Danes take Tayvallich on a musical tour
Tayvallich village hall was the scene for a Viking invasion when Danish band Himmerland took to the stage.
With a line-up of three Danes (founder Eskil Romme on saxophone, Emil Ringtved on bass and Jonas Laerke Clausen on violin), a Swede and a Ghanaian, and a repertoire that extends beyond those borders, Himmerland are an embodiment of world music.
The band took an appreciative audience on a musical global tour of traditional tunes and their own compositions on Saturday October 12. Foot-tapping polskas and haunting melodies showed the band’s Scandi heritage.
Inspirations from the East celebrated the music of Eastern Europe. Ghanaian percussionist Ayi Solomon took over lead vocals for the African rhythms of Request to the King; his nifty dance moves were just as impressive when he stepped out from behind his drum kit.
Even Australia got a look-in on Spider in the Fiddle, a tune dedicated to a spider that stowed away Down Under, hidden in a violin case. The samba beat of the closing number brought everyone home via Latin America.
The evening ended with a thank you from Swedish bouzouki player Jens Ulvsand, who commented that ‘when it’s so easy to download recorded music digitally to your phone or PC, to listen to anything you want whenever you want it, it’s important to keep celebrating the unique experience of live music.’
With a regular programme of exciting live events, that’s a philosophy that Tayvallich supports wholeheartedly.