Scandinavian Spirits

A journey into the Otherworld on the wings of an ancient Norwegian poem; enchanting creatures from traditional Swedish ballads and legends: Brú lifts the thin veil that separates reality from dreams.

“Draumkvæde” literally means “The song of the Dream” and is an old Norwegian mystical poem dating back to the Middle Ages. For centuries, generations of traditional singers have told the visions of Olav Åsteson, the protagonist, who falls into a deep sleep lasting for the thirteen days between Christmas and the Epiphany, and is allowed to see the realm of life beyond death. After a perilous journey he enters into the Otherworld through its fateful bridge – brú, in the old Norse language – and describes its monsters and heroes, the bliss and the punishment, finally reaching the hall where the Final Judgement (“Domedag”) is held. The programme builds upon this ecstatic framework to present Medieval Scandinavian legends where the supernatural beings that inhabit fjords, forests, rivers, mountains and lakes weave enchanted webs to capture the unaware mortals that incautiously venture in those places. Music, just like a spell, makes the invisible visible and tells stories where the magic element is intertwined with the so-called normality. But is there a dividing line after all?