Established in 1990, Norway’s annual Førde Festival of Traditional and World Music has always had an anchor theme, such as aboriginal music, regional showcases, or gypsy music. In this feature, we profile photographic highlights as well as insights from five performing groups (see my earlier articles on the editions from 2016 and 2012).
The festival was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, but carried on with a scaled-down version last month, featuring only bands based in Norway.
“In 2019, we celebrated our 30th edition which attracted around 26,000 attendees,” explains Torill Faleide, Festival Communication Manager, in a chat with World Music Central. There was a weekend-long festival arranged in October 2020, with seven performances by local bands.
The 2021 edition featured dance performances as well, by Kartellet, Margit Myhr and FRIKAR. “Last month, some of the artists had their first performance for two years. It’s so touching and emotional. We are so happy to have been able to give them this opportunity,” Torill says.
“In 2022, we hope to be back with a full-scale festival with international performers. This of course depends on the pandemic situation,” she cautions.
“We performed songs such as Ulimi Lwami, Mwanamzako, and Ndimirire,” explains Sibusisiwe ‘Busi’ Ncube, a singer-performer from Zimbabwe, who also plays guitar and mbira.
Ulimi Lwami means ‘my language,’ and Mwanamzako tells you to treat your neighbors child as your own. “In Ndimirire, I sing ‘Wait for me as I am going to work far away, but I promise to come back’,” Busi explains.
“On our last album, the lyrics are mostly from the old Persian free-thinking scientist Omar Khayyams’ Rubaiyat poems,” recalls Ole Andre Farstad, leader of the band Meelodi. The multi-instrumentalist has also been to India a number of times in the past two decades.
Their album was finished during the pandemic. “The plan is to go into the studio in December to record a new album,” Ole adds.
He say it is a great honor to perform at Forde Festivalen. “As musicians, these meeting points are great for establishing new collaborations,” Ole affirms.
“Interactivity in the performing arts can both encourage, provoke and engage the audience,” explains Sigurd Johan Heide, founder and choreographer of dance troupe Kartellet (‘The Cartel’). The dancers draw on proximity, participation and playfulness with the audience, in accompaniment to live music.
“We are getting ready for the big events in Bodø in 2024,” Sigurd adds. Bodø is one of the cities designated as a European Cultural City for 2024.
One of the cross-cultural performing groups this year was Project RIID, bringing together Balkan and flamenco styles. It comprises of Almir Meskovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) on accordion, Daniel Lazar (Romania/Serbia) on violin, and Ingrid Jasmin Vogt (Norway) on vocals, while Bellali Austria (Mexico) is the dance performer.
They showcased a range of compositions and styles at the festival. “Ederlezi is an old folk tune from the Balkans. It’s one of those tunes that have been transmitted for ages, and will continue to do so, because of the inherent beauty of this melody. With our interpretation of it, we wanted to transmit a feeling of hope,” Ingrid Jasmin Vogt explains.
“Due to the pandemic, all of a sudden everything was cancelled, everything closed, and everything stopped,” she laments. A studio recording seemed like a perfect thing to do, she recalls. They performed at the festival’s opening concert.
Performer duo Sarah-Jane Summers and Juhani Silvola were also featured at the festival this year. “Juhani and I met in 2008 at Haukeliseterfestivalen, a folk music festival high up in the mountains in Norway. We have been performing together for over 10 years now and have been married for several years,” she recalls.
“We play instrumental music, so there are no words. I wrote a piece called Call and Response which is about the tension and resolve of people moving into a small, local area and bringing their different culture,” Sarah-Jane describes.
The duo is working on a new commission, to be performed along with a string quintet at Nordlysfestival in the north of Norway in January. “We will then tour around the North of Norway with that project,” she signs off.
(headline image: Bjørnblakken – Photo courtesy of Førde Festival)
More about Førde Festival
Author: Madanmohan Rao
Madanmohan Rao is an author and media consultant from Bangalore, and global correspondent for world music and jazz for World Music Central and Jazzuality. He has written over 15 books on media, management and culture, and is research director for YourStory Media. Madan was formerly World Music Editor at Rave magazine and RJ at WorldSpace, and can be followed on Twitter at @MadanRao.