Photo: David Bowen
Nordic sounds anno 2017 Traditional and world music from across the globe attracts audiences seeking a special and unique musical experience surrounded by beautiful nature. If you love music, Førde Traditional and World Music Festival is the place to be this summer. By Marte Eide
Since 1990, the music festival with acclaimed musicians has distinguished itself from the rest by giving the audience an experience you must go to Førde in western Norway to experience. “The idea behind it was to make an international world music festival, a meeting point for both audiences and musicians,” says communication manager Torill Faleide. Lasting five days and always in week 27, it is an unmissable event for those who are genuinely interested in new musical experiences. Since 2010, the Førde Festival has been named as one of the 25 best events of its kind by the international 54 | Issue 96 | January 2017
magazine Songlines, and also features in top festival lists in The Guardian and National Geographic Travel. Every year, the festival choses a new theme that will be the main focus for the music. “But even though the festival has a yearly focus, there are always many performers from other parts of the world as well; we want to represent traditional and world music from all over the world,” says Faleide, who explains that this year’s theme is ‘Nordic Sounds’. “The interest for Scandinavia as a whole is growing across the world. We
want to present the musical landscape in the Nordic countries anno 2017, which also has strong elements of music from other parts of the world, as musicians with roots in other traditions have established themselves here in the north. We are proud to present groups such as ComboNations, where Javid Afsari Rad brings together leading immigrant musicians in Norway.”
Folk music on a big scale All in all, around 300 artists from about 25 nations perform at the festival every summer and 2017 will not be an exception. The main element of the festival is the project The Nordic Sound Folk Orchestra, an all-Nordic string orchestra of 40 musicians and soloists who will play music specially written by four Nordic composers. “This has never been