Mathilde Grooss Viddal, Friensemblet - Tri Vendur Blés ho i den høgaste sky (2025) [Hi-Res]

Live music is an experience here and now. Mathilde Grooss Viddal’s Tri vendur blés ho i den høgaste sky is a commissioned work, first performed at Vossajazz in 2018. The work, however, is in constant dialogue with the distant past and geographically distant areas. Viddal herself points out. That the work is about dreams and fears, about longing for freedom, about loss and conflicts, today and throughout history. The work also presents itself as a contemplation on cultural heritage and cultural encounters.

One of the elements opening the work to other dimensions is the basis of Norwegian medieval ballads and the tradition these ballads originated. This is a tradition primarily known within folk music environments. At the same time, the ballads are an integral part of folk beliefs, storytelling and legends, and a reservoir of earlier understandings of nature. As a second phenomenon, the Norwegian ballad tradition can be understood in a more global and globalized context. Some ballads seem to have travelled; versions exist in different languages and musical cultures.

From this connection arises a music that is at the same time local and global. Viddal has chosen ballads that spoke to her, that have some relation to her own biography and family background, but also ballads that are good starting points for the musical work she is doing. Here is composition and improvisation in a balanced way, where different musical languages are in dialogue, in a multiplicity of voices that still feels like an intimate field. The liveness of the work seems to underscore that no matter how many different voices can be discerned, they still exist together, in a common space. The past and the distant are both drawn into a heightened awareness in the here and now. It is as if tradition itself sounds like the difference between some “old” style and the current re-interpretation, where the old style is a kind of shadow of what we hear. This shadow might not be entirely different from what is sometimes called soul.

The local dimension of the music is perhaps most easily heard in the Norwegian lyrics and singing style, further on to the Hardanger violin. At the same time, the work opens up an expanded sonic field, inspired by Andalusian music, Arabic maqamat, Medieval and Middle Eastern music, Catholic folk beliefs, and past love stories. All these dimensions contribute to a work of musical generosity. Viddal’s compositions are respectful towards the traditions involved, while together with her musicians letting the traditions speak to us today. The various local traditions come together in dialogues across history and geography. Maybe music is a way – a portal – to another time and space, a place where we can move between different times and spaces. I am not entirely willing to think so, but a part of me wants to believe.

Erik Steinskog, September 2024

Tracklist:
01-01 Mathilde Grooss Viddal - Subconsciousness [2:13]
01-02 Mathilde Grooss Viddal - Valivan (The Pioneer) [8:21]
01-03 Mathilde Grooss Viddal - Stolt Margjit (On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur) [2:51]
01-04 Mathilde Grooss Viddal - Maria (Curie) [3:17]
01-05 Mathilde Grooss Viddal - Maria Magdalena (Held in DisGrace) [4:07]
01-06 Mathilde Grooss Viddal - Svätá Mária Egyptská (L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux) [8:23]
01-07 Mathilde Grooss Viddal - Trollstemt (Harp Strings) [4:37]
01-08 Mathilde Grooss Viddal - Frearlause (Outlaws) [2:37]
01-09 Mathilde Grooss Viddal - Fastfrossen (Frozen Bounds) [3:06]
01-10 Mathilde Grooss Viddal - Invisible Changes [5:01]
01-11 Mathilde Grooss Viddal - Choral of the Shellfish (Selfies) [2:38]
01-12 Mathilde Grooss Viddal - Kvinnemorderen (Scheherazade) [2:21]
01-13 Mathilde Grooss Viddal - Gullborgs fanfare (Fearless Girl) [7:02]