Not a lot of singers are blessed with the voice of an angel.
At the early age of 13, this boy has already achieved international fame by performing arias from various baroque composers—namely Bach, Handel and Mozart.
This young boy from Norway has an extraordinarily beautiful voice!
Aksel Rykkvin is a Norwegian singer who began his career as a choir singer as early as ten years old.
At age five, he had already begun his vocal training and later became a member of the Oslo Cathedral Boy’s Choir after a few years.
As he reached 13 years old, he already started building a name for himself as he released his debut album Aksel and began performing at solo concerts.
Critics have noted Rykkvin for having a “pure tone and mature musicianship to perfection,” and as a musical child prodigy.
As this video shows, it was a Christmas blessed with a dreamy melody!
On the night of December 16, 2016, people gathered at Oslo Cathedral to watch performances from many popular artists as part of the annual Desembertoner Christmas concert.
Anyone could enjoy the enchanting music that reverberated from the halls of the cathedral, as this event welcomes everyone freely.
In that event, Rykkvin made his appearance as the solo treble along with the Oslo Cathedral Choir and the IRIS Chamber orchestra accompanying him.
They performed “Laudate Dominum,” one of the six movements from Mozart’s sacred choral composition, “Vesperae solennes de confessore.”
Prepare for your jaw to drop as this 13-year-old boy opens his mouth!
The moment Rykkvin starts singing, you’ll already feel goosebumps all over your skin.
Mozart’s “Laudate Dominum” was originally composed for soprano-pitched singers, but somehow it perfectly fits Rykkvin’s beautiful voice.
He soloed the aria while accompanied by a big stringed orchestra.
Rykkvin’s smooth vocal tones filled the entire cathedral and bestowed such a sweet melody upon the audience. After two minutes of singing alone, Rykkvin paused and let the choir behind him fill in with their enchanting harmonies.
Rykkvin was put in the spotlight once more before the curtain call.
A few moments later, he reclaimed the spotlight as he finished singing the rest of the song.
Rykkvin’s divine vocal riffs were mesmerizing to hear alongside the choir’s echoing tunes. It was as if the angels were personally singing at Oslo Cathedral!
The sound of the strings stopped and signified the end of the performance.
After that, loud applause took over the halls as the boy bowed his head in front of his audience.
At some point, everyone goes through puberty—and Aksel reached his a month after he finished his album Light Divine in 2018.
As his voice changed through puberty, he couldn’t sing as high as he did sang during the 2016 Desembertoner concert. However, despite his changing voice, Rykkvin did not give up on singing and has been prevailing as a baritone singer. A critic from The Guardian has noted this change and wrote, “…that ethereal sound was lost forever—but it is now frozen on disc for all time.” If you are interested in hearing some of Aksel Rykkvin’s earlier works, check out his music on various music platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer.
Watch the full performance in the link below:
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