Baroque for a Shilling - On the Trail of the Nordic Baroque

ABOUT US
Bislet Barokk (Karin Hannisdal, Tomas Laukvik Nannestad and Victoria Oftestad) is an Oslo-based early music ensemble that combines baroque and folk music in an innovative way. The ensemble shapes its engaging and unique expression on historically informed performance practice as well as the joy of improvisation.

While studying early music in The Hague, Victoria met the Icelandic musician and musicologist Aurora Rósudóttir Luciano. With a shared Nordic background, they have since taken on the challenge of reconstructing Nordic broadside ballads from the Baroque period.

These ballads were printed on a single sheet of paper and sold for the cheap price of a shilling, hence the name skillingsviser (‘shilling ballads’). In their time, these contributed to spreading news and stories from far and wide – even all the way to Iceland – telling of events which are not often remembered today, such as the capture of a giant fish, encounters with strange and mythical creatures, the consequences of natural catastrophes or wars which have now long passed.

Performing this music requires a great deal of detective work. The melodies were rarely notated next to the ballads, but referenced by title alone as these ‘greatest hits’ were assumed to be known to contemporary audiences. The lettering can be Gothic, scribbled, or sometimes fragmented, which is why nevertheless, Bislet Barokk and Aurora aim to present these stories in an accessible and lively way so that this musical heritage can be enjoyed once more, offering a glimpse into the world of the Nordic Baroque!

This event is supported by the Norwegian-Icelandic Cultural Cooperation Fund.

WHERE: Dómkirkjan, Kirkjustræti 16, 101 Reykjavík.
WHEN: February 27, 20:00.
ADMISSION: 3,000 ISK / 2,000 ISK for students.