Yggdrasil is a

Nordic Nordic most commonly refers to: * Nordic countries, the northern European countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and their North Atlantic territories * Scandinavia, a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern ...

music ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrume ...

based in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

. The band was formed in 1981 by the composer and pianist

Kristian Blak Kristian Blak (born 1947) is a Danish composer, musician, and record executive based in the Faroe Islands. Early life Kristian Blak was born in Jutland, Denmark, in 1947. He moved to the Faroe Islands in 1974, where he has written most of his ...

, who has written most of the material for the group. From the very beginning, Yggdrasil has included musicians from other countries, having varied musical backgrounds, mainly in jazz, but also in ethnic, folk, rock and classical music. Most of their works have been created in relation with other forms of art:

visual art The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and texti ...

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

- or in some cases, with nature (concertos in sea caves). The compositions draw ideas and themes from ethnic material from the North Atlantic region, such as Faroese ballads, hymns and rhymes,

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

songs or

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

folk music.

Improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

takes a large part in the interpretation and ranges from

free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, the ability to act or change without constraint or restriction * Emancipate, attaining civil and political rights or equality * Free (''gratis''), free of charge * Gratis versus libre, the difference betw ...

and

ethno-jazz Ethno jazz, also known as world jazz, is a subgenre of jazz and world music, developed internationally in the 1950s and '60s and broadly characterized by a combination of traditional jazz and non-Western musical elements. Though occasionally equa ...

to classical and

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

. The band is named after the world tree

Yggdrasil Yggdrasil () is an immense and central sacred tree in Norse cosmology. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and in t ...

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

Band members

Past and current members include * Anders Hagberg, flute and saxophone * Anders Jormin, bass * Angelika Niesen, violin * Brandur Jacobsen, drums *

Eivør Pálsdóttir Eivor, Eivør or Øyvor is a female given name in the Nordic countries. In Sweden, 4,922 people bear the name. The average age is 78. The name perhaps originated from either the Proto-Norse word ''auja'', which is thought to mean "good luck", o ...

, vocals * Ernst Dalsgard, flute * Heðin Ziska Davidsen, guitar *

John Tchicai John Martin Tchicai ( ; 28 April 1936 – 8 October 2012) was a Danish free jazz saxophonist and composer. Biography Tchicai was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to a Danish mother and a Congolese father. The family moved to Aarhus, where he s ...

, saxophone * Kári Sverisson, vocals * Karin Korpelainen - drums *

, piano * Lelle Kullgren, guitar * Mia Káradóttir, flute * Mikael Blak, bass * Ólavur Øster, guitar * Rasmus Lyberth, vocal * Tore Brunborg, saxophone * Villu Veski, saxophone

Discography

* ''Den Yderste Ø'' (HJF 12,

Tutl TUTL Records is a record label of the Faroe Islands that was founded in 1977 by Kristian Blak. The label is credited with giving many Faroese musicians their first break and "has played a major role in giving musicians a chance to record and pub ...

1981) - poems by

William Heinesen Andreas William Heinesen (15 January 1900 – 12 March 1991) was a poet, writer, composer and painter from the Faroe Islands. His writing The Faroese capital Tórshavn is always the centre of Heinesen's writing and he is famous for having onc ...

* ''Ravnating'' (HJF 13, Tutl 1982) - dia show by Philippe Carré * ''Heygar og Dreygar'' - folk belief of the Faroe Islands, paper collages from William Heinesen /
The Four Towers ballet based on the poem "Barnetegning" by William Heinesen (HJF 15/19, Tutl 1985) * ''Concerto Grotto'' - with Faroese nature as a musical partner /
Drangar - music written to the "sculpture" in Faroese nature (HJF 33, Tutl 1984 / 1993) * ''Brøytingar'' (HJF 21, Tutl 1988) - concept and artworks by

Ole Wich OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

* ''Yggdrasil'' (HJF 88, Tutl 2002) - featuring

* ''Live in Rudolstadt'' (HJF 99, Tutl 2004) - featuring

(live recording from the 2003

TFF Rudolstadt The Rudolstadt-Festival (till 2015 TFF ("Tanz- und Folkfest") Rudolstadt) is a German folk, roots and world music festival. It takes place annually on the first full July weekend in Rudolstadt/Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free S ...

) * ''The Tübingen Concert'' (2 DVD, HJF 122DVD, Tutl 2005) - live recording at the University Hospital

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

(

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) * ''Risastova'' (HJF 111, Tutl 2006 ) - featuring Kári Sverrisson, as well as the suite "Vágatunnilin" (Tunnel Music) * ''Askur'' (2 CD, HJF 133, Tutl 2007) - live recordings 1982-2006 * ''Grót & Vatn'' (HJF 233, Tutl 2012) - live recording at The Nordic House

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; ; Danish language, Danish: ''Thorshavn''), usually locally referred to as simply Havn, is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of th ...

(

)

References

External links

Kristian Blak personal site
Faroese folk musical groups Musical groups established in 1981 Norse mythology in music {{Denmark-band-stub