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2025 New World Festival Favorites return to Chandler for a special fall program:
Skye Consort & Emma Björling perform whirling polskas, groovy reels, passionate love songs
and breathtaking hymns all found in or inspired by music from Scandinavia, The British Isles,
French Canada and the New World. Their trans-Atlantic arrangements and original
compositions spring from an extraordinary collaboration consisting of voices, fiddle,
nyckelharpa, cello, bouzouki, banjo, and percussion. Each musician brings their individual
passion to both traditional practices and inventive music-making.
Skye Consort was formed in 1999, has performed and toured extensively, and has 8 full-length
albums. In late 2018, Skye Consort, in collaboration with Emma Björling, created a new
repertoire grown from Scandinavian, Québecois and Celtic roots. The recording was released
on LEAF Music in May 2019 and is distributed worldwide on Naxos. Their self-titled debut
album, Skye Consort & Emma Björling, won the OPUS (QC, Canada) award for best world
music album 2020.
The second collaborative recording between Skye Consort and Emma Björling, entitled Ode &
Ballade, features Emma Björling (lead voice, percussion), Seán Dagher (lead voice, Irish
bouzouki, banjo), Amanda Keesmaat (cello, voice), Simon Alexandre (nyckelharpa, violin,
voice), and Alex Kehler (nyckelharpa, violin, voice) on the album, also composing and
arranging. The musicians sing in three languages (Swedish, French, English), and the words
“ode” and “ballade” resonate with meaning in all three: poem, song, tale, sonnet, folly, chant,
and dance. The music of this album combines elements from world music and classical
traditions to offer audiences thoughtful arrangements and creative compositions: a Swedish
Polska accompanied by Québec foot percussion and 18th-century Scottish-style chords, a
French song with Norwegian-sounding interludes between the verses, a Purcell/Playford-style
dance tune with Swedish texts and accompanied on the banjo. About half of the repertoire is
original compositions by the members of Skye Consort & Emma Björling and all are original
arrangements for this formation.
The touring configuration of the band presents 4 musicians from the Ode & Ballade recording,
Sean Dagher, Emma Björling, Amanda Keesmaat and Alex Kehler (on nyckelharpa, fiddle, and
voice).
The genre, dubbed "trans-Atlantic Chamber Folk" by Lyra Magazine (Sweden), creates a sound
that is unique among folk artists and classical chamber ensembles. Through the group’s love of
different folk traditions and baroque styles, they uncover and present many haunting texts and
sonic elements from different worlds that take audiences on an unforgettable journey.