Music of the Faroe Islands
Faroese music is primarily vocal, accompanied by the fiddle (which arrived in the 17th century) and European dances like the minuet and polka. During the twentieth century choirs have played an important role in the musical history of the Faroes, and some of the best known current choirs are Tarira, Havnarkórið, Tórshavnar Manskór, Ljómur, Fuglafjarðar Gentukór, and the choirs situated in Copenhagen: Húsakórið and Mpiri.
History
Much of the imported music and instruments remained popular only in the capital and largest city, Tórshavn. Rural peoples remained true to traditions of chain dance and ballads. The three types of dance ballads are kvæði, tættir and vísur. Many of these dance forms were revived after World War 2, when a number of dance societies were formed. The ballads were largely compiled in Corpus Carminum Færoensium, which collected over 44,000 stanzas.
Other songs include
Modern musicians
Modern Faroese musicians who have fused native traditions with music from
Other well known Faroese musicians include:
- Reiley
- Eivør Pálsdóttir
- Teitur Lassen
- Lena Anderssen
- Høgni Lisberg
- Høgni Reistrup
- Guðrið Hansdóttir
- Greta Svabo Bech
- Petur Pólson
- Terji Rasmussen
- Arnold Ludvig
- Evi Tausen
- Hallur Joensen
- Hanus G. Johansen
- Elin Brimheim Heinesen
- Heine Lützen
- Ólavur Jakobsen
- Kári av Reyni
- Kári P.
- Alex Bærendsen
- Regin Dahl
- Davur Juul Magnussen
- Simon Von Konoy
- Ólavur Olsen
- Eyðun Nolsøe
- Guðrun Sólja Jacobsen
- Kári Sverisson
- Steintór Rasmussen
- Anna Katrin Egilstrøð
- Brandur Enni
- Linda Andrews
- Lyon Hansen
- Jens Marni Hansen
- Uni Arge
- Leivur Thomsen
Modern bands
Well known Faroese bands include (in alphabetical order)
- 200
- Analog Norð
- Arnold Ludvig Sextet
- Boys in a Band
- Byrta
- Clickhaze
- Danny & The Veetos
- Deiggj
- Devon
- The Dreams
- Eivør
- Faroe Boys
- Frændur
- Gestir
- the Ghost
- Glóð
- Goodiepal
- Hamferð
- Hamradun
- Heidrik
- Heljareyga
- Hjarnar
- Høgni Reistrup
- Kiasmos
- Lama Sea
- Lena
- maður:glotti
- Makrel
- Marius
- Moirae (band)
- Mold
- MonkeyRat
- MC-Hár
- Nalja
- Oniontree
- ORKA
- Páll Finnur Páll
- Present Past
- Punjab
- Sic
- Safir
- Side Effect
- The Story Ends
- Swangah
- Synarchy
- Teitur
- Týr
- Valravn
- Yggdrasil
Modern classical composers
There are also some quite famous Faroese classical composers. Sunleif Rasmussen is until now the only Faroese ever to have written a symphony. Other composers are Kristian Blak, Edvard N. Debess, Janus Rasmussen, Tróndur Bogason, Kári Bæk, Palli Hansen, Knút Olsen and Pauli í Sandágerði.
Classical ensemble Aldubáran has commissioned and performed a vast amount of music from Faroese composers and performed it domestically and abroad.
Details on specific musicians and groups
Gestir
Gestir are signed to
The members of Gestir are Ólavur Jákupsson (vocals, electric & acoustic guitars, synthesizers, piano), Torfinnur Jákupsson (electric & acoustic guitars, piano, lyrics), Jógvan Andreas á Brúnni (drums), Niels Jákup i Jógvanstovu (bass) and Knút Háberg Eysturstein (synthesizers, hammond, piano, rhodes).
Aldubáran
The chamber ensemble
Týr
A folk metal band with progressive elements, whose members hail from the Faroes. The band is known for performing traditional Faroese material both live and on recordings. They compose songs in both Faroese and English, often with Viking or Pagan subject matter.
The group has released seven albums since their founding in 1998 and they perform worldwide.
Record labels
Music festivals in the Faroe Islands
- G! Festival
- Tórshavn Jazz Festival
- Summarfestivalurin
References
- Cronshaw, Andrew. "A New Pulse for the Pols". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 58–63. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
External links
- Musicfromthefaroeislands - Faroe Islands Alliance for Music Export
- MUSIC.fo - Faroese music portal
- Tutl - Faroese music online
- Gfestival- The official website of the annual G! Festival!
- Summarfestivalur- The official website of the annual Summerfestival