September was Nordic Viola’s busiest month ever with trips to the Faroe Islands with Sagas and Seascapes and Shetland with On a Wing and a Prayer. We also aired “Shetland Connections” on YouTube for European Folk Day and, of course, placed our new album, Elsewhere, Elsewhen, open for pre-orders.
I know many of you enjoy learning about the places we work in, so I thought I’d take some time to reflect and share some of the lovely landscapes we experienced as well as the music we made! Part one is the Faroe Islands and tomorrow I’ll update you on Shetland!
Faroe Islands
Following our appearance at Made In Scotland in Edinburgh and our online event last summer we connected with the Nordic House in Tórshavn. I was really keen to take Sagas and Seascapes up to the Faroe Islands as music by Kári Bæk and Eli Tausen á Lava formed a big part of our programme and so conversations began straight away with Aldubáran (our Faroese counterparts) and the Nordic House in Tórshavn to do a joint production of the show.
And so on 4th September, Anne Bünemann (violin), Robert Digney (clarinet) and I found ourselves on the stunning approach between mountains to Vágar airport. Not for the nervous flyer. (Quick environmental note here: I would dearly love to take the ferry to the Faroes, especially as it passes the tip of Shetland, but unfortunately it takes about 4 days in each direction, two ferry crossings and trains via Holland and Denmark. We really need Smyril line to stop in Shetland again – as it used to decades ago).
The following day we met and rehearsed with our colleagues from Aldubáran: Andrea Heindriksdóttir (flute), Jón Festirstein (violin) and Kristina á Váli (cello). I’ll confess to a few nerves about bringing two ensembles together with limited rehearsal time on a complex programme, but I needn’t have worried as the two ensembles quickly blended. It was such a joy to share this music from our two countries together. As ever, the door to the music school in Tórshavn was always open to us (and what a fabulous facility it is) and it quickly became our “home” – a place to practise and meet colleagues between rehearsals. Thank you to all for making us feel so welcome!
Kirkjubøur
The weather in September can get pretty wild (as I experienced in 2016!) so we got out whilst we could and walked as far as we had time for across Streymoy from Tórshavn towards Kirkubøur, the panoramic views of the rocky islands of Koltur and Hestur (the colt and the horse) opening out before us. Linguists amongst you will spot the link to the old name for Orkney’s capital, Kirkwall – Kirkjuvagr. Both places are the “inlet of the church” and both have a St. Magnus Cathedral, though the Faroese one is in ruins. Always these historical links to explore!
The next day was taken up by more rehearsals before Anne and I popped up to the Nordic House to meet the staff and look round the venue. What a beautiful venue it is, reflecting on the cultural heritage of the islands, both in its work and its architecture. A place to enjoy the arts, to meet people and to relax, looking across the town and out to sea.
Sagas and Seascapes in the Nordic House
Thursday the 7th September was our first concert day in the Main Hall of the Nordic House with Craig Sinclair and Orla Stevens‘ beautiful film on its biggest screen ever!
Nordic Viola and Aldubáran were a unit by now and it was an absolute joy to bring our programme to the Faroes and to perform Eli Tausen á Lava’s Søgnin um Kópakonuna and Kári Bæk’s Wogen at home. For me, it was an honour to perform “Wogen” live with Kári in the hall after working together to transcribe this cello solo for viola.
There were, of course, other references to the Faroes in the programme. Aud (music by Linda Buckley), as well as travelling to Iceland via Orkney, had also rested in the Faroe Islands on her way north, where she married off one of her granddaughters, Ólöf . The town of Gøta, which we would pass through later in the week, was named after Torbjørn Gøtuskegg, who is said to have descended from Ólöf, Torbjørn was the father of the famous Tróndur í Gøtu, who is the central character of Færeyinga saga. Today, the town of Gøta consists of four smaller villages: Norðragøta, Syðrugøta, Gøtueiði and Gøtugjógv. Some street names in Norðragøta still remind us of the central figures of this saga: Tróndargøta (Tróndur í Gøta), Óluvugøta (Ólöf, granddaughter of Aud) and Eyðargøta (Aud herself).
Additionally, composer Kristian Blak tells me that the Danish tune the Dromer, as well as being drawn from the Scottish tune, The Drummer, is also recorded by Svabo in the Faroes.
Nólsoy
The following day was free so we took the opportunity to take the ferry past the old parliament area of Tinganes and over to the island of Nólsoy. Nólsoy was the home of national hero Nólsoyar Páll who fought to end the Royal Trade Monopoly which was exhausting and impoverishing the people of the Faroe Islands between 1271 and 1856. It is also home to a large colony of storm petrels, some of which have been ringed and traced to the Shetland Islands, where they breed on Moussa – a colony I’d seen in July.
On a blustery day, we walked to the two lighthouses at the southern end of the Island, enjoying the hills, the sea, the birds and wildlife.
Klaksvík
On Saturday we travelled to Klaksvík on the northern island of Borðoy. For the Nordic Viola musicians it was a chance to travel early and enjoy the scenic bus journey across three islands, passing through Norðragøta and Syðrugøta with its reminders of Aud and Leirvík with its very obvious linguistic link to Shetland’s capital, Lerwick – muddy bays both!
We had hoped to perform in the brand new cultural centre, Varpið, but sadly it’s not quite ready. Next time! The school was still a lovely place to play, though, with its wooden, airy hall and informal banked seating. A picture from rehearsals – I apologise for my lack of concert dress due to getting the film up and running!
Concerts successfully completed, we travelled back to Tórshavn through the famous new Esturoy tunnel with its three-way roundabout in the middle. Jón duly obliged by driving round it twice whilst we took pictures!
Vestmanna
Concerts duly completed and a free day before our flight home gave us the opportunity to spend a day in and around Vestmanna, famous for its bird cliffs. Sadly, ocean currents meant we couldn’t go to the cliffs themselves, but then, the nesting season is over anyway and the sea caves and rock formations on Vágar were equally stunning and will surely inspire future performances.
Thank you
Taking Sagas and Seascapes to the Faroes and performing with Aldubáran was a great privilege. Anne, Robert and I would like to thank Made In Scotland for promoting our performances in Edinburgh last summer and exposing our work to international promoters. Many thanks also to Orkney International Science Festival who first commissioned Sagas and Seascapes.
We also need to extend a big thank you to all the creators who were unable to travel with us. Composers Gemma McGregor, Lillie Harris and Linda Buckley, artist Orla Stevens and videographer Craig Sinclair, as well as the three Nordic Viola musicians we left at home. Without you, this trip would, of course, never have happened. Please visit our Sagas and Seascapes to learn more about their work.
If you would like to bring Sagas and Seascapes to a venue near you, please do get in touch here. It is now available with both English and Danish subtitles and we especially hope to be able to work alongside Aldubáran again, both in Scotland and the Nordic countries.
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