Norse stories and landscape around the northern sea-routes form the inspiration for this concert by Nordic Viola.

Irish composer Linda Buckley’s Aud draws on the settlement of Iceland, while Lillie Harris’ sextet Elsewhen seeks to capture the atmosphere of Orkney’s ancient sites. In Carry His Relics for flute and viola, Orkney composer Gemma McGregor describes the journey of the remains of St Magnus from Birsay to Kirkwall, along the present-day St Magnus Way. Eli Tausen á Lava from Faroe reflects on legends of the Selkies in Søgnin um Kópakonuna í 10 Myndum for flute and clarinet. The winning tune will be featured from a competition in schools from the Northern Isles to Greenland to compose a tune responding to a soundscape of the north.

Landscape painter Orla Stevens works alongside the composers and videographer Craig Sinclair to provide abstracted colours and textures responding to the music, which is performed by Emily Nenninger and Anne Bünemann (violins), Katherine Wren (viola), Laura Sergeant (cello), Janet Larsson (flute) and Robert Digney (clarinet).

With funding from Creative Scotland, the PRSF, and Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters

You can watch this free event from here, through the YouTube link bellow, or you can also go to the Science Festival’s YouTube channel