On 10 February 2024, Ketil Bjørnstad's Chasing the Wind (Jag etter vind) premiered in Oslo Cathedral, filled to capacity, featuring a mighty choir of hundred singers accompanied by a stellar line up of musicians. The text is an adapted version of the Bible's Ecclesiastes, a philosophical reflection on the meaning of life - or interpreted: the lack of meaning in life. A text as relevant today, as when it was first written. The concert was met with rave reviews, and it is now available on a double-CD, including the concert recording and Bjørnstad's piano sketches of the work.

In 1992, Ketil Bjornstad composed Mass for a Wounded Earth. It premiered at Frogner Church, and Erik Hillestad and KKV released the album. Hillestad wrote the text for the mass. In the years that followed, Bjørnstad often thought about Ecclesiastes, with some amazement that these fantastic and existential texts had not previously caught the attention of choirs, festivals, or concert organisers. In 2019, the opportunity arose when Catharina Jacobsen, Bjørnstad's wife, asked if Ketil could compose something new for her own choir, the Nordstrand Music Society Choir. Both had heard baritone singer Brynjar Onsøien perform Vaughan Williams's Songs of Travel during a Christmas concert with the choir, and his voice and delivery left a strong impression. Neither Catharina nor Ketil forgot Brynjar's powerful baritone, and when the Covid pandemic arrived in Norway for real, Catharina sat down and edited the Bible texts, focusing particularly on their existential aspect.