Eivør Pálsdóttir
Encyclopedia
Eivør Pálsdóttir is a Faroese
singer/songwriter
with a distinct voice and a wide range of interests in many kinds of music from rock, jazz, folk, pop, to European classical music. Her roots are in the Faroese ballads.
Eivør is the daughter of Sædis Eilifsdóttir and Páll Jacobsen. Usually she is only addressed by her first name Eivør, which occurs normally as the female name Eyðvør in Faroese
.
band Clickhaze.
One year later in 2000 her first album Eivør Pálsdóttir was released. It is a mixture of classical Faroese ballads accompanied only by guitar and bass with jazz influences and texts by famous Faroese writers, and concludes with two religious songs. The latter are sung in Danish, but all the others in Faroese. Many of the songs were written by Eivør. By this time she was already a professional musician.
In 2001 she won with her band Clickhaze the national Faroese band contest Prix Føroyar. In 2002, Eivør went to Reykjavík
to study classic and jazz music. The mentor of the Faroese music scene, Kristian Blak
invited her to be the lead singer of the jazz group Yggdrasil
, which came out with its first album that year.
Well known as a jazz performer, she released a rock album with Clickhaze the same summer, thus proving her wide range again. Touring with Clickhaze in the Faroes, to Sweden, Denmark (Roskilde Festival
), Iceland and Greenland
was a great success.
After her second solo album Krákan, the perhaps most important event in her young career was the nomination for the Icelandic Music Awards in no fewer than three categories in 2003. She was awarded best singer and best performer - normally only given to Icelandic artists.
Educated as a classical vocalist, Eivør sings also with the Faroese symphony orchestra and sings solo in Kristian Blak's 2004 opera
Firra.
Her latest album eivør from November 2004 together with the Canadian Bill Bourne
seems be the best selling Faroese album in the U.S. and Canada ever. Bourne's companionship with acoustic guitar gave the entire project a great bit of American country music
, with Eivør contributing several songs in Faroese. In Iceland it was again in the charts, and was nominated for the Icelandic Music Award - together with an album by Björk. At the Awards ceremony on 2 February 2005 in Reykjavík, neither Eivør nor Björk had success, though.
Eivør is the first person in her country to bear the title Faroese of the year. On 9 February Eivør was named Faroese of the year 2004 (ársins føroyingur 2004) for "Putting the Faroe Islands on the map in a positive way with her songs".
On 7 March 2005, the big band of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) issued its 40th anniversary album. All titles on that CD are written and sung by Eivør. Once again she was honoured in Iceland on 16 June with the national theatre award Gríma for her composing and performance in the piece Úlfhamssaga, based on the Norse sagas.
Eivør's 5th album Human Child is produced by Dónal Lunny
and will be issued in both English and a Faroese version under the title Mannabarn on 18 July 2007 in the Faroes. The album was recorded throughout 2006 and early 2007 in Dublin, Republic of Ireland
. This was followed with an Irish tour in Summer 2007.
In 2008 Eivør collaborated with the English classical composer Gavin Bryars on Tróndur i Gøtu, a work for two voices - hers and that of Faroese bass Rúni Brattaberg - choir and chamber orchestra (Aldúbaran), based on a 10th century Faroese saga hero, which was performed in Gøtu, Faroe Islands on July 12, 2008. She has recently started to work with Gavin Bryars again on a chamber opera Anyone can see that I love you based on Marilyn Monroe
, with libretto by Marilyn Bowering and produced by Avena (Canada) in which she plays the leading role. Parts of this were developed during a workshop in Banff, Canada in June 2010 and two scenes were performed there on 12 June 2010. The work is scheduled for first performances in Vancouver and Victoria in February 2012.
An update from 8 February 2010 on eivor.com revealed among other things that: "The final touches have now been laid on Eivør's upcoming album. The album will present a new side of Eivør's talent, as she moves away from the folk sound of recent years into a more experimental and raw musical style. "
Furthermore: "On the album Eivør's haunting new songs are coupled with arrangement by Faroe Islands most exciting classical composer, Tróndur Bogason, the Icelandic string quartet Kaputt, the Faroese choir Mpiri
and a children's choir from Eivør's hometown of Gøta." The new album is called Larva.
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
singer/songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
with a distinct voice and a wide range of interests in many kinds of music from rock, jazz, folk, pop, to European classical music. Her roots are in the Faroese ballads.
Eivør is the daughter of Sædis Eilifsdóttir and Páll Jacobsen. Usually she is only addressed by her first name Eivør, which occurs normally as the female name Eyðvør in Faroese
Faroese language
Faroese , is an Insular Nordic language spoken by 48,000 people in the Faroe Islands and about 25,000 Faroese people in Denmark and elsewhere...
.
Career
At the age of 12, Eivør traveled as the soloist of a Faroese men's choir to Italy. At 13 she had her first performance on Faroese television and won a national song contest in the same year. In 1999 at the age of 15, Eivør joined the rockRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Clickhaze.
One year later in 2000 her first album Eivør Pálsdóttir was released. It is a mixture of classical Faroese ballads accompanied only by guitar and bass with jazz influences and texts by famous Faroese writers, and concludes with two religious songs. The latter are sung in Danish, but all the others in Faroese. Many of the songs were written by Eivør. By this time she was already a professional musician.
In 2001 she won with her band Clickhaze the national Faroese band contest Prix Føroyar. In 2002, Eivør went to Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
to study classic and jazz music. The mentor of the Faroese music scene, Kristian Blak
Kristian Blak
Kristian Blak , originally from Fredericia, Denmark, lives in the Faroe Islands where he is a composer, musician, and record executive. He is the founder of the Nordic musical ensemble Yggdrasil ....
invited her to be the lead singer of the jazz group Yggdrasil
Yggdrasil (band)
Yggdrasil is a Nordic music ensemble based in the Faroe Islands. The band was formed in 1981 by the Danish composer and pianist Kristian Blak, who has written most of the material for the group...
, which came out with its first album that year.
Well known as a jazz performer, she released a rock album with Clickhaze the same summer, thus proving her wide range again. Touring with Clickhaze in the Faroes, to Sweden, Denmark (Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival is a festival held south of Roskilde in Denmark and is one of the six biggest annual music festivals in Europe . It was created in 1971 by two high school students, Mogens Sandfær and Jesper Switzer Møller, and promoter Carl Fischer...
), Iceland and Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
was a great success.
After her second solo album Krákan, the perhaps most important event in her young career was the nomination for the Icelandic Music Awards in no fewer than three categories in 2003. She was awarded best singer and best performer - normally only given to Icelandic artists.
Educated as a classical vocalist, Eivør sings also with the Faroese symphony orchestra and sings solo in Kristian Blak's 2004 opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Firra.
Her latest album eivør from November 2004 together with the Canadian Bill Bourne
Bill Bourne
Bill Bourne is a Canadian musician and songwriter, who frequently collaborates with a variety of artists, including Alan MacLeod, Shannon Johnson, Lester Quitzau, Madagascar Slim, Aysha Wills, Eivør Pálsdóttir, Wyckham Porteous and Jasmine 'Jas' Ohlhauser.Raised in a musical family in rural...
seems be the best selling Faroese album in the U.S. and Canada ever. Bourne's companionship with acoustic guitar gave the entire project a great bit of American country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, with Eivør contributing several songs in Faroese. In Iceland it was again in the charts, and was nominated for the Icelandic Music Award - together with an album by Björk. At the Awards ceremony on 2 February 2005 in Reykjavík, neither Eivør nor Björk had success, though.
Eivør is the first person in her country to bear the title Faroese of the year. On 9 February Eivør was named Faroese of the year 2004 (ársins føroyingur 2004) for "Putting the Faroe Islands on the map in a positive way with her songs".
On 7 March 2005, the big band of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) issued its 40th anniversary album. All titles on that CD are written and sung by Eivør. Once again she was honoured in Iceland on 16 June with the national theatre award Gríma for her composing and performance in the piece Úlfhamssaga, based on the Norse sagas.
Eivør's 5th album Human Child is produced by Dónal Lunny
Dónal Lunny
Dónal Lunny is an Irish folk musician. Lunny has been at the forefront of the evolution of traditional Irish music for more than thirty-five years and has participated within the renaissance of traditional Irish music in that time period...
and will be issued in both English and a Faroese version under the title Mannabarn on 18 July 2007 in the Faroes. The album was recorded throughout 2006 and early 2007 in Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. This was followed with an Irish tour in Summer 2007.
In 2008 Eivør collaborated with the English classical composer Gavin Bryars on Tróndur i Gøtu, a work for two voices - hers and that of Faroese bass Rúni Brattaberg - choir and chamber orchestra (Aldúbaran), based on a 10th century Faroese saga hero, which was performed in Gøtu, Faroe Islands on July 12, 2008. She has recently started to work with Gavin Bryars again on a chamber opera Anyone can see that I love you based on Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, with libretto by Marilyn Bowering and produced by Avena (Canada) in which she plays the leading role. Parts of this were developed during a workshop in Banff, Canada in June 2010 and two scenes were performed there on 12 June 2010. The work is scheduled for first performances in Vancouver and Victoria in February 2012.
An update from 8 February 2010 on eivor.com revealed among other things that: "The final touches have now been laid on Eivør's upcoming album. The album will present a new side of Eivør's talent, as she moves away from the folk sound of recent years into a more experimental and raw musical style. "
Furthermore: "On the album Eivør's haunting new songs are coupled with arrangement by Faroe Islands most exciting classical composer, Tróndur Bogason, the Icelandic string quartet Kaputt, the Faroese choir Mpiri
Mpiri
The vocal ensemble Mpiri is a Faroese choral ensemble based in Copenhagen. The members are mostly Faroese studying or working in Copenhagen. The conductor is Gorm Larsen.- History :...
and a children's choir from Eivør's hometown of Gøta." The new album is called Larva.
Discography
- Eivør Pálsdóttir (SHD 50, tutl 2000)
- Clickhaze EP (HJF 91, tutl 2002)
- Yggdrasil (HJF 88, tutl 2002)
- Krákan (12T001, 12 tónar 2003)
- Eivør (12T010, 12 tónar 2004)
- Trøllabundin (together with the Big band of Danmarks RadioDanmarks RadioDR – officially rendered into English as the Danish Broadcasting Corporation – is Denmark's national broadcasting corporation. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is today Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enterprise...
2005) - Human Child (R 60117-2, RecArt Music 2007)
- Mannabarn (R 60116-2, RecArt Music 2007, Faroese version of Human Child)
- Eivör Live (SHD125, tutl 2009)
- Undo your mind EP (Copenhagen Records 2010)
- Larva (SHD 130 tutl 2010)
External links
- Eivor.com Official Website
- Eivør on Facebook
- Eivør on Myspace
- Tutl.com (Faroese label)
- Í Gøtu ein dag (Faroese text of the old ballad, performed on Eivør's first album - a tribute to her home place)
- Faroe Mission in London - Dimmalætting Awards Eivør... (Newsletter by the Faroese radio from 14 February 2005)
- Eivør on BBC4, 17 March 2006