And Fear of Loss Will Not Oppress Your Heart (2025)

In this work, the composer moves within a space that opens up for both the experimental, but also for the emotional. He further develops an expression that he has been working with for a long time: composing with a standpoint in the public space. The concert addresses a current theme (social relations in society), and demonstrates the composer's social engagement – while at the same time drawing upon the timeless aspect of this, with allusions to Dante's The Divine Comedy. The piece is musically experimental, but also carries tradition with it. There is a very exciting dialogue between the soloists and the percussionists in the orchestra. Henrik Hellstenius takes his starting point in the soloists he writes for, but makes it universal. He uses text in a surprising way, and adds meaningful elements into a genre that usually does not have them. Hellstenius has a sparse but effective use of the orchestra. This emphasizes the soloists, and contributes to a fruitful interplay between soloist and orchestra.