Visby Allmänna Sången
Visby Allmänna Sången and Marie Axelsson sings Utlottningen
(Exile), a folk-epic-opera, newly written by the same trio
that produced the highly praised Volund (SJECD 12) in 1998.
The topic of this folkrooted choral music comes from the Guta
saga, the oldest history of the Baltic island of Gotland.
“All is bound in rings so begins the Guta saga, the oldest
history of Gotland. This story has stayed alive for more than
a thousand years, the story of when the population grew too
fast and the island could not feed all the inhabitants.
The Gotlanders’ assembly decided to draw lots. Every third
man had to leave the island. This did not happen peacefully:
those who had to leave barricaded themselves in, but finally
they were forced out by their relatives and former friends.
Is it a true story? No one knows. Neither can anybody say why
there are several hundred abandoned house foundations from the
Iron Age in the meadows on Gotland. And why are there such
distinct marks of Gotlandic influence on the small island of
Runö in the bay of Riga? This has spurred me to write the
drama Utlottningen (Exile).”
Eva Sjöstrand
Words: Eva Sjöstrand
Music: Jan Ekedahl
Choral arrangement: Mats Hallberg
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