Gig review: Folkelarm 2009

Published on Monday 21 September 2009 19:33

FOLKELARM 2009 SORIA MORIA, OSLO

IF THE primary outward focus of the 1990s Scottish folk scene pointed west and south, towards a new engagement with the fellow Celtic traditions of Ireland, Brittany and north-west Spain, more recent years have seen a marked shift of attention to the north and east, and a fresh appreciation of Scotland's equally natural kinship to Nordic music.

Hence the presence of a sizeable Scottish posse among the 100-odd international delegates at this year's fifth Folkelarm ("folk clamour") convention, in Norway's capital. A combined four-day festival and industry shop window, it comprised some 50 performances by 21 acts, mostly home-grown but also from Sweden, Denmark, Finland and the pan-Nordic Smi region.

Additionally, Folkelarm 2009 also launched next year's partnership between Showcase Scotland – our own highly successful weekend expo staged annually at Celtic Connections since 2000 – and Norway's main folk music development and promotion agencies. The Scottish/Irish duo of Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson flew the Celtic flag while six Norwegian acts will feature prominently on the bill in Glasgow come January.

In a line-up even more awash with fiddles than we're used to in Scotland, Ainslie and Henderson's smallpipes, uilleann pipes and whistles, nimbly accompanied by Irish guitarist Tony Byrne, stood out with even more than their usual incandescence.

The Norwegian artists who will be showcasing at Celtic Connections, all representing the younger new wave of their national folk scene, covered a dynamic diversity of approach, from the pure solo Hardanger fiddling of Synnve S Bjset to Unni Boksasp's crystalline traditional singing and subtly modernised arrangements.

Further exotic treats included a compelling performance from the dance ensemble Frikar, stars of this year's Eurovision Song Contest, alongside Norwegian victor Alexander Rybak, which merged traditional Halling routines with elements of circus and live music. Most memorable of all, however, was a 50th anniversary performance in the Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum, an arching, windowless space in which the soaring soprano voice of Unni Lovlid wove ghostly skeins of harmony with the building's 12-second echo.