Musical Trip - Iceland
Iceland has a few different types of traditional music. The example of folk music has clear western influences, but with a separate culture, and some certain differences. The second example is a Icelandic Rimur, which is a type of chant that originated in the time of the vikings. This chant carried on throughout Icelandic culture, but died out when the songs were banned by the protestant church. Attempts have been made revive the Rimur recently, and incidentally, Misty Mountains, from the Lord of the Rings series, is in the format of a Rimur.
This first song is an Icelandic folk song. This is a version of Ólafur Liljurós performed by The New Wiccans. These folk songs were traditionally dances that could be performed for crowds of people. The structure is different from western music, as it is not structured into verses and choruses, but rather as one song. You can hear the call and answer style of music in the song, where one instrument will play a call, then another type will answer. The texture is also more dissonant than typical western music.
This second type of music is the Icelandic Rimur, which is a type of rhyming chant. As stated previously, it has its origins in viking days, and was popular until banned by the western church. This particular one is Lækjarvísur by David Gislason and Bragi Simundson. Fortunately, these songs are becoming more popular today. The Rimur is a form of rhyme that uses the alliterative verse form, which is unique to the timeperiod. As you can hear in the music, it is somber in tone. There is also some dissonance in the chant, adding to the somber tone. The song is formed into stanzas, and as such does not have the form of a typical western song. These songs usually tell a story. This particular one tells the story of a stream that stayed with the poet throughout his childhood and adult life, through the collapse of his town.
References
Blogger, Guest. “Icelandic Music.” Arctic Adventures, 27 Feb. 2023, adventures.is/blog/icelandic-music.
Schierhorst, Gisele. And It Is Sung: The Music of Iceland | Stony Brook University Libraries. 11 Oct. 2019, library.stonybrook.edu/2019/10/11/and-it-is-sung-the-music-of-iceland.
Wikipedia contributors. “Music of Iceland.” Wikipedia, 9 Feb. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Iceland.
“Wikiwand - Rímur.” Wikiwand, www.wikiwand.com/en/R%C3%ADmur.
Soren, thank you for sharing a little about Iceland. I found it interesting where you mentioned that some of the folk music was banned by the western church. I wonder why? I enjoyed listening to the videos you provided. Two very different songs for sure. I may have to look more in to why it was banned though. Very interesting! I'm glad to hear it is making a come back.
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ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing about Icelandic history and culture. The chants definitely make the listener feel something that no other music can convey which I really enjoy.
I really liked the music that was presented in this blog. The first one had a nice beat and the repetitive rhythm and and melody was fun to listen to. The flute or whistle sound really brought an uplifting tone to the song and helped me imagine people dancing to the song. I'm not sure how the dances were preformed but since it is a call and answer song. I wonder if they were split into two groups, one group of people dance during the call and the other group danced during the answer portion. I enjoyed learning about some of the history and cultural significance the music had in Iceland. There is a website I found that give more information on Icelandic festivals, songs, and music. Here is the link: https://www.iceland.org/culture/icelandic-music/
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