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God Has Sent To Us One Of His Angels -- |
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Firstly, we are pleased to offer this Commemorative "Collector's Edition" of the "Reflections Series" that Sissel released in 2019. It is a four disk DVD set consisting of 51 Music Videos and 51 corresponding "Talks" Videos. Please 
Secondly, we are VERY pleased to offer this four DVD Commemorative "Collector's Edition" -- "Platinum Treasures", consisting of: "Sissel w. the Tabernacle Choir", "Strålende Jul w. Sissel", and a collection of "Platinum Favorites". Please 
Thirdly, we are IMMENSELY pleased to offer this four DVD Commemorative "Collector's Edition" -- "Sissel's World", including original songs with lyrics written by Sissel herself. Please
"Sissel" is the Norwegian derivative of the English name "Cecilia" It is a rare and unusual name, commonly found in Denmark and Norway, where it is cherished for its traditional roots. The name is sometimes associated with notable figures in music and arts. Its connection to nature and strength makes it suitable for individuals that embody these qualities. Objectively, it is most commonly associated with the Latin word "caecus", meaning "blind or dim-sighted". Subjectively, however, the name is also linked to Saint Cecilia, a Roman martyr, considered to be the patron saint of music and musicians. This connection often leads to interpretations of Cecilia as representing spiritual vision, hidden beauty, or a girl with vision more than sight. It symbolizes the depth of perception beyond seeing (on the surface). The above listed three DVD collections EACH contain OVER five hours of "Angelic and Heavenly Sights and Sounds", designed to transport the listener from this world of earthly cares into Sissel's World of Ethereal Beauty. |
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To Listen to over 500 of Sissel's Captivating Performances - Broken Down Into 18 Categories & Arranged in Chronological Order -- Please Click HERE. |
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I am going to look at the career and life of a remarkable Norwegian artist/singer by name of Sissel Kyrkjebø and one song that she wrote entitled, "Free". I am going to consider "Freedom" vs. Anarchy and Nihilism. We will also look at "Constraint" vs. mindless, slavish, zombie-like Compliance to political, religious and social conditioning and "established norms". You may listen to and view her song and talk at the end of the article. In her "Talk", Sissel notes that Janis Joplin sang a song with the lyrics, "Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose". She also states THAT is NOT the type of "Freedom" that SHE desires. She further states that THIS type of "Freedom" -- Absolute Freedom is nothing less than ANARCHY, where no one is either safe nor truly "free" to develop and grow into the being that God intended them to become. She says that she desires to be a contributing, responsible human being with ties to colleagues, family, friends and society. THIS, she realizes, entails a certain degree of God-defined and instituted ethical and moral CONSTRAINT placed upon her life. This is necessary to insure a society where ALL can live a creative, productive and safe life. Jesus Christ noted (in the Christian Bible) that a house (life) built upon the firm foundation of God's established principles and words would endure against the "adversities and storms" of life. One however, erected upon the shifting sands of popular opinion, "pop psychology" and fleeting trends would disintegrate when subjected to the fierce winds of said "storms" !! I am NOT going to belabor this point, for ANY honest person possessing "eyes that can see and ears that can hear" need only to look about them at the state of society in general - and the lives of the vast majority of those living in it - to ascertain the truth (or falsehood) of the statement !! Physical and mental powers require "constraint" or opposition if they are to grow and develop. Muscles develop and grow stronger as they are forced to overcome greater and greater resistance. Mental power increases as it is used to analyze, confront, and solve greater and greater problems. Maturity develops as we encounter and correctly deal with, overcome and solve the obstacles and problems of life. This brings us to the specific point of Sissel herself and HER career and life. She was born and raised in Norway - a relatively (at least in certain aspects during the time of her growth) constraining society. One VERY important feature was its stress on and tradition for achievement and personal excellence, while attributing success to and sharing it with your colleagues. Along with this, they STRONGLY discouraged the attitudes of arrogance, pride, selfishness, "spotlight seeking" and vainglory that are SO prevalent in the USA. These two facts no doubt strongly contributed to her going on to be one of the HIGHEST achieving, MOST talented and versatile artist/ singers of ALL time. Even more remarkable - in the face of these achievments - most people who experience and know her state that she possesses an authenticity, genuineness, humility and modesty that are TOTALLY disarming and endearing. She was surrounded by a loving, supportive family who provided the security and space to investigate and explore "who Sissel was", to grow, and to embrace HER dreams and desires. Her parents didn't try to "squeeze her into a mold" that THEY had made. They embraced her interest in and love of music without exerting any pressure as to what THEY thought she should be and do. These accepting, encouraging and loving surroundings - that helped to instill self-confidence and self-worth in her - constituted at least a part of the reason why Sissel was able to ACTUALIZE the LATENT gifts and talents that were already present within her . As God continued to give Life to her Dream, she didn't have that inner (and outer) voice telling her, "be careful, that's not for you, you can't do that, what if you fail, what will people think". The opportunity was there - the desire was there - she didn't worry about failure or "what will people think" - she just went ahead and DID what needed to be done. Perhaps at times she DID fail, but she picked herself up, learned from the experience, and moved onward to the next opportunity !! For most of us "lesser mortals", our journey is truncated because of fear of failing or fear of the unknown - not being willing to forgo our present comfort and/or security - lack of confidence in ourselves, in our dreams, in our life purpose and/or vision - OR, just plain laziness !! In other words - in Sissel's case - she was able (through the strength and vision that God provided for her) to move OUT of the "crippling, suffocating,dark valley" of the criticisms, expectations and limitations of OTHERS. Having thusly escaped the bondage of the lower plains - she was free to "soar on eagle's wings" high above - among the mountain tops - on God's enablement, strength and vision for her. She states that she loved music from her youngest years. As she grew and matured, she realized that she had ONE compelling Dream and Desire -- to SING. She embraced that Dream with her whole being, desire, energy and life. She came to see that God had entrusted a GREAT Gift into her keeping - her tremendous talent and her voice - and that she was responsible to use it wisely and to glorify Him in and through it. Over the years, this gift - her voice and the massive versatility of her talent, along with the fulness of her WHOLE person - have grown to supernatural proportions !! In keeping with her background, she has stated repeatedly that she never sought for fame, riches nor stardom (though these have been granted to her in abundance). ALL that she ever wanted to do was to SING. This was her food, her joy, her lifeblood, and her purpose in life. Along these lines, it is interesting to note that when she was about 18 years old, she told an American music producer who wanted to make her into what he termed, "A BIG Star" - that she didn't want to be MADE into anything by him, or squeezed into some "box". She wanted to be FREE to be HERSELF --- what and who God made HER to be !! Empowered by the knowledge of where she came from, who she is, and where she is going, Sissel has continually allowed God to expand and stretch her, opening up new vistas of talent within her, and (as she put it) enabling her to continually move beyond her (perceived) "comfort zone". Over the years, Sissel has performed just about EVERY genre, style and type of music that there is, in a number of different languages. She has performed with many major artists, participated in many concerts, and appeared a number of times as guest soloist with the Tabernacle Choir in Utah. Also, she and her husband have written numerous songs together. Sissel is TRULY an enigma - a woman of contradictions, intrigue and mystery. She started out as an average teenager from an average family in a small city in Norway. She has matured into a Cosmopolitan, Glamorous, Sophisticated, Urbane, and Highly Esteemed and Talented Woman. She has at least two very definite sides to her being. There is her VERY "angelic, pure, spiritual" side that everyone is always commenting about. Then there is also her free-spirited, fun-loving, pixie like, saucy, sensual, sexy, spicy side. These two sides seem to be wedded together into one VERY extraordinary human being !! Observe a brief view of this in the video at the end of the article.
Sissel is MANY different "Persons" !! She is a complex, emotional, intelligent, intuitive, HIGHLY "spiritual" being. She is the innocent, shy, sweet "girl next door". She is the modest, simple, unassuming, "country-girl" from a small city in Norway. She is the cosmopolitan, glamorous, renowned, sophisticated - "woman of the world". She is the "pure, simple soul" who loves nature - and to be alone in it to relish its Beauty and Wonders. She is the driven, perfectionist entertainer "par excellence". She is the loving, nurturing mother and wife who values her family, her home and her privacy. She is the international "darling and love" of 10's of thousands - who captivates and mesmerizes them with her astonishing beauty, charisma, and musical and theatrical talent. She is - without question - THE "Musical Genius" of her time. She is a "mischievous pixie" and a "divine Love-gift" from God. She can perform the most sacred - and the most sensual - of musical treasures with equal perfection and sincerity. In my mind (and I believe that in the minds of thousands of her fans) Sissel is THE "Woman par Excellence" - embodying within herself ALL that is magnificent, wonderful and to be admired in femininity and womanhood. Her life has been a living monument to the qualities of ability, achievement, dedication, hard work, modesty, virtue (for the most part), and wisdom. She is a role model that ANYONE (man or woman) would do VERY well to emulate. I admire and respect her more, perhaps, than I have ever done regarding anyone else!! I think that she is a living testimony of our time as to what a person can achieve and be when the creative power within the human soul and spirit, in harmony with the Life and Power of God's Spirit, can be free to express itself --- free from self-appointed (and internal) critics - fear - external expectations - and the stifling and suffocating interference, meddling and restraints of government, (false, man-imposed) religion and society. God certainly GAVE to her an abundance of Charisma, Gifting and Talent - but she has WORKED very hard over the years developing, growing, perfecting - and learning how to utilize these to their utmost ! I guess they are like seeds -- if you want a good, bountiful crop, the seedlings need to be cultivated and nurtured. Otherwise, they will simply wither and die !! |
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 "It is NOT the critic who counts, NOT the person who points out how the strong one stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the one who is actually IN the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short ; who fights and falls and rises to fight again and again. It is given to such as this to know the great enthusiasms, the great devotions -- who spend themselves in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if they fail, at least fail while daring greatly. The place of such a One as this shall NEVER be with those cold and timid souls, who know neither victory nor defeat !" | ||||
Here are four companion songs to the "Sissel's Mantra or Life Motto" that I posted above. They DEFINATELY reflect and spell out the Spirit of her Career and Life. She had a dream in her teen's -- to sing!! She has indeed followed that dream with all of her heart - giving to it her entire life and being, overcoming every obstacle. In the process, this Dream has released God's "inner power and resources" that neither she nor the world would have ever dreamt that she possessed without her Courage, Faith, Perseverance and downright HARD WORK. She has indeed spent her life "climbing every mountain" and pursuing her dream "wherever it would lead her". It has led her to abounding, supernatural Fame, Glory and Sucess as a world acclaimed, one-of-a-kind entertainer, singer and woman. WAY TO GO Sissel - You are our HERO !! Please Click [ HERE ] to read a short article on my perspective regarding Sissel's Click [ HERE ] to read an "Open Question for Sissel" regarding HER "Life Perspective". |
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Sissel Kyrkjebø, the international singing sensation and national treasure of Norway, is established as one of the world's leading crossover sopranos. Her angelic and powerful voice has made her a national institution. She has contributed haunting vocals for the soundtrack to "Titanic" and "The Lord of the Rings", as well as selling over ten million solo albums. In 2006, her album, "The Spirit of the Season" with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir went to number one on the Billboard Classical Charts, and received a Grammy nomination.
She captivated the whole nation of Norway in 1986, when she sang during the break at the Eurovision final in Bergen - only 16 years old and dressed in a white bunad (traditional Norwegian folk costume). Since then, her fame and success have just continued to soar. She has been praised and acclaimed at home and abroad, and masters both the small and the very large formats -- everything from American TV shows to film music. Her singing knows no bounds - she masters all genres - from opera to rap!
She has sung all over the world, and has performed duets with singers like Charles Aznavour, Andrea Bocelli, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Mario Frangoulis, Josh Groban, Brian May, Neil Sedaka, Bryn Terfel, Russell Watson and rapper Warren G. Her list of achievements makes you dizzy -- ranging from Schubert to Deep Purple - "O mio babbino caro" to "Udsigter fra Ulrikken". Truly a very remarkable talent and voice that only comes once in our lifetime!
It is difficult to say anything that hasn't already been said about Sissel, but "National Treasure" and "Norway's Joint Voice" are two of the terms used about the "girl from Bergen". In 2005, she was knighted by the King of Norway, being the youngest ever to receive this honor.
On June 28, 2025, Sissel finally performed with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra - on the island of Stangholmen - during the Risør chamber music festival. This was her first appearance at this six day festival.
On September 4, 2025, she (along with two other contestants) was awarded the "Anders Jahres Culture Prize". This is Norway's largest honorary award for outstanding cultural efforts. The prize was awarded for the first time in 1990, and this year's edition is the 36th in a row. The prize winners are honored with an awards ceremony that takes place in the University Hall in Oslo, followed by a gala dinner at Hotel Continental. The prize consists of an amount of NOK 500,000, a hand-calligraphed diploma and a beautiful watercolor by Håkon Gullvåg. For Biography Sites, click: [ HERE ], [HERE], [ HERE ], [ HERE ], [ HERE ], [ HERE ], [ HERE ], [ HERE ], and [ HERE ]. |
 | portraits of Sissel [ HERE ]. Note: It is a VERY large file, 800 Mb. | ||
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