SUMMARTONAR CONCERTS, FISH SUPPERS AND A TOUR OF THE ISLANDS

After visiting the Faroe Islands alone in 2016, it was a great pleasure to perform with my Nordic Viola Ensemble in 2 concerts as part of Sumartónar on 5^th July. This time we were Janet Larsson (flute and piccolo), David Martin and I (violas) and Joost Bosdijk (bassoon).

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SUMMARTÓNAR

Beginning in 1984, Faroese composers started organizing concerts of their own music together with works by international composers. After establishing the Association of Faroese Composers (Felagið Føroysk Tónaskøld) in 1987, these concerts became more regular, especially with the annual Spring Concert and a series of concerts over the summer in collaboration with the Listasavn Føroya (the Faroese Art Gallery). In 1991 a concert with works by several Faroese composers was presented at the St Magnus Festival in Orkney. After participating in a festival in a community comparable with the Faroe Islands, the Faroese composers decided to establish a similar festival the following year in the Faroes. Since these early years, the musical scene in the Faroes has gone from strength to strength and the festival reflects the diversity and creativity of today’s musicians who bring Faroese music to the world and international music to the Faroes.

FAROESE MUSIC AND MUSIC INSPIRED BY THE FAROES

Our programme contained works by Faroese composers Kári Bæk and Kristian Blak as well as pieces inspired by Faroese music by me and Arnannguaq Gerstrøm. We also played a piece based on tunes from Orkney by Judith Weir and a set of Shetland tunes inspired by fishing and whaling trips to Greenland and the Faroes in days gone by. (For more details, see blog below).

I met Kristian back in 2016 and spent a lot of time talking to him about his solo viola piece “Tístram”. It was a real pleasure this time to meet Kári Bæk and rehearse “Vár Trio” and “Fragment” with his input.

When I visited Shetland in November 2016, I composed a piece in conjunction with Margaret Robertson’s fiddle students at Anderson High School. We took as our basis a fragment of a Faroese tune and imagined it seen through the mists over the sea between Shetland and the Faroes. Many a time on my travels people have mentioned how frustrating it is that these archipelagos, with their shared heritage, have no direct transport link. This slightly wistful piece is my response to this.

We were joined on this occasion by two students from Tórshavn music school, Nancy Nónskarð Dam and Bergur Davidsen. We met and rehearsed together for the first time two days before the concert and they fitted in wonderfully with us – a real credit to their teacher, Jona Jacobsen. You can hear their performance here. One day I hope to perform this piece with students from both sets of islands.

THE NORDIC HOUSE

It was an absolute pleasure to perform in the beautiful “Klingran” space in the Nordic House. There are views over Tórshavn through the big glass windows and the performing space is separated from the foyer and café by a glass panel. I love the fact that the space is lit by natural light and that there is no big barrier between the concert and people casually walking into the building. All these things increase the accessibility of music. The acoustics are brilliant, too. It’s an intimate, warm sound that lets every detail shine through. As in my previous concert in the Havnar Kirkja in 2016, the wind was determined to play its part, joining in with the wind effects at the beginning of Arnannguaq Gerstrøm’s “Ukioq”!

We enjoyed playing to an almost full house including Kári, Kristian and many of our friends from the music school. I don’t know whether the Faroese chain dance is to thank for this, but there was some particularly energetic foot stamping in the encore!

RITUVIK

Fortified by a good old fish supper (well, we are from Scotland!) we drove up through the island of Streymoy and over the only bridge over the Atlantic to Esturoy. (This is a Faroese claim – the residents of Kylesku and Skye may wish to dispute that one!) We then drove down through Esturoy to the small village of Rituvík, population 256. (One of the features of Summartónar is that it’s not confined to the capital city, but rather visits many small communities around the islands – something that is also central to the ethos of Nordic Viola.) The journey took one and a quarter hours. Once the new Esturoy tunnel (complete with a subsea roundabout!) is built, this journey of 40 miles will be reduced to 17 miles.

Rituvík church was also beautiful to play in. It was a small, intimate space with a small, intimate yet appreciative audience!

A very long and busy day but much enjoyed by all the musicians. My thanks to Janet, Joost and David and to Dًávur for being our roadie for the day!

A big thank you to the Nordic House and Fróði Vestergaard, not only for looking after us on the concert day but also for providing beautiful accommodation in the conference suite for David and I.

Most of all, thanks to Kristian Blak for organising Summartónar each year. With concerts from May to August, it is a massive undertaking. We hope we’ll be back to play soon!

Concerto Grotto

Two years ago I visited the Faroe Islands for the first time. Just like last time, I hit the ground running. No sooner had I landed than I was in Tórshavn Music School (before I’d even seen my digs!) carrying on where I left off: working with Jóna Jacobsen and her students. (You’ll find out more about that in my next post.) On an evening stroll through town, we bumped into Kristian Blak and popped in for a quick chat. It really felt like I’d never been away.

Boarding Nordlusið

Cunard’s Queen Victoria

I woke up the next morning buzzing with excitement. Ever since I’d heard Dávur Juul Magnussen’s CD Cesurae, I’ve been desperate to do a Concerto Grotto.  Usually these concerts take place in Klæmintsgjógv in the island of Hestur, but due to sea conditions we were off to the east side of Nólsoy. Notwithstanding that, we had bright blue skies and a calm sea as we set off on the schooner Nordlusið, feeling dwarfed by the massive bulk of Cunard’s Queen Victoria. For all her luxury, I’d never have swapped her for the journey we were on.

As we rounded the north coast of Nólsoy, my eyes were peeled for our cave. Dressed in life jackets, Dávur, Emily and I carefully transferred viola, trombone, amp and battery into a small dinghy – a delicate operation!

Dávur received a quick driving lesson and we were off! Shivers ran down my spine as I started playing. It was magical watching the audience float towards us in their dinghies as I played Tvisöngur, the piece I wrote in Iceland and the Faroes 2 years ago, inspired by Seyðisfjörður’s eponymous sound sculpture. I’d been dreaming of doing this for ages. Dávur joined me as I played “Soay”, a beautiful tune from Scotland’s St. Kilda islands and we moved into some free improvisation. The concert finished with Dávur’s rendition of the Faroese national anthem.

It takes a little bit of time to get accustomed to using the cave as a musical partner. There are the natural sounds of waves and water splashing on the boats as well as the echo, but the moving soundboard of the sea’s surface also adds to the music. Gradually I found what sounds were most effective. Glissandi are particularly good, eerily evoking whale song, perhaps. It was fun playing with merging the timbres of trombone and viola. On the face of it they’re unlikely partners, but both instruments have a wide range of colour and a big overlap in pitch range and it’s interesting to explore how their sounds complement and contrast with each other.

The cave was visually beautiful, too. The water was aquamarine and I kept finding myself focusing on a thin band of red rock just on the waterline, formed from volcanic ash I learned later. The eroded roof had flashes of vivid green moss or algae contrasting with the black basalt.

Concerts over we scrabbled back into the big boat – people and instruments all present and correct. Phew! Birgir the skipper then treated us to a circumnavigation of the island. We watched the birds busily feeding their young on the cliffs and saw several seals sunbathing on a tightly-packed rock.

As we rounded the southern end of the island I saw the lighthouse I’d hiked to with Paige Klugherz on my last visit and the famous eye of the needle through the island. And then we had the sails up, Dávur showing his sailing credentials and helping to hoist them.

A bit of banter on the ships horn with the Queen Victoria, off on her way to her next port and suddenly we were back in the harbour. I’m not going to rest now until I’ve done it all on the bigger stage of Klæmintsgjógv. I’ve played in the Albert Hall, London and the Musikverein in Vienna, but never on a platform so beautiful as that sea cave!

If you’re in the Faroes in the next month or so, there are more Concerti Grotti (if that’s the plural) so do give it a go – it’s special. http://www.nordlysid.com/trips If you’re not lucky enough to experience it for yourself, then have a look at the video Emily Nenniger kindly made for us. https://www.facebook.com/royalscottishnationalorchestra/videos/10157008796601323/