Musical program to feature Scandinavian music

TEMECULA – Southern CA Damekor will present a short program of Scandinavian folk music to celebrate spring on Friday, May 1 at 6:30 p.m. This talented group of singers and instrumentalists will be performing at The Little Viking Gift Shop in Old Town Temecula. The Damekor’s program will contain some interesting styles of music unique to Scandinavia including yoiking and kulning as well national songs to celebrate Norway’s Constitution Day on May 17.

Anyone who has seen Disney’s wildly popular Frozen (Frost in Norwegian!), has heard a great example yoiking, a traditional Sami form of song. One of the oldest living music traditions in Europe, yoiks’ sounds are similar to the traditional chanting of some Native American cultures.

Kulning or kulokking are herding calls used to call livestock down from high mountain pastures where they have been grazing. The song has a high-pitched vocal technique so that it can be heard or used to communicate over long distances and has a fascinating and haunting tone. These lokks are sometimes family-based and are handed down so that a family’s cows will know they are being called. Sometimes the tones are related to the tones of the cowbells worn by the cows.

The Damekor’s program will also include a song by the Swedish group, ABBA, Secret Garden’s 1995 Eurovision winning song, and several other folksongs and patriotic songs from Norway.

The Little Viking is at 28465 Front St., Suite 104. There is no charge for the performance.