Music from the mystical Faroe Islands comes to this year’s Mission Folk Music Festival with singer Eivør.

Situated in the heart of the North Atlantic, the Faroe Islands lie northwest of Scotland and halfway between Iceland and Norway. Settled by Vikings more than 1,000 years ago, the people of the Faroes – known as Faroese – have a remarkable and distinct culture. They speak their own language, recite their own mystical sagas, dance their own raucous chain-formation dances and sing their own songs.

The Islands’ leading female artist is Eivør Palsdottir, a woman with an extraordinary voice, deeply rooted in her homeland’s strong tradition of epic ballads, chain dance and quarter note a cappella church music – as well as a virtuoso of folk, rock, jazz and even opera.

Eivør composes and performs in four different languages: Faroese, Icelandic, Swedish and English.

The Faroes are 18 islands of beautiful rock formations, craggy cliffs and green pastures, dotted here and there by modestly sized villages. Today around 50,000 of the Viking’s descendants live on these islands scattered in a cluster in the middle of the ocean.

They share this space with 75,000 generally freely roaming sheep, and some Faroese still live in turf-roofed houses (mowing them occasionally).

Despite the fact that the Faroes became part of Denmark in the late 1300s, the hardy and individualistic people identify themselves as Faroese – maintaining their own cultural traditions, and keeping their own history alive.

They have people who ensure the language remains current, and have been writing down their over 70,000 sagas and stories since 1800.

Eivør began singing and touring with a Faroese choir at the age of 12, and at 13 was on Faroese television, winning a song contest the same year.

At 15, she quit school to play in rock and jazz bands, yet could be found singing with the old purveyors of Faroese traditional styles, learning the melodies, rhymes and stories.

She released her first self-titled recording in 2000, a mix of traditional Faroese ballads and new folk/jazz songs she and her band composed themselves.

In 2002, she moved to Iceland, continuing to expand her musical vocabulary, sing, record and tour.

After a time in Denmark, where she became a darling of the folk scene with numerous awards added to the many she had already been accorded, she is now based in her hometown of Gota in the Faroes.

Eivør performs at the Mission Folk Music Festival – taking place July 24-26 at Fraser River Heritage Park – on the main stage on July 25. For tickets and information, visit missionfolkmusicfestival.ca or call 604-826-5937.

Tickets are also available at Shoppers Drug Mart in Mission, and Tom Lee Music and House of James in Abbotsford.