Ice Music Festival Kicks Off Today In Norway
With high temperatures in the teens and lows in the negatives, the conditions in Geilo, Norway this weekend would have any sensible person cozily relaxing by the fireplace. But 4km south of the winter sporting and luxury holiday destination, the clime is ideal for the organizers and participants of the 9th annual Ice Music Festival.
This incredible festival founded by jazz composer, musician, and ice music pioneer Terje Isungset features music performed solely on instruments made of ice. After several successful years creating ice-based performances and eventually starting an ice music-only record label (unsurprisingly called Ice Music), the Ice Music Festival was launched in 2006, under the year’s first full moon. The festival has continued ever since, and features musicians playing ice violins, ice cellos, ice harp, ice horn, iceophon, and an ambiguous, unknown instrument called the ice talatut.
Because the instruments, stages, and performances spaces are constructed entirely of ice, the conditions must be perfect to achieve the feat of creating the ideal ice objects. A skilled team of (rather intense) sculptors, architects, and producers ensure the highest quality of the ice for both the performances and for aesthetic excellence. This year will also feature the world’s first ice orchestra performing a specially commissioned composition by Terje.
What is particularly intriguing about this festival, beyond the extreme temperatures and diehard Norwegian constitution, is the haunting beauty of the music. The resonances and clarity of ice instruments reflect the purity and peacefulness of water, paired with the sheen and crystalline forms of ice–the textures are completely audible, and alluring and chilling.
To find out more about this unique event, follow Ice Music Festival on Soundcloud, Twitter, and Facebook, and check out Terje Isungset’s ice music albums on Spotify.
