Faroe Islands Tour – Sagas and Seascapes with Aldubáran September 2023

And latest Elsewhere, Elsewhen recording news

It’s coming up to a year since Nordic Viola performed Sagas and Seascapes as part of the Made In Scotland Showcase at Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It’s therefore fitting to announce that this September, Sagas and Seascapes will be touring the Faroe Islands with Aldubáran, the Faroese contemporary music ensemble. Three of our musicians (Anne on violin, Robert on clarinet and me) will join with three musicians from Aldubáran (Jón on violin, Andrea on flute and Aldubáran’s cellist.

Our concerts will take place in the Nordic House in Tórshavn on 7^th September 5:30pm (Tickets here) and at Skúlatrøð, Klaksvik on 9^th September, ticket information here.

 I’m really looking forward to playing the music by our Faroese composers, Kári Bæk and Eli Tausen á Lava on their home patch, especially after giving the UK live premiere of Eli’s Søgnin um Kópakonuna í 10 myndum in Edinburgh last summer. Aldubáran will be featuring Eli’s music this summer in the Summartónar Festival in the islands and know it well, so we’re very much looking forward to sharing with them in September.

Of course we’re also proud to be showcasing our Scottish-based composers in the Faroes, too, with music by Gemma McGregor and Linda Buckley as well as Lillie Harris’ Elsewhen, composed for the St Magnus Composers’ Course in Orkney 2017.

There is so much crossover between the culture of our countries. The Norse connection is obvious through the Sagas. Aud (by Linda Buckley) travelled between Caithness, Orkney and the Faroes on her journey to Iceland and one of her granddaughters, Ólöf remained there. You can read about Aud’s connection to the Faroes here.

St Magnus’ story is told in the Orkneyinga Saga, thought to be written down by an Icelandic scribe. There are other folk connections too: Eli’s piece tells the story of the Sealwoman, a legend common around the North Atlantic and one that is very familiar to Scottish islanders. Kári Bæk’s Wogen ends with Sinklar’s Visa which recounts the story of a historical battle at Kringen in Norway, which took place in 1612 between Captain George Sinclair and his Scottish army who were fighting for Sweden and a group of Norwegian farmers on the opposing side. Our performance will end with the Danish Quartet’s (one of their violinists, Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, is Faroese) engagingly lively arrangement of The Dromer, based on the Scottish tune “The Drummer.”

We’ll be running the film with our performance, too and we’re proud to showcase Orla Stevens’ specially commissioned art and Craig Sinclair’s video.

We’re still fundraising towards travel and accommodation costs. You can help us by buying items from our shop.

Available for bookings

Or you can book us for a performance. We can offer Sagas and Seascapes lite, with the film and 1 or 2 musicians, which will work in the smallest of venues – even a private house in a performance for a few friends. We also have a clarinet and string quartet programme which we performed in Shetland, which includes Linda Buckley’s Aud and Aulis Sallinen’s calming Sea of Peace. Finally, there is the full sextet Sagas and Seascapes show, suitable for venues of 60 people upwards.

Music and art workshops are also available for all age groups with myself and Orla.

For any of these opportunities contact me here

Elsewhere, Elsewhen Album

Music from Sagas and Seascapes also features on our forthcoming album , Elsewhere, Elsewhen, which is due to be released on 20th November.

Elsewhere, Elsewhen features music inspired by another time and place. It links Orkney and Iceland through the sagas, stretches further back into prehistory with music inspired by the ancient peoples of Orkney and shines a light on these important historical figures from the past, giving new voice to their stories. It also explores issues of migration, human and avian, and reflects on the beauty and wildness of nature from Shetland to Greenland.

New music from British and Irish composers with deep personal connections to the Far North sits alongside music from Faroese and Greenlandic composers. There is also a very special collaboration between Nordic Viola and young musicians of the Shetland and Faroe Islands.

Elsewhere, Elsewhen will be available for pre-order soon.

Keep up-to-date as we get closer to our release date by subscribing here.

Or drop me a message on the contact page and I’ll add you to the mailing list.