Musical instruments made of ice: beautiful and strange. I would love to hear this. (thanks Cindy).
GEILO, Norway (AFP) – Never has the phrase “sends shivers down your spine” more aptly described a musical concert. Inside a large snow arena tucked away in Norway‘s mountains, spectators marvelled as musicians performed for two days using instruments made almost entirely of ice.
Organised to coincide with the first full moon of the year, Geilo ski resort in the central mountain region separating Oslo from Norway’s second largest city, Bergen, is home to the world’s only ice music festival.
As short-lived as sandcastles, the ice-sculpted wind, string and percussion instruments give off surprising new sounds that vary according to the quality of the ice and the surrounding temperatures.
“Ice is extremely beautiful on a visual and musical level. It has additional qualities to other materials. It is abstract. Although it is cold it gives out a warm sound,” said Terje Isungset, the festival organiser and a pioneer in ice music.
As we say in our house: people are amazing. Actually, the world is amazing. We had a whole weekend of bright, bright sun with cold, brilliant nights. I woke to a world covered in frost like the hair of an old goat. It looks like more of the same today. Life is good. I’m certainly feeling much less ranty :)
Nicola Griffith 
This is indeed beautiful and strange. And fitting. Last night I decided to stop ranting so much and make myself be happy—even if I need to steep in St John’s wort. Admiring the beauty of invention helps, too. For some reason, looking at those ice instruments and trying to imagine the sound of them made me think of Meredith Monk and her musical explorations: <>“I work in between the cracks, where the voice starts dancing, where the body starts singing, where theater becomes cinema.”<>
some people just have too much ice!here we have too much sun….LOL what kinda of music can we make …i wonder……
That is cool (no pun). Would love to see < HREF="http://home.online.no/~isungz/" REL="nofollow">that concert<> under the full moon (click on that ice festival #4 link toward the middle of the page). I found some more info. You can actually buy an album from a previous festivals. That article mentions making them out of mineral water, but < HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/video/2008/nov/25/norway-ice-music-terje-isungset" REL="nofollow">elsewhere I see<> that guy makes them out of glacier ice. There are more pictures and samples on < HREF="http://www.myspace.com/terjeisungset" REL="nofollow">his myspace page<>.Yep, people are amazing. And glad you are getting some sun. We are having almost summer temps with winter angled-sun.
karina, have you listened to the music at the MySpace page linked in Jennifer’s comment? Some of it sounds very gothish (as in Jeep, not paint my room black and purple).pepito, here we (usually) have too much rain. Which makes its own music–sometimes soothing, sometimes infuriating. Sunmusic…hmmn, it would sound like bone and sand.jennifer, many thanks for those links. The music sounds like beginning of the world, like shaggy things stepping from the mist. I may have to buy it.
Yeah, I might have to buy some too. :)
<>nicola<>, this morning, after I left my comment, I went to the iTunes Store and ran a search, found 9 of their albums and bought 3. I’ve spent this foggy day listening to the sound. I like. I think Meredith Monk would, too (she used glass instruments at some point, plus other beautiful and strange things—that’s why this post made me think of her).<>Jennifer,<> thanks for the links. :-) That image search engine is fun.
This is lovely a lovely idea. It sounds like you live in Seattle!Rebecca
I do live in Seattle–since 1995. Fremont, then Wallingford, now Broadview (I love the peace here, and the trees). You?
I live in north Seattle. I’m a poet and a professional violinist but have never played an ice instrument until recently that is !