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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 with the Tabernacle Choir", "Strålende Jul with Sissel", and a collection of "Platinum Favorites". Please  |
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Over two years ago (2022), I discovered, on YouTube, a world renowned singer by name of Sissel Kyrkjebø¸ from Norway (where she currently resides). She immediately captivated my heart -- and my enchantment with her became deeper and stronger the more that I listened to and watched her videos !!
Since then, I have watched over 500 different videos by her, covering most ALL types and genre of music. I have grown to appreciate and love music types and selections that I would have NEVER been exposed to were it not for her mystical talent and voice. I have created a WEB site featuring these selections from YouTube, divided into 17 different categories. I have also created over two dozen original videos featuring her and her talent, and written a number of short articles. I am an AVID contributor to two of her Facebook fan clubs. I MUST admit, like SO many other thousands of her fans on Facebook (as attested to by their comments to her videos), that I am TOTALLY enchanted, enthralled, entranced, and unashamedly IN LOVE with this marvelous and phenomenal woman !! Sissel is, beyond ANY question, an extraordinarily beautiful woman, who has grown more beautiful with the passing of the years (she is 55 now). However, there are MANY beautiful women in the world. She also has a talent and a voice that are nothing less than a "Gift from the Divine" - but there are also MANY talented singers in the world. Finally, she DOES possess an astounding charisma and a TOTALLY disarming smile and sense of modesty, rarely to be found elsewhere !! However, there are (and have been) MANY "charismatic individuals in the Entertainment Industry. WHAT then is it that sets Sissel apart -- head-and-shoulders above the rest -- one-of-a-kind -- alone in her "Musical Universe of One". It is THIS question that I shall endeavor to investigate in this article. I have sought to know and understand Sissel (as best that I can without meeting her in person, which will probably NEVER happen) through her music, her "Talks" (accompanying some of her music videos), interviews and such articles as can be found concerning her. Articles are few however, and generally relate to her professional life, since she has stated (and firmly enforced with the media) that her "private life" is just that - PRIVATE - and not open for "media consumption". I once showed an article that I had written about Sissel to a friend - in which I had showered Sissel with lavish praise. The person commented that she was very touched that I would think so highly of a "mere entertainer" !! She obviously missed the point, as do most of us (I just realized). While Sissel is definitely THE entertainer and singer "extraordinaire", her gift is FAR greater than that - she is the "Master Communicator" !! She communicates with her emotions, eyes, face, body language, smile, spirit, and voice. God has given to her a gift that is FAR more compelling than is mere charisma. When Sissel sings or talks (as in her "Talks" or in an interview), something about her presence COMPELS you to listen, watch, and pay close attention. You WANT to experience, hear, and receive EVERYTHING that she has to communicate !! 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 - with a GREAT desire to sing !! She has matured into a Cosmopolitan, Glamorous, Sophisticated, Urbane, and Highly Esteemed and Talented Woman. She has stated repeatedly (and shown by her life) that she never wished for fame nor glory, to be wealthy, nor to be "A Star" !! She has said that ALL that she ever wanted was just TO SING -- she HAD to sing, it is her "mantra", her joy, and her purpose in life. She has also stated that she realizes that her immense gifts and talents are gifts that God has entrusted to her, and she is accountable to Him as to how she uses them. Despite the above, Sissel HAS achieved EVERYTHING that any sane human being could desire - she and her husband are quite wealthy - she has two beautiful, loving children - she herself has extraordinary Beauty, Charm, Grace and Modesty. She is a world renowned singer with a voice that has been described by MANY (including music professionals) as a one-of-a-kind, not likely to be heard again. Her performing talent and versatility boarders on the supernatural. During her career (starting at age 16), she has performed just about EVERY genre of music - from classical opera to profoundly spiritual to popular rock - with flawless perfection, and in numerous different languages. I have watched in awe as she does a VERY sensual popular selection, and then turn right around and perform a deeply spiritual and sacred song. She has performed numerous times as a guest soloist with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (who each mutually love and deeply respect the other), as well as in cabarets or night clubs doing popular jazz numbers. She performs equally well (and appropriately) - and is equally at home - in the Royal Court as in the open-air stadiums among her adoring fans. I have asked in my heart the question, "How does she do this??" At first, I thought that it was just an act, a learned entertainment technique, a "make-believe", a performer's pretense. However, the more that I observed Sissel's performing, the more that I was convinced that THIS was NOT a satisfactory explanation. For one thing, her "performances" appear to be 100% genuine and real. I don't even like to label what Sissel does as "perform", for to me, that word carries the connotation of "acting and artificiality". When Sissel sings, one of the things that REALLY stands out (in addition to the ethereal quality of her voice) is her DEEP emotional involvement in the song, and how she captures this emotion and conveys it into the heart and spirit of the listener. Someone on Facebook mentioned that there are a number of her songs that she sings in a sweet, melancholy voice -- "Ready to Go Home", "Going Home", "Crying in the Chapel", "I Went to Bed So Late at Night", "I Know a Castle in Heaven" and others. I added that, to me, there are others in which she expresses a "small, hidden corner of loneliness and sadness in her heart" - especially during her "jazz period" starting around 2010. It is especially noticeable (to me) in the songs like: "Wait a While", "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" and "Good-bye". Sissel made the comment at her concert - "Into Paradise" - in Dalhalla, Sweden, 2006 that this magnificent outdoor amphitheater was the perfect place for her to present what she termed as, "My New Music - My Musical World". By this, perhaps she meant the "Core Sissel", from which ALL the rest of her talent radiated forth like rays of light from the filament of the bulb. In particular, she mentioned that the song after which this concert was entitled was, to her, an especially important and precious selection. She stated that when she performed it, she was transported within herself to "someplace very beautiful". I believe that here we have a clue to the heart and motivation of Sissel's life and singing. Perhaps all of her life she has been captivated by the hidden desire to return to that which mankind lost so long ago. Her music gives her fleeting moments of that experience !! At heart, Sissel is a TRUE Dreamer, Romantic and Visionary - ever seeking that Land where ALL dreams come true. I believe that God has placed within her heart the Longing and the Vision for her (ALL of our) TRUE home. All that she seeks and finds HERE will be but tokens pointing toward the TRUE treasure. In themselves, they will never give REAL satisfaction, but merely urge us onward and upward. I mentioned this fact in another article as relating to her first Trilogy. Perhaps THIS is the source of the "sweet melancholy" that one senses when she sings of "Going Home". THIS is (I feel) a VERY large part of her "Charm and Mystical Power" !!
However, I have come to feel that even THIS explanation does NOT fully explain the Immense and Supernatural effect or power that Sissel exercises over some of her listeners. I must confess that, as for myself, she has literally "put me under her spell". My heart is captivated by her and she has me mesmerized. I can no longer REALLY enjoy any other singer. As I told my daughter, "When you have heard the BEST, all of the REST are found wanting". Her beauty (even at 55 years of age) entrances me. She has an internal beauty - a beauty of Soul and Spirit - that originates from deep within her being. To me, she is FAR more attractive and desirable than most other women (even those much younger). She seems to literally radiate an aura of Joy, Love and Warmth that you can not help but be drawn into and engulfed by !! I tried to do a "Google Search" on the topic, "What is the name of the Gift or Power that certain people possess (especially women) that enables them to control the emotions and thoughts of others (especially men)"? I didn't get much of an answer - most of what came up were references to witchcraft - ancient and modern. I would guess that in the dark, medieval days, Sissel would have no doubt been branded as a Witch !! I mentioned this to my daughter, and told her that the only at-all useful information that I could find was relating to the gift of "Charisma", which is defined as "a supernatural gift possessed by certain people that seems to compel others to love them and want to do for them in order to please the possessor of the gift" I know that many entertainers and politicians possess this gift in limited measure. However, I told her that, in MY mind, the power that Sissel possesses goes FAR beyond simple charisma. She, who I have encouraged into becoming a fellow Sissel Fan, agreed with me !! Even the fact that fearful, ignorant, superstitious people have attributed such power to "witchcraft and the forces of darkness" indicates that such power DOES exist and can NOT be explained by "normal" means. Another example would be from myth - one such case being "The Odyssey" - Homer's tale of Odysseus' homeward journey after the Trojan War is over. He especially heeds the advice from the goddess Circe who warns him about the "Sirens." These two monsters, who pretended to be beautiful women with amazing voices, tried to assure sailors, who passed their island, that they just wanted to entertain them with beautiful melodies. What they really wanted, however, was to lure them on to destruction.
For those of you who are familiar with the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, I refer you to David, a young shepherd who later became the second King of Israel. As a young man, God selected him and placed a measure of His Spirit (power) within David, and gave him a supernatural ability with music and song. God spoke of David saying that he (David) was a "man after His (God's) heart". When the then-king Saul would be troubled in mind and spirit, David would play the harp and sing for him, and his distress would depart. Years later, David composed most of the Psalms (spiritual songs) in the Bible. David was also a VERY charismatic man, and MUCH loved by the people of Israel - so much so that Saul became jealous and sought to have David killed. Ultimately, David became King over all of Israel. Despite ALL of these blessings however, in his later years, David showed forth that he was at heart, "Merely a mortal man of flesh and blood"! He committed adultery with the wife of one of his commanders, and then, in an effort to hide his sin, David had that man murdered. Over the course of the following years, he made numerous VERY bad decisions and judgments regarding the nation and his own family. The result of these was turmoil in the nation and in his family, one of his sons conspiring to take the kingship from his father, and the ultimate split of Israel into two warring sections. I relate these details about David in order to stress that, despite David's GREAT anointing and blessing by God, he was still basically "a man of flesh and blood like all of us", and subject to the same human failings. God has shown me that I myself (like Sissel's other fans) need to keep in mind that - despite the heavenly appellations that we bestow upon her - like "angel, gift from God, messenger from God, voice of the Divine, not of this world, etc." - she is STILL a REAL, flesh-and-blood woman with the same human emotions and needs as any other woman. Taking into account ALL of the above, I have had to accept the fact that the "REAL" Sissel has had times of failure, grief, pain, sorrow,struggle and suffering in her life, and has made choices that were perhaps NOT optimal in God's sight. All of the above outlines the reason why I - nor the rest of her fans- can not (and MUST not) do to her what she herself has especially denounced -- namely, elevating her up onto some "Angelic Platform" and trying to make of her something that she is NOT - nor wishes to be !! She stated that, in her early 20's, she could no longer bear with the "angelic image" that Norway and the public had cast her into. She expressed that it was because of her long, blond, honey-colored hair - her angelic face and demeanor - and the songs that she sang. It seems that it was also very profitable for Norway itself to have her cast that way. In any case, she and her friends knew that it was NOT true (that image was NOT the REAL Sissel) - and she rebelled by cutting her hair very short, dying it a dark color and changing her style and wardrobe. It seems that another "transition of discovery" took place after her divorce in 2004, when she embraced and was transformed by her "jazz period" Sissel is MANY different "Persons" !! 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. She is a complex, emotional, intelligent, intuitive, HIGHLY "spiritual" being. Above all - she is MUCH beloved by 10's of thousands throughout the world - and loves them and God in return !! Along these lines, it is interesting to note that when she was about 19 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 !! Listen to her song, "FREE" here (click link). 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!! One thing that I DO believe that I have discovered abut Sissel is that she is an EXTRAORDINARILY complex and intricate human being. She must be a true challenge to her husband as he endeavors to get to know and love her. She is, according to her own testimony, continuing her lifelong "Journey of (self) Exploration" - continuing to grow, make mistakes, learn and mature into the FULL being that God created her to be. She has already achieved and become so VASTLY much more than the average human will ever hope for, and yet she (and I ) believe that she has just exposed the smallest part of the potential that God has placed within EACH of us. Someone observed that it would not be any form of exaggeration to state that, pertaining to her Art, Sissel is a true genius -- after the order of Chopin, Leonardo da Vinci, or Michelangelo. My daughter commented that Sissel SHOULD have a good attitude considering how blessed her life has been. I corrected her to the effect that, in MY mind, the situation was just the opposite - Sissel's life has been abundantly blessed BECAUSE of her loving, persevering, positive attitude. God used ALL of the circumstances of her life (the good and happy, as well as the not-so-good) as building materials to fashion the Sissel that He wanted to bring forth. She was willing to trust Him and give herself to the journey. For most of us "lesser mortals", our journey is truncated because of fear of failing or of the unknown - not being willing to forgo our present security and/or comfort - lack of confidence in ourselves, dreams, life purpose, and/or vision - OR, just plain laziness !! I have FINALLY (sigh of relief from reader) reached the end of my treatise. ALL of the forgoing is merely to say that regarding ALL that Sissel now IS - or WILL be - or any potential that MAY remain locked away during THIS life of hers --- She is a Living Message of Joy and Love from God to us. I believe that God is saying to those of us who have "eyes to see and ears to hear" -- "I have placed a small part of My Divine Life within Sissel for you to Experience - to Taste - to Touch. For those of you who will open yourselves up to receive - through her person, her talent and her voice - I will share with you a VERY real part of MY supernatural Joy, Life and Love !!" I believe that through Sissel, God is reaching out to ALL of us with an invitation saying: Come, you who are hungry and thirsty -- Taste and see that the LORD is good. How blessed is the one who takes shelter in Him. ** For the kingdom of God is demonstrated not in idle talk, but with power (and love). ** Ps 34:8 ** 1Cor 4:20 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 Sissel a national institution and she has sung all over the world, selling over ten million solo albums. She has contributed haunting vocal tracks for the soundtrack to Titanic and The Lord of the Rings, and has been performing duets with singers like Charles Aznavour, Andrea Bocelli, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Mario Frangoulis, Josh Groban, Brian May, Neil Sedaka, Bryn Terfel and Russell Watson. In 2005, she was knighted by the King of Norway, as the youngest ever to receive this honour. 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. A very remarkable voice that only comes once in our lifetime. For Biography Sites, click: [ HERE ], [ HERE ], [ HERE ], [ HERE ], [ HERE ], [ HERE ], [ HERE ] and [ HERE ]. |
 | portraits of Sissel [ HERE ]. Note: It is a VERY large file, over 1gb. | ||
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