Noise, Scelsi and Setesdal
What makes a Swede move to the middle of Setesdalen (Setes valley) – and learn a Setesdal dialect almost incomprehensible to outsiders? In the beginning, the guitarist Sandèn- Warg had ambitions in the direction of Jimi Henrix. Having listened to the fiddler Hallvard Bjørgun on the radio, he thought “this is what I would like to do!” and moved to Norway, where he became a great fiddle player. He has won the Folklarm prize and played in several folk music groups, as well as in Odd Nordstoga’s backing band.
Works by Giacinto Scelsi are also to be performed, the Sicilian aristocrat famous for his unique sound. The connection between this type of music, and folk music, is an obvious part of this particular concert. Marino Formenti conducts Ensemble Allegria and Garth Knox plays the role as soloist, before Oren Ambarchi enters the stage. Born in Sydney to Jewish parents from an Iraqi family, Ambarchi explores the possibility of guitar playing, moving through various genres, such as improvisation, electronic, minimalism and noise music. The contemporary composers Alvin Lucier and Morton Feldman are as great an influence as the free jazz saxophonist Ornete Colemann and rock guitarist Jimi Henrix. ‘The best concert in the history of Landmark’, was a common opinion among the public at the concert in Bergen Kunsthall (Landmark) in 2009. Ambrachi collaborates with the Norwegian cross genre Ensemble neoN.
(Photo: TO SETERSDAL: Daniel Sandèn- Warg went from acting as a guitarist to playing an exciting role as a musician in Setesdal. Photo: Eivind Kaasin/Bøgrend Autofest).