The River Remembers
In the spring 2023 i took part in a residency called “Space and Place” curated by Riksteatern and Dalateatern in the region of Dalarna in Sweden. The purpose of the residency was to create a dance festival in an old abandonned factory village of the 19th century. In the call for application they asked “what happens to our identities when places are abandoned or fall into oblivion?” This question echoed with my interest to embody the sounds that exist in any particular environment and led me to bring my attention to the identity of the village itself. I wanted to immerse myself in this humanely deserted place and listen to its stories.
With “The River Remembers” I created different soundscapes and sound installations that evoke the time when the village was at its peak of human activity. Those sounds were then placed in strategic locations where they blent with the sonic atmosphere of today’s reality.
THE FORGE
The main activity of Långö Liebruk was smithing and in particular, Scyths building. The whole village’s life revolved around the activity and health of the forge. It was then obvious to me that the sonic atmosphere must have filled the village and its surrounding. I collected sounds from a Smith in Älvdalen that uses the same old technics they did back in the 19th century and rearranged them as to evoke the overwhelmingness of the forge.
FAUNA
In this ambient soundscape, you get to hear the sounds of the village since the humans have deserted the area. Or was it from before they were even there? I find that layering the sound recordings of the place with the real-time sonic atmosphere, enriches the environment with memories. The recorded soundscape loses its identity and become atemporal. Which year is it again?
SHORT STORIES
Here, you can find a collection of stories from and about Älvdalen, Långö bruk as well as other villages around.
Like many places in the world, the region of Dalarna in Sweden is filled with stories. These are keepers of history as well as teachers of the culture and beliefs of a certain time. Today, as we listen to those stories, we are taken into the life of the region as we learn about Patron Peterssons, the owner of the factory, or about the men that were lost at sea or yet still, about a wild dance.
TRADITIONAL MUSIC
Music was an integral part of the life of Långöbruk and the region. It was a way for people to get together and forget about the work, sing and dance with each other. The main instrument in the region was the fiddle and some players became famous for their style and their stories like Gyris Anders. When the king Karl XIV Johan, died, its successor asked the quarry of Dalarna to build a coffin made of Porfyr, a type of marble very demanded at the time. When the coffin was finished, about 180 men pulled the stone marvel by foot through the snow and cold winter to the nearest town to be then transported by train. The story tells us that Gyris Anders sat on top of the coffin, playing its fiddle to encourage the people to pull their heavy load despite the -36°c cold winter.
I invite you to visit the Folfmusikershus in Rättvik to learn more about the music tradition and history of the region.
Credits:
Creation and installation:
Camille Prieux
Production:
Riksteatern; Dalateatern
Partners and contributors: Dans Welest Kulturförening, Folkmusikens Hus in Rättvik; Älvdalens Spelmanslaget
This project was created through the residency “Space and Place” by Riksteatern and Dalateatern for the festival Långöfesten
Premiered
2023 @ Långöfesten in långö liebruk near Älvdalen (SE)
CAMILLE PRIEUX 