MUSICON - Ábifruvvá (2023)

26 June 2024

A new video is now available to watch online. Eric Skytterholm Egan’s “Ábifruvvá”, premiered by Marie Schreer and John Garner in Durham Town Hall last year, explores how the past is linked to the present through our relationship with the sea.

The piece takes its title from the Sámi word for mermaid. It explores hidden narratives and cultural conflicts resultant from Western societal expansion and encroachment on nature in the North of Norway.

The four-track tape part is adapted from field recordings made at sea off Andøya. They consist of a variety of boat sounds, from old wooden fishing boats to ribs and industrial vessels, rescored for violin and sympolin. All the sounds from the speakers are played on these two instruments. Ábifruvvá was composed as part of the Exploring Arctic Soundscapes project, supported by the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) at Durham University. The sympolin was commissioned by John Garner and built and designed by David Bruce Johnson. It is based on the Hardanger fiddle and the viola d’amore. "Whilst it plays like a modern violin, it also has 8 sympathetic strings which give it a ghostly, glassy sound.” (Garner)

To watch this wonderful performance please follow the link: MUSICON - Ábifruvvá (2023) WP