Førdefestivalen has the program finished
Romengo - playing at Festplassen on Friday, July 8th
Music on the run, boundless lullabies and instruments made of ice at Førdefestivalen
This year we are focusing on the cultural richness and diversity of countries we hear about in connection with war, conflict and distress, says director Hilde Bjørkum. She will show the beauty of the culture and music from these countries, and remind us all that migration has always influenced and developed the societies and cultures around us. On the run! is the theme for Førdefestivalen , which will be held for the 27th time from July 6-10 this year; this year with a new production and several new productions.
Syrian diversity and gypsy festival in Førde
This year's theme is highly topical, and it is inadvisable to ignore Syria, where the current situation stands in stark contrast to the country's history as a country where all the world's religions have lived peacefully side by side for hundreds of years. The conflicts are of recent date. -It is worth thinking about, and also worth a new concert production and roundtable conference at an international festival in Norway, says director Hilde Bjørkum.
This year's church concert, Syrian Prayers, is produced in collaboration between Førdefestivalen and Kirkelig Kulturverksted by Erik Hillestad. The idea is to show the rich musical and religious diversity that was once Syria, but which is today pressed beyond the country's borders, to Lebanon, where most of the musicians we meet in the concert now live as refugees. The project will be a record production at Kirkelig Kulturverksted, and will be premiered during Førdefestivalen . Also from Syria comes the ensemble Broukar, with its Sufi song and magical dervish dance. They were professional musicians in Syria, but had to flee the war, and now live as refugees in Europe.
At the grand opening concert on Thursday, July 7, the audience will meet several theme artists. For example, Sephardic-Jewish Mor Karbasi, who took the global world music scene by storm with her debut album in 2008, and freedom fighter and musician Faytinga from Eritrea. Young musicians from Fargespill in Bergen will be participating: Jawana Thayaseelan from Sri Lanka, who spent much of her childhood in Førde , and Gutu Abera from Ethiopia, who many will remember singing so beautifully for the royal couple on their 25th anniversary.
We know the history of the Roma people, but probably without understanding the tragedy that sometimes haunts them. Their music reflects pain, but also fantastic courage, intense energy and, not least, the joy of dancing! You can enjoy this to the fullest when Romengo from Hungary and Mahala Rai Banda from Romania offer a big gypsy party in the city park on Friday, July 8th.
Sing me a little, my mother – boundless lullabies.
Despite the fact that many have had to flee everything they had in their homeland, they have their songs with them. And no matter where we come from, we sing for our children. The festival has started a project where a selection of immigrant women in Sunnfjord are invited to share their lullabies with us. Norwegian folk songs will also be featured in the concert. The artistic director is singer Kari Malmanger, and the project is a collaboration with Sogn og Fjordane County Council.
Erlend Apneseth
"Night Song" - a composition by Erlend Apneseth
In a short time, Erlend Apneseth has become a prominent and courageous folk musician and composer with several successes to look back on. This autumn he took on another challenge, namely delivering the 27th edition of the Norwegian National Assembly's "Tingingswerk". Førdefestivalen In the work entitled Nattsongar, Apneseth asks a few philosophical questions about our local musical traditions: What if the fiddler Anders Viken had met Django Reinhardt; how would the polka Smøygen have sounded then? And if Førdefestivalen , with all its external impulses, had existed 100 years ago, what would the sjættespel in Jølster have been like today? Apneseth has brought with him a group of exquisite musicians: Erik Rydvall, Ole Morten Vågan, Stein Urheim and Hans Hulbækmo, and the premiere will take place on Saturday, July 9.
Nordic pearls
The list of Nordic artists at this year's festival is topped by Värttinä, the crown jewels of Finnish world music, who have received rave reviews for their latest album Viena. For the first time, you will hear their razor-sharp vocal harmonies in Førde . Dreamers' Circus is Danish folk music's new favorites with international success; a concert band of the rarest kind. This year, the audience also gets a unique chance for strong musical experiences when Gjermund Larsen Trio and Nordic see each other in tune at a joint concert. Silje Onstad Hålien comes with the dance performance 101 hats to kick before I die and Margit Myhr performs the solo performance Stille trør kvinner i sõgerdans. At the poet Jakob Sande's birthplace in Fjaler, poetry, music and fiddler stories will be presented in the concert Spring du fela, with, among others, Mari Skeie Ljones and Camilla Granlien. The beautiful Haarklousalen is the arena for intimate concerts with two pairs of master fiddlers: Ale Möller & Gunnar Stubseid, and Håkon Høgemo & Tom Karlsrud. The latter also has an album release during the festival.
Arctic Ice Music with ice instruments and musicians from around the world
It's about Arctic regions and music closely linked to nature when the world's only ice musician, Terje Isungset, brings together Canadian, Russian and Sami musicians for the first time to create his own ice music universe in one of this year's new productions in Førde Isungset features instruments made from glacier ice and fresh ice and works closely with Inuit singers Beatrice Deer and Evie Mark from Canada, singer and multi-instrumentalist Radik Tyuliyush (frontman of Huun-Huur-Tu) from Tuva in Russia, and Sami Sara Marielle Gaup Beaska and Maria Skranes.
Charmers from Austria and legends from Quebec, Tuva, and Niger
In the series "reunion with legends", this year it is the turn of La Bottine Souriante from Quebec. -La Bottine left a lasting impression on the audience at our very first festival in 1990, and is a symbol of international folk music, says Bjørkum. This year they are back with an expanded band, but with the same quality, crazy energy and wonderful joy of playing as before! They will be able to play a closing concert on the festival's largest stage in the sports hall, Sunday 10 July.
Also legendary are Huun-Huur-Tu, who alone has much of the credit for opening the West's eyes to overtone singing from Tuva in Russia. Mamar Kassey brings beautiful male vocals, brilliant flute playing and suggestive rhythms from Niger, and if you want to be surprised, it is a "must" to bring along the seven young charmers in the wind ensemble Federspiel from Austria, who take mazurka, czardas and yodeling to new and unexpected heights!
Street circus from Rajasthan – festival experiences for the whole family!
Førdefestivalen emphasizes creating good experiences for both young and old. Children are welcome at the concert, and the festival has many low-threshold offers, indoors and outdoors. This year, the whole family can experience a real street circus from Rajasthan, Circus Raj, with jugglers, swordsmen and balance artists. In addition, this year there will also be a collaboration with the Children's Hiking Association on hiking and music in the open air. This year's mountaintop concert at 706 meters above sea level is performed by Chouk Bwa Libète from the mountainous country of Haiti.
Conference on the power of culture in a changing society
The power of culture in a changing society is the title of Førdekonferansen 2016, which will be held on Thursday, July 7th in Førde . Here, questions are asked about the role of culture in times of major societal change. Why can culture be an important force for change, and can increased diversity affect Norwegian culture, identity and values?