International Conference: 3-5 June 2024, Stockholm
NORDEM hosted the REMA 2024 Conference "Nordic Early Music in a Global Context" in collaboration with EARLY MUSIC SWEDEN. Activities took place across the Stockholm area and included collaborations with Drottningholms Slottsteater, the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, The Swedish Academy, the City of Stockholm, the Stockholm County Governor, and the concert hall Musikaliska.
The conference welcomed some 70 international delegates to explore Nordic early music through a diverse programme. The aim was to highlight the characteristics and significance of Nordic early music both historically and from a contemporary perspective, to deepen and broaden the knowledge about repertoire and heritage, and to anchor Nordic early music in a broader European context.
Following the REMA General Assembly on 3 June, for which the Royal Swedish Academy of Music kindly opened their doors, the participants were taken on a guided tour of the Old Town. The evening ended with a reception in the City Hall, generously hosted by the City of Stockholm, where the theme of the conference was brought into focus through traditional herding calls by Lena Willemark, extracts from the concert programme “Bach in Swedish” with Lisa Rydberg and Gunnar Idenstam, and the singing and dancing of a Faroese “kvaedi” led by Jónleif Johannesen.
On the morning of 4 June, the participants travelled to Drottningholms Slottsteater. The programme included an introduction to the theatre by artistic and managing director Anna Karinsdotter together with cultural and technical manager Åsa Tillman, as well as a guided tour and a demonstration of the unique stage machinery. Delegates also listened to a performance of music by Courbois, Lully, and Rameau with Annastina Malm (mezzo-soprano), David Risberg (bass), Elin Gabrielsson (violin), Kristine West (flute and recorder), Daniel Holst (viol), and Marcus Mohlin (harpsichord) in the historical theatre space.
After lunch, the conference’s core thematic programme continued at the concert hall Musikaliska in central Stockholm. In the keynote speech “1000 Years of Music in Nordic Region”, Professor Mattias Lundberg (Uppsala University) offered a glimpse of some of “the breadth and scope of repertoires, historical institutions, instruments, individuals, and exchanges that have left important traces in the musical history of this part of Northern Europe”. A panel discussion probing the nature, present state, and future of Nordic early music followed, moderated by NORDEM member Mark Tatlow. The panelists Nikolaj de Fine Licht (DK), Anna Maria Friman (SE), Elfa Rún Kristinsdóttir (IS), Elina Mustonen (FI), and Jónleif Johannesen (FO) all contributed their experiences and perspectives. The evening continued with the opening concert of Stockholm Early Music Festival; a soaring performance of Dietrich Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri by Concerto Copenhagen.
The final day of the conference, 5 June, began with choir conductor Gary Graden inviting the delegates to a sung, hands-on experience of the collection Piae Cantiones (1582). Discussions on the key theme “Nordic Early Music in a Global Context” - connected to the regional experiences of other REMA members - then continued in a workshop led by Richard Heason, all kindly hosted by The Swedish Academy.
As a whole, the conference received very positive feedback both on site and in the post-conference survey. Delegates commented on a rich but manageable programme and some striking venues. The conference represented an important milestone in creating opportunities for closer cooperation and understanding between the Nordic and European early music spheres.
