DEN FORSTE JULEN I SKOMAKERGATA (CHRISTMAS IN COBBER STREET)

Original score from the 2023 family feature film directed by Mikal Hovland, starring Kare Conradi, Kaya Ekerholt McCurley and Mathias Luppichini, produced and released by Nordisk Film (Norway).

THE STORY: It’s just before Christmas, and 11-year old Stine arrives Cobbler street all by herself. There she seek shelter at Shoemaker Andersens place, a grumpy old man who just wants to be left alone. Their meeting changes everything for the both of them.

THE SCORE: “Den forste julen i Skomakergata (based on a much loved 1970s Norwegian TV series from the seventies) is director Mikal Hovland’s first feature film. To work on a director’s debut can be a daunting task, also for a composer, but after meeting him, talking about films we loved, and how it was to grow up in western Norway, I thought this was going to be a great film to work on. And, I could use an orchestra, which is always a good reason to take a project! The film was shot in winter 2022, and released in november 2023, an unusually long postproduction period. The film was pretty much edited twice, and scored twice. And it was worth the trouble. The original series had a six note motif in glockenspiel that opens the main theme. This song, “Skomakervisa”, opens the album. The harmonica is played by legendary Sigmund Groven, who also played on the old series, back in 1979. Then, we are off to the score, starting with a train chase, something I always wanted to do. Again, I have chosen to work with Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Hernando. Recorded in the fabulous sounding Studio 2 of Slovak Radio” ? Gaute Storaas

THE COMPOSER: For more than 30 years, Gaute Storaas has been writing music for film and TV. Despite his background in jazz and pop music, his love for the orchestra and what musicians can bring of life and emotions to a project, shines through his film scores. Credits include the Oscar-nominated A Man Called Ove, medieval drama The Last King and lately, the remake of Three Wishes for Cinderella, A Christmas Tale (both 2021), Three Robbers and a Lion (2022) and now, Christmas on Cobbler Street. Gaute learned his craft at Berklee college of music in the eighties, and gained a lot of experience writing string and orchestral arrangements for recording sessions the following decade. Three albums of orchestral blast for black metal band Dimmu Borgir, and a Christmas album (“Mitt hjerte alltid vanker”), for the acclaimed trumpet virtuoso Tine Thing Helseth and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, are worth mentioning. Aside from composing, Gaute maintains his bass playing skills, and can be spotted on stage with Det norske poesi og satireokester, a spoken word/ jazz trio, with celebrated jazz pianist Vigleik Storaas (brother), and poet Dagfinn Nordbo. Over the years, Gaute has received several awards and nominations, and is the only Nordic composer holding two Harpa Awards.
Official CD-R pressings