FOLK FESTIVAL: Music inspired by homeland traditions
Eivor Palsdottir will perform at this year's Mission Folk Music Festival.
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Updated: July 15, 2009 2:33 PM
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. Palsdottir composes and performs in four different languages: Faroese, Icelandic, Swedish and English and is sure to be one of the festival’s stunning discoveries.
Palsdottir 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. Palsdottir performs at the festival on the main stage July 25.
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