Vedøya – Laments to the birdmountain who lost their voice, is a lyrical tribute to the once famous birdmountain Vedøya on Røst in Lofoten/Lofuhotta, Nordland/Nordlánda, in Nordnorge/Sábme, and was born out of multidisciplinary artist Elin Már Øyen Vister’s long-term artistic research project Soundscape Røst, which began in 2010, in which they have followed and documented changes in the Røst archipelago’s soundscape and explored archival material from Norway and abroad. The work receives its premiere at Borealis, performed by an extraordinary ensemble of co-creating artists and performers.

 

The seabird mountain of Vedøya was once one of Northern Europe’s most abundant seabird breeding colonies. At the mountain’s height of its glory, the landscape was filled with a deafening cacophony of kittiwakes, puffins, guillemots, razorbills, and auks. The idea that this unique place could one day fall silent was unimaginable. Yet it happened – in spring 2019, the kittiwakes nested for the very last time, and the bustling life came to an end. Since then, silence has slowly spread across the Røst archipelago, which reflects ongoing global loss of biodiversity.

 

Vedøya – Laments to the birdmountain who lost their voice takes us on a journey through layers of time, where the mountain itself tells its origin story. We hear about the mountains first meeting with the seabirds and their ancestral mother, tjáhtjelådde maddo, who symbolizes the reciprocal relationship between humans and nature, and, the seabirds arrival to Røst and their origin story—and then the many-thousand-year-old story about the humans’ arrival on Vedøya up until the present day.

 

The performance allows the audience to sense Vedøya’s story through multichannel field recordings, images/ film, dance,  and music – from newly composed contemporary works to traditional Northern Norwegian folk songs and Sámi vocal traditions such as luohti (joik)—complemented by poetic text, memories, and conversations. What unfolds on stage has been developed through a collaborative creative process, in direct engagement with the mountain—with its landscape, acoustics, and stories that have taken shape there.

 

After the performance, the audience is invited to stay with the performers to share impressions, thoughts, and feelings—both in conversation and in silence. Anne Cecilie’s famous Røst fish soup and a vegetarian alternative will be served to warm our bodies. Together, we can attempt at beginnning to reflect on what has unfolded on stage, process the loss of biodiversity we are witnessing around us, and perhaps sow a seed of hope.

 

 

The contributors are listed in alphabetical order, and all have participated as co-creators:

 

Anne Cecilie Pedersen (NO) – storyteller and cook from Røst, performer

 

Anette Cecilie Danielsen (NO) – sewing

 

Eirin Hammari (NO) – producer

 

Elin Már Øyen Vister (NO)—artistic director, text, composer, sound, performer

 

Harald Bredholdt (DK/NO) – cinematic dramaturgy, film and video

 

Heiða Karine Jóhannesdóttir Mobeck (NO) – composer and musician (tuba)

 

Ingvild Austgulen (NO) – slam poet and performer

 

Jostein Stalheim (NO) – composer and musician (accordion)
Jonas Apeland (NO) – vikar musiker (pump organ)

 

Katarina Skår Lisa (NO/Sápmi) – dance/coreography

 

Kari Noreger (NO) – seabird masks

 

Lisa Dillan (NO) – composer and voice

 

Louisa Palmi (NO) – multi-channel sound playback and mixing assistance

 

Marius Kolbenstvedt (NO) – dramaturgy and text consultation

 

Mikael Rönnberg (NO/SE) – composer and musician (pump organ)

 

Ola Høyer (NO) – composer and musician (double bass)

 

Randiane Aalberg Sandboe (NO) – lighting design

 

Risten Anine Gaup (NO/Sápmi) – composer and joiker/juoigi

 

Tale Næss (NO) – dramaturgy and direction

 

Zofia Jakubiec (PL) – costume design