It was released on 27 February 2022, was recorded two days later by Lithuanian-Norwegian viola player Povilas Syrrist-Gelgota of theOslo Philharmonic, and was broadcast shortly afterwards by the Norwegian government broadcaster,NRK, and performed at a peace concert in support of Ukraine at theNorwegian Academy of Music.[1][2][4][5][6][7][8][9] The work was also featured in a program onLRT on 8 March 2022.[10] Furthermore, the work is featured atSOS Children's Villages' andUNICEF Norway's solidarity concert "Together for the Children of Ukraine" in theAtrium of the University of Oslo, a traditional venue ofNobel Peace Prize ceremonies.[11]
Paus has described the work as a song of resistance and said that "the work seems to strike a chord with many people, including those who are in the middle of the battle zone. There is no nobler task for music than to unite and comfort people."[1] Shortly before writing the work, Paus was commissioned by the Norwegian Armed Forces to write a major "identity-building and unifying" work for the armed forces, the largest commission in the history of Norwegian military music.[12][13] Paus, who is partly of Jewish descent, was also commissioned by theGovernment of Norway to write the choral workThe Beauty That Still Remains, based onAnne Frank'sdiary, for the official Norwegian 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.[14]
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