Hirv / Pálsson: Layers

For centuries, sacred songs accompanied everyday life and spread through songbooks and church traditions across much of Europe. Chorales and hymns merged with regional folk music traditions, developing their own distinct forms in different communities. These interactions form the starting point for “Layers” by Tui Hirv and Páll Ragnar Pálsson.

The program takes us from Estonia and the Swedish-speaking regions of Estonia through Sweden and Norway to Iceland and England. Its pieces are drawn partly from historical songbooks and partly from songs recorded during ethnographic fieldwork at the beginning of the 20th century. Latin hymns were translated into local languages, incorporated into folk music, and later partially re-entered art music.

Tui Hirv and Páll Ragnar Pálsson draw on these various historical and regional layers in their arrangements, combining them with contemporary musical means. The program includes 17 pieces, including “Bred dina vida vingar,” “Mitt hjerte alltid vanker,” “Gjendines bådnlåt,” “In the Bleak Midwinter,” and “The Snow it Melts the Soonest.” Guests Sóley, Skúli Sverrisson, Kaktus Einarsson, and Sander Saarmets also perform.