Glasgow Necropolis and Cathedral area via SonicMaps
30 October – 3 November
- Olga Szymula (Denmark): directly to directly from
New beginnings require space for something to form, whether the ‘something’ is physical, emotional, intellectual, or conceptual. Made up of words, whispers, vocal lines, and atmospheric electronics, Olga Szymula’s work reflects on a litany of things that composers say goodbye to. It’s a personal and unfiltered sharing of a loss, letting go of the past, filled with illusions, abuse and pain.
directly to directly from is a geo-located sound route which can be experienced via headphones at any time through a smartphone via SonicMaps, or as part of a group led by one of the Nordic Music Days Curator Team on Sunday 3 November at 11am (meet outside the front of the Cathedral).
Access the route via SonicMaps - the walk starts precisely at the gate to Church Lane, just by the Cathedral precinct. It is also possible to listen remotely.
This event is supported by Augustinus Foundation
Kelvingrove Park via SonicMaps
30 October – 3 November
- Duncan MacLeod (Scotland): Machair
Places have sounds, but often this is taken for granted. This soundwalk explores the agricultural traditions and ecology of Uist’s machair, bringing the sound of the west coast to a city part. Machair is one of Europe's rarest yet most species-rich habitats – a fertile, low-lying grassy plain only occurring on the exposed west-facing shores of Scotland and Ireland.
Generations of low-intensity farming have shaped this unique living landscape and encouraged wildlife over millennia. Developed in partnership with the local community on the Uists, this work combines spoken narratives, field recordings, and compositions with archival sound recordings from Edinburgh University’s School of Scottish Studies, that chart over 70-years tradition.
Machair is a geo-located sound route which is experienced via headphones at any time on a smartphone through SonicMaps, or as part of a group walk led by one of the Nordic Music Days Curator Team on Sunday 3 November at 11am (meet inside the park gate n Gibson Street). It is also possible to listen remotely.
Commissioned by Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum and Arts Centre. Supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Memorial Chapel, University of Glasgow
30 October 14.15 – 17.00
31 October 10.00 – 17.00
1 November 10.00 – 17.00
- Mariam Gviniashvili (Norway): Lotsva
- Tommy Perman, Simon Kirby, Rob St. John (Scotland): Sing the Gloaming
In March 2021, mid-way through two years of pandemic imposed silence, Mariam Gviniashvili began collecting recordings of chants from across the world. Weary from isolation and an absence of artistic connection, she wove these recordings together to create Lotsva, a work which unites voices and transcends borders of nations, regions, cultures, and faiths.
Glimmer…gleam…gloaming… our ‘light words’ have their roots in a single word from over 5,000 years ago, ghlei. Sing the Gloaming features some of Scotland’s most renowned vocalists singing these words in an installation that draws the audience towards the words…and the light.
Each work lasts for around 15 minutes, and will alternate throughout the day.
Unticketed, free entry
Lotsva is supported by Arts and Culture Norway
Basement Level, Waterstones Books, Sauchiehall Street
Wednesday 30 October 9.00 – 19.00
Thursday 31 October 9.00 – 19.00
Friday 1 November 9.00 – 19.00
Saturday 2 November 9.00 – 19.00
- Håkan Lidbo (Sweden): Sound+Art
- Ulf A S Holbrook (Norway) & Karen Mair (Scotland): LandCurves (Finse)
The Blåisen (Blue Ice) Glacier is located in the Finse region of western Norway, high on the Hardangervidda plateaux. Melting at an alarming rate over the past decade, it is still a spectacularly beautiful, though extremely harsh, mountain landscape.
LandCurves (Finse) takes its inspiration from this environment, combining field recordings with interviews and archive material to create a multi-layered soundscape rooted in a 3D sculpture of the area.
LandCurves (Finse) is supported by Arts and Culture Norway
Programme change: Please note that Sound + Art will now appear along with Art + Sound at CCA from Wednesday until Saturday.
Sound+Art is a set of three sonic posters that allow the user to select and manipulate drum, bass and melody lines to create their own pieces. This new project is the latest in a set of works allowing users to interact with technology, art and music. Three more sonic posters, the Art+Sound series, can be found in the CCA.
Sound+Art is supported by FST (Föreningen Svenska Tonsättare)
Unticketed, free
Blacader Aisle, Glasgow St Mungo’s Cathedral
Wednesday 30 October 14.00 – 17.00
Thursday 31 October 09.30 – 17.00
Friday 1 November 10.00 - 12.30, 13.30 - 15.30
Saturday 2 November 10.00 - 12.30, 13.30 - 15.30
- Rosali Grankull (Sweden): Music for Strings & Silk
Rosali Grankull’s Music for Strings & Silk is an experimental collective improvisation, where resonant stringed instruments are placed throughout and across a space, extended by silk threads that connect their strings to a single point.
The room becomes a gigantic harp, with participants finding themselves inside it, and able to create a sonic dialogue by pulling on the silk threads.
Please note that there are steps to this venue and that the floor is uneven in places.
Free, unticketed
Supported by Föreningen Svenska Tonsättare, STIM Forward Fund, and The Piano Project
This event is produced in partnership with Glasgow Cathedral Festival, with thanks to the Minister and Kirk Session of Glasgow Cathedral.
Daily in opening hours
- Aron Dahl (Norway) & Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø (Norway): a copy of a copy first performance
Composer and film-maker Aron Dahl collaborated with experimental trombonist Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø to create a copy of a copy. The work uses the concept of the traditional children’s game where a phrase is passed around a circle until it mutates into something unrecognisable. With Henrik’s unique playing as a starting point, both the video and audio take their own paths, with some surprising twists along the way.
Free, unticketed
Supported by Arts and Culture Norway and KODA Kultur
Centre for Contemporary Arts Courtyard
Daily in opening hours
- An Easterhouse Children’s Manifesto Co-created by Oakwood Primary School, Red Note Ensemble and Dumbworld.
Inspired by the 1931 publication 'La Anarquia Explicada a Los Niños', an instructional manual for children published during the Spanish Civil War that explained the ideas and practises of anarchy -composer Brian Irvine and director John McIlduff in collaboration with the children of Oakwood Primary School in Glasgow and Red Note Ensemble have created a collection of 7 musical animated video posters that explore key elements of “anarchical” thinking such as autonomy, kindness and human connectivity from a child’s perspective.
The work was developed over a year long process of co-creation involving pupils, teachers, artists and musicians.
Born from Red Note’s 5 Places programme, which targets five locations across central Scotland. This programme aims to properly get to know people in their own neighbourhood at grassroots level, and work with them to make and create new live music together in the heart of their community over a number of years. This Easterhouse collaboration is based on the ideas and voices of Oakwood Primary School’s pupils and their partnered groups from the wider community. The project was led by composer Brian Irvine, who wanted to allow young people’s anarchy to direct us, the grown-ups, on ways in which we can uncover the best of what we as humans can be.
Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glass Walkway
Wednesday to Friday in opening hours
- Håkan Lidbo (Sweden): Art+Sound
Art+Sound is a set of three sonic posters that allow the user to select and manipulate drum, bass and melody lines to create their own pieces. This new project is the latest in a set of works allowing users to interact with technology, art and music. Three more posters – the Sound+Art series – can be found in Waterstones Bookstore.
Sound+Art is supported by Föreningen Svenska Tonsättare
Unfortunately we are not able to show FR33 J4ZZ due to illness.
Morten Ladehoff’s mechanical jazz trombonist pops up in various locations, freely improvising and allowing its creativity to flourish, FR33 J4ZZ allows an autonomous machine to captivate and enthral…or alienate and baffle…it’s a thin line!
FR33 J4ZZ will appear in the Festival Club on Wednesday and in the foyers at City Halls and The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall before and after concerts, and during the intervals.