girls the same age as Anne Frank – sang excerpts from her famous diary during the Oslo International Church Music Festival.
Anne Frank died in a concentration camp as a 15-year-old in 1945. She sdemand the diary of the years she and her family were hiding in an attic in Amsterdam, while the Nazis hunted Jews during World War II
– We are the same age, but she had to sit at home and hide in a box. We are going out and experiencing the world, pier Clara (12), Anna (13) and Lina (12) for NRK.
They sing in the choir that performed the work «The beauty that still remains» at the weekend together with the Broadcasting Orchestra. The lyrics have been turned into choral music by Marcus Paus, and have the name from an extract from the diary.
While she was hiding, Anne wrote that she still believed in the good in people. The girls’ choir sang those words this weekend, to a packed Oslo Cathedral.
Listen to an excerpt here:
I still believe
that people are truly good at heart
In spite of everything
I still believethat peopleare goodat heart
Lina, Clara and Anna from the Norwegian Girls’ Choir say that singing the lyrics to Anne Frank makes an impression.
Photo: Turi Grønbech/NRK
– Is still so relevant
The diary of a young girl’s life has been translated into more than 60 languages since it was first published in 1947. But her everyday depictions from the war have also been turned into theatre, musicals and TV series. A new opera about Anne Frank has just premiered in the US, and before Christmas passed the animated film «Where is Anne Frank» in Norwegian cinemas.
Research librarian Anne Kristin Lande at the National Library believes there is a great interest in the Holocaust in Norway now.
– There is something about the times that makes Anne Frank still so relevant, says Lande.
The war in Ukraine makes the story of Anne Frank relevant again. In Italy, graffiti appeared of Anne Frank burning the Russian victory symbol Z.
Photo: Luca Bruno / AP
“WHERE IS ANNE FRANK”: Director Ari Folman wanted to make the animated film because he sees clear parallels between Anne Frank’s story and today’s refugee situation, according to German BR24.
Photo: Arthaus
Anne Frank smiles in the school picture in 1941, before she went into hiding and started writing a diary.
Photo: – / Afp
It has been 80 years since the teenager Anne wrote about what it was like to be on the run as a Jew. In recent years, Lande has noticed several new books about how the Jews were treated both during and after the war.
She thinks it may be about the fact that enough time has passed.
– It was so terrible. The first generations talked less about what happened, but the new generation is now asking questions, says Lande.
Anne Frank’s diary fits in here, because it is one of the few books written by a female witness.
– She describes loneliness that young readers today can understand and identify with.
Who was Anne Frank?
Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who had to hide from the Nazis during World War II. When she was 13, she began writing a diary about everyday life in secret. Anne Frank’s diary was written from June 1942 to August 1944.
In 1944, she and her family were discovered and sent to a concentration camp.
Anne Frank died of illness in the Bergen-Belsen camp just before the war ended.
The diary she wrote is one of the world’s most read books. It has sold over 70 million copies
– I don’t understand that she managed to be an optimist
The fact that there is once again a war in Europe also makes the book more relevant.
For the girls’ choir, it is extra special to sing Anne Frank’s words right now. They point out that the Ukrainians have lost their world, just as Anne Frank lost hers.
– She nevertheless writes about the beauty that remains. Even after everything that has happened, she still manages to think that there is something nice in the world, says Clara.
She and the other girls think it is special that Anne Frank was so optimistic.
– We had been so scared and angry at the Nazis, but she managed to think that there is something nice out there.
– Dthat we sing the lyrics highlights her story, and perhaps it can help to prevent something like this from happening again?
Composer Marcus Paus accepts the applause together with KORK and the girls’ choir.
Photo: Anders Lillebo
For the first time, “The Beauty that still remains” is performed with choir and orchestra. The Norwegian Girls’ Choir performs together with the Broadcasting Orchestra.
Photo: Anders Lillebo
The Norwegian Girls’ Choir sings Anne Frank’s lyrics in Oslo Cathedral.
Photo: Anders Lillebo
Hear the world premiere of the work “The Beauty that Still Remains” with choir and the Broadcasting Orchestra here:
You need javascript to play the audio clip “At a concert with KORK”.
