Brief return to Tromso for a midnight concert

The Hurtigruten Line is still a fully functioning ferry which also carries passengers and cargo from one town to another up and down the Norwegian coast.   The company was founded in 1893 to operate on Norway's western and north coast between Bergen and Kirkenes.  Hurtigruten means "Express Route".  Of course it has vastly expanded from being a mere ferry service and according to Wikipedia, the company has nearly 2% of the worldwide cruise market.  The company has begun operations in other parts of the world.

So, bearing in mind that it is a ferry service, quite a few passengers, some with cars, embarked at Hammerfest for the ride to Tromso.  The fact that the airport was closed due to fog may also have been responsible for the fact that the 7th floor deck was for the first time, full of noisy children, something we had not experienced on this trip up until now.  We arrived at Tromso at 12:45pm instead of our northbound daytime stop.  We joined the excursion to a midnight concert at the Arctic Cathedral.

The Cathedral at night. 

The stain glass window.

The concert, especially put on for the Hurtigruten group by a trio of professional musicians, was a delight.  The acoustics of the cathedral are wondrous and the superb voices of the two sopranos thrilled us.  The program was Scandic folk songs, mostly Norwegian with one Finnish and one a Sami yoik.

The concert was very well attended and rightly so.  We had a wonderful hour of superb singing accompanied by flute and piano.  One of the singers was also the flautist.  The first two songs were accompanied by the organ and the singers sang on the back balcony with their lovely voices floating downwards.  It was quite an unforgettable experience.