Sissel News

Hear New Sissel Song & Pre-Order in the USA

2010-11-11T12:42:00.001-07:00

Sissel was interviewed on Danish Radio recently and played a few songs from her new album. Here is Sissel's recording of "Folkestadvisa," a Norwegian folk song from the town of Folkestad.

(Thanks to Mikael B. for this recording from Danish Radio.)

If you live outside Europe, you can now pre-order Sissel's new album "Til Deg" at Amazon.com:

Sissel - Til Deg: Track List Released

2010-10-22T16:51:00.033-06:00

The track list for Sissel's new album, "Til Deg" (For You), has been released.

TRACKS
01
Velkommen hjem (Welcome Home)
02
Tätt intill dej (Close To You)
03
Saknar dej nu (Miss You Now)
04
Folkestadvisa (Song of Folkestad)
05
Den första sommaren (The First Summer)
06
Hole In The World
07
Levande död (Living Dead)
08
En dröm om dej och mej (A Dream Of You And Me)
09
Dagane (The Days)
10
Goodbye

Norwegian, Swedish and English Lyrics

2010-10-18T17:46:00.001-06:00

In an interview in today's Telemarksavisa, a Skien, Norway newspaper, Sissel says that her new album, "Til deg" (For You), will contain songs sung in Norwegian, Swedish and English, but more pop than folk. "Since we had a steel guitar in the band, there are some elements of country. The steel guitar is a warm and fine instrument, and I think it is exciting to use elements from different genres. But there will be more pop than folk music," said Sissel.
Sissel also says that although she's lived in Denmark for over 15 years, she still considers Norway to be home. "I have always thought about moving back to Norway. One of these times I'll do it," said Sissel.

Hear the First Single from Sissel's New Album

2010-10-10T15:36:00.002-06:00

Here is the first single from Sissel's new album "Til deg" (For You). The song is called "Velkommen hjem" (Welcome Home).

Thanks to Mikael B. for providing the song file.

Sissel Fall/Winter Tour Dates Announced for Norway and Sweden

2010-09-18T00:45:00.005-06:00

Sissel's 29 tour dates for Fall 2010 / Winter 2011 in Norway and Sweden have been announced. She begins the tour in her hometown of Bergen on 13 November and continues across Norway into December. Her Swedish tour begins in February in Karlstad and continues through March. She will be performing some songs from the new album "Til Deg" (For You) and old favorites from throughout her career.

To see the tour dates and links to buy tickets, visit the EVENTS page.

Sissel - Til Deg

2010-09-03T13:07:00.002-06:00

Sissel's new album cover and title have been revealed. Scheduled for release on 15. november 2010, the album will be called "Til Deg" (For You).

Sissel Biography to be Released 20 September in Norway

2010-09-01T01:34:00.004-06:00

On 20 September, a new biography of Sissel, Stig Nilsson's book "Sissel," will be released in Norway. Stig Nilsson previously wrote several songs for Sissel earlier in her career. In the book, Nilsson claims that Sissel never became a worldwide superstar because she herself didn't want to be one. It appears the book will be released in Norwegian only for the time being.

UPDATE: New Sissel Album: 15 Nov 2010

2010-08-13T23:49:00.006-06:00

According to the Universal Music Norway website, Sissel's new album is scheduled to be released in Week 46 of this year. This would make the release date November 15th. UPDATE: Platekompaniet confirms the new Sissel album will be released on November 15th. (Updated 29. August 2010)

Hear more of Sissel and Odd

2009-10-25T14:21:00.002-06:00

You can hear more songs from Sissel's new album here:

Jul, jul, strålande jul

2009-10-17T03:06:00.003-06:00

Hear another track from Sissel and Odd's new album. This time the hauntingly beautiful "Jul, jul, strålande jul."

(Thanks to Mikael B. for the tip.)

HEAR Sissel and Odd!

2009-10-06T15:01:00.010-06:00

You can now hear the first song from Sissel and Odd's new album. The song is called "Upp gledjest alle" with very old lyrics from a 17th-century Dano-Norwegian hymn by Thomas Kingo, recomposed by Elias Blix in the 19th century and a new melody by Odd Nordstoga himself.

Sissel - Odd Album Cover Revealed

2009-09-18T14:54:00.002-06:00

The album will be released in Scandinavia on 9. Novemeber 2009.
(Thanks to Mikael B.)

Sissel - Odd Album in November

2009-09-03T00:05:00.004-06:00

Sissel and Odd Nordstoga's new Christmas album, "Strålande jul" (Glorious Christmas), is scheduled to be released 9. November in Scandinavia.

Sissel and Odd Concerts

2009-09-02T10:19:00.003-06:00

According to Odd Nordstoga's myspace page, Sissel and Odd will hold concerts in the following Norwegian cities in November and Swedish cities in December:

21 nov 2009 Trondheim
22 nov 2009 Ålesund
23 nov 2009 Bergen
25 nov 2009 Stavanger
27 nov 2009 Larvik
28 nov 2009 Oslo Spektrum

The following Swedish concerts will also have extra guest performers:
3 dec 2009 Karlskrona
4 dec 2009 Linköping
5 dec 2009 Jönköping
6 dec 2009 Göteborg
8 dec 2009 Örebro
9 dec 2009 Skövde
11 dec 2009 Malmö
12 dec 2009 Stockholm
13 dec 2009 Karlstad
17 dec 2009 Luleå
18 dec 2009 Umeå
19 dec 2009 Sundvall
20 dec 2009 Gävle

*All concert will be held at 20:00.

http://www.myspace.com/nordstoga

(Thanks to Mikael for the tip.)

Sissel - Odd Album

2009-06-28T21:10:00.006-06:00

Sissel is working with fellow Norwegian singer, Odd Nordstoga, on a new album which will come out in Norway in November. According to Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang, the duo have been recording in studios in both Trondheim, Norway and Stockholm, Sweden.

Sissel admits she has long dreamed of working with Odd. In 2004, Odd went from relative obscurity to becoming one of Norway's top selling recording artists, with his first solo album, "Luring." The album, a fusion of pop and Norwegian folk music, has sold more than 160,000 copies in Norway and earned him several Spellemansprisen (Norwegian Grammy) awards.

"I thought our voices would go well together, so when I was offered the chance, I instantly said yes," said Sissel.

Sissel Has a Blog!

2008-02-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

Sissel has a new blog where she's posted her first blog entry and promises to blog throughout her upcoming USA tour to share her thoughts and impressions during her concert tour.

Read the blog at sissels.blogspot.com

More Sissel PBS Goodness

2008-01-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

According to Sissel's new record label, Denon, Sissel already has another PBS special scheduled for December 2008. Denon also reports: "Her PBS pledge drive special 'SISSEL, NORTHERN LIGHTS' was an unqualified hit for stations nationwide breaking audience response records in major cities such as Chicago, Boston and Hartford."

Utah NOW with Sissel

2007-12-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

"Utah NOW," a local TV program on KUED PBS TV station in Salt Lake City, just aired a 30-minute interview with Sissel which you can also see on their website.

Go to the Utah NOW website in order to view this interview.

A Very Sissel Christmas

2007-12-14T01:40:00.000-07:00

There is an excellent article in today's Deseret Morning News in Salt Lake City called "A very Sissel Christmas." Coincidentally, for years I've made compilation CDs every XMAS (before Sissel Christmas albums were available for sale in America) and given them to my friends and also used the title "A Very Sissel Christmas."

Still #1

2007-12-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

"Spirit of the Season" featuring Sissel and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is still #1 on the Billboard Classical chart for the sixth week in a row. This album was also released this week in Norway. Previously, it wasn't planned for release there this year, but so many Norwegians demanded the album featuring their beloved Sissel that Universal Norway relented and officially released it there on 10. December.

Sissel's solo album, "Northern Lights," moved into the top 10 on the Billboard Classical Crossover chart this week moving up to #10 from #11 last week. This is Sissel's highest solo chart position ever in the USA. Buy more copies of "Northern Lights" as Christmas presents and let's watch it go higher!

'Spirit of the Season' Nominated for Two GRAMMY® Awards!

2007-12-06T23:58:00.001-07:00

"Spirit of the Season" featuring Sissel and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has been nominated for 2 GRAMMY Awards: "Best Classical Crossover Album" and "Best Engineered Album, Classical." The Tabernacle Choir has issued the following statement, "Members of the Choir and Orchestra will be watching with great anticipation when winners are announced at the 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards which will be held on Feb. 10, 2008, at Staples Center in Los Angeles! Whatever the outcome, the nomination alone attests to the enormous appeal of this latest offering in a long tradition of beloved and memorable Christmas recordings."

#1 and #11

2007-12-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

Sissel's two albums are at #1 and #11 on Billboard sales charts.

"Spirit of the Season" with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is #1 on the Billboard Classical Music Chart. It has been at #1 for five weeks in a row.

Sissel's solo album "Northern Lights" is currently #11 on the Billboard Classical Crossover Chart.

Everyone please buy Sissel's "Northern Lights" so it will go higher on the charts!

Sissel Christmas Broadcast Schedule

2007-12-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

Christmas with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
featuring Sissel Broadcast Schedule

AREA	COUNTRY	NETWORK	AIR TIME
North America	USA	PBS TV	Check Local Listings
Europe Central	Norway	Norwegian State Television (NRK)	1) Dec 22, 20:40 2) Dec 23, 14:55
	Norway EXTRA	NRK – Backstage with Sissel	3) Dec 25, 10:30
	Sweden	Swedish State Television (SVT)	1) Dec 25, 16:30 2) Dec 31, 14:30 3) Jan 4 (Ck.time)
	Denmark	TV TWO	1) 12/22, 20:00
	Iceland	RUV-Icelandic National Broadcasting	12/24, 21:00
	Czech Republic	Ceska Televize State TV	Check Local Listings
	Hungary	Hungarian State TV-MTV	Check Local Listings
	Serbia	Radio Televizija Srbije (Muzucki Program)	Check Local Listings
	Greenland	TV-Greenland, Uummannaq	Dec 20, 20:00
Europe West	Spain	Radio Television Espanola (Also on RTVE Worldwide Satellite Network)	1/6/08 King’s Birthday Celebration Check Local Listings
	Portugal	RTVE State TV Network Second Channel	Check Local Listings
Europe East	Latvia	Latvian Television	Check Local Listings
	Lithuania	Baltjos TV (Baltic States TV)	Check Local Listings
Australia	Australia	Network TEN Australia-wide	Christmas Day Check Local Listings
New Zealand	New Zealand	Television New Zealand	Check Local Listings
Pacific Islands	Fiji	Fiji One TV (Throughout Pacific via satellite)	Check Local Listings
Philippines	Philippines	Associated Broadcasting Company (ABC)	Check Local Listings
Asia	Thailand	MCOT	Check Local Listings
Africa Southeast	South Africa Zimbabwe	SABC	Check Local Listings

Sissel Sings on "Good Things Utah"

2007-12-04T23:07:00.000-07:00

Sissel performed "When Will My Heart Arise" from her new album "Northern Lights" on the "Good Things Utah" TV program. After there is an interview with Sissel.

Sissel on KSL News

2007-12-03T18:24:00.000-07:00

Sissel, MoTabs: Spirit of the Season CD Now Available

2007-10-02T14:31:00.000-06:00

The CD of the live Christmas concert featuring Sissel and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is now available for sale in Deseret Bookstores and on their website. It should also be available on Amazon.com internationally soon.

Spirit of the Season @ Deseret Book

Sissel Christmas with the Mormons in Stores

2007-09-25T12:28:00.000-06:00

The DVD of the Sissel Christmas concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is in stores now. You can also order it online now from Deseret Book.

Sissel to Release 'Northern Lights'; Switches Record Labels

2007-08-21T10:00:00.000-06:00

Sissel will release a CD/DVD titled "Northern Lights" on November 6th of a live concert recorded in March 2007 in Røros Church in Norway with guest artist José Carreras. This concert will also be broadcast on PBS TV stations in the USA from Thanksgiving weekend through December. The track listing shows that Sissel's "Northern Lights" album contains three of the same songs as will also appear on the CD/DVD release of her 2006 Christmas concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, which should be released in October and also appear on PBS in December.
Sissel has also switched record labels from Decca, part of the Universal Music Group to Denon (the #1 independent classical label in the USA), part of the Savoy Label Group.
In related news, Sissel will tour select USA cities from January to March 2008 to promote "Northern Lights."

Watch Videos of Sissel:
Sissel PBS Promo video
Sissel PBS Promo video - extended version

Live Christmas CD and DVD Coming

2007-07-05T13:45:00.001-06:00

Sissel, together with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, will be releasing a CD and DVD this Fall of their live Christmas concert, which was recorded last December.

The CD will be titled "Like an Angel: Christmas with Sissel and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir."

Deseret Book (Mormon Church-owned bookstore) has the following description of the album: "Music critics have called her voice 'ethereal,' 'pristine' and 'captivating.' Throughout her career, Norwegian-born singing sensation Sissel has performed with a variety of artists whose styles range from folk to jazz and from rock to hip-hop. She has sung for royalty and shared stages with superstars such as Celine Dion and Sting. But for Sissel, singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square was 'a match made in heaven.' In her first-ever Christmas album released in the U.S., Sissel has collaborated with the world famous Choir to offer a dazzling collection of music for the holidays." (Except this is NOT Sissel's first Christmas album to be released in the USA. She sang more songs on "Vienna Noel" (1995) which was a live CD of her concert with Placido Domingo and Charles Aznavour.)

Tracks include:

Like an Angel Passing through My Room*
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!*
Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella
In the Bleak Mid-Winter*
Wexford Carol
Spirit of the Season, from The Polar Express
In dulci jubilo
Mitt hjerte alltid vanker (My Heart Always Wanders)*
Noe! Noe!
Away in a Manger
Mariä Wiegenlied
Ring, Christmas Bells (medley)
Vitae lux (Light of Life)*
Lux aurumque*
Silent Night
Angels, from the Realms of Glory*

*Sung by Sissel

A live DVD of the concert will also be released titled "Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir: Featuring Sissel."

The CD and DVD will be released some time in October.

Sissel Youngest Norwegian Ever to Receive the Spelleman's Hederspris

2007-01-29T22:26:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Sissel sang "Anna Lovinda" at the Spelleman awards (Norwegian Grammy's) with two other legendary Norwegian performers, Bjørn Eidsvåg and Åge Aleksandersen. Following their performance, they were each awarded the Spelleman Hederspris (Prize of Great Honor--somewhat akin to a "Lifetime Achievement" award in the USA). Sissel, at age 37, is the youngest Norwegian performer ever to receive this great honor.

Sissel Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

2006-11-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

Sissel will appear in four Christmas concerts with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Salt Lake City, December 14-17.

Actually, this will consist of three full 90-minute Christmas concerts Dec. 14-16 and then Sissel will appear on the choir's regular Sunday morning TV show on Dec. 17 followed by a mini-concert.

The full 90-minute Christmas concert will be broadcast on USA PBS TV stations nationally NEXT year in December 2007. The choir's regularly scheduled weekly broadcast featuring Sissel will probably be broadcast nationally the day of or the week following the live performance.

There is an 18-minute long news radio segment featuring an interview with Sissel regarding her upcoming concerts with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Salt Lake City, Utah, Dec. 14-17.

You can hear the KSL radio news interview here:
KSL: Sissel

Sissel's New Manager

2006-10-26T08:14:00.000-06:00

"Sissel exchanges her manager Arne Svare, her partner through 17 years, with Secret Garden manager Barry Matheson and veteran producer Bjørn Nessjø now that she will gamble more on classical crossover music," --translated from today's VG (Verden's Gang).

"To take over the responsibility for the career of such a great artist as Sissel Kyrkjebø is a big challenge which we readily take up," said Barry Matheson to VG, who has been partly responsible for making Secret Garden a huge star in the classical crossover genre.

Bergens Tidende predicted last week that Nessjø would take over management (with possibly Matheson as well).

Sissel's New Album Cover

2006-10-25T07:56:00.000-06:00

This is the new album cover design for Sissel's upcoming "De beste 1986-2006" album. The release date of the album has been postponed a week. It will now be released on 20. November.

De beste...

2006-10-24T07:53:00.000-06:00

According to an article in today's VG (Verdens Gang), Sissel's new album will be titled "De beste 1986-2006" (The Best 1986-2006), a greatest hits album to celebrate 20 years since her first album was released.

Sissel Ends 17-Year Business Partnership

2006-10-18T08:15:00.000-06:00

Sissel has decided to leave her manager of 17 years, Arne Svare, over disagreements this summer while recording her next album. She wanted to go in a different musical direction than he thought she should.

It is reported Sissel will continue to record folk/classical music for the foreseeable future.

Sissel will also be releasing a compilation album of her best songs on Nov. 13th.

Sissel's New Album in November

2006-08-10T12:05:00.000-06:00

Verdens Gang:

Today there is more confirmation of a Sissel album this year. Verdens Gang, Norway's largest newspaper reports that Sissel will be releasing an album in November.

New Sissel Album in the Fall

2006-08-08T09:48:00.000-06:00

Adresseavisen:

According to the Trondheim, Norway newspaper Adresseavisen, Sissel has a new album ready to be released this Fall.
We had previously heard she MIGHT work on a new album over the summer, but this is the first we've heard that there is something concrete in the works.

New Sissel Events Page

2006-07-28T23:18:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to post an EVENTS page for Sissel for a long time, but finally it's here. Check it out.

Friday Night Is Music Night

2006-03-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

Sissel's live performance on BBC Radio2's weekly program "Friday Night Is Music Night" has been posted to the "Listen to Sissel" section. Sissel sang four selections from her recent "Into Paradise" album: Sancta Maria, Like An Angel Passing Through, In Paradisum, and Bacchianas Brasileiras. The audio file posted has been edited to only include Sissel's performances and her introductions by the show's host.

Two Versions of "Into Paradise"

2006-02-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

Apparently there are two different versions of Sissel's upcoming album, "Into Paradise," rather than the same album being released in both the UK and the USA. The UK album contains 14 tracks, while the USA album features only 12 tracks. But the USA version hasn't just dropped two tracks from the UK version. It has dropped four songs from the UK release and added two others.

The songs which are on the UK version, but not on the USA release are: What Child Is This, The Sleeping Princess, Salley Gardens, and Ave Verum Corpus.

The songs that have been added to the USA release, which are not on the UK album are: Bereden väg för Herran (from Sissel's recent "Nordisk vinternatt" album), and Adagio.

"Into Paradise" will be released in the USA on 14. February and in the UK on 27. February.

Musica Obscura

2006-02-07T17:29:00.000-07:00

Check out my music blog, Musica Obscura, over at http://www.musicaobscura.net/. This week's entry is devoted to Sissel and features five Sissel songs.

Sissel Receives Knighthood

2006-02-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

Although it was originally announced back in October that the King of Norway had selected Sissel for knighthood in the St. Olav's Order, it wasn't until today that Sissel finally officially received the knighthood.

Her manager, Arne Svare, and her former manager Rune Larsen spoke. Arne said Sissel has only ever been mad one time in the 15 years he's been her manager, which occured while on a car tour in California when she hadn't eaten in a very long time.

Sissel sang for the full house at the ceremony at Hotel Bristol in Oslo, featuring "Innerst i sjelen," "Ave Marie," and she concluded with and was joined by the folks in the audience from Bergen in singing Bergen's song "Jeg tok min nystemte."