With a heart for Agder
Kim Rysstad
In August, cultural treasures from all over Agder will come together on stage at konsertsalen Kilden konsertsalen Kilden the “Folkelig kraft” event. Among those performing will be Kim Rysstad, known for his appearances on both the Melodi Grand Prix and NRK’s Stjernekamp, and with a long and impressive discography to his name.
Kim Rysstad never planned to pursue folk music, even though his family history suggested he would. He had a younger brother who sang folk songs and played the harmonica, and a great-grandfather with a long career as a writer of folk songs and poetry. But in 2003, while alone in a room listening to old recordings, something happened that changed Kim’s life forever.
“I was working at the Agder Folk Music Archive digitizing old recordings instead of doing my regular military service. I was supposed to digitize recordings by Birgit Rike Lund and heard her perform a folk song written by my great-grandfather, and that’s when it happened,” says Kim enthusiastically.
The Awakening
As the recording was converted from analog to digital, an immediate inner transformation took place within Kim as well. The recording sparked a burning passion for folk music; Kim calls it an awakening.
“It was a truly powerful experience. My great-grandfather’s words, set to music with Birgit’s voice, were simply a very moving and beautiful experience. Yes, a kind of awakening,” says Kim in his characteristic Valla dialect.
Friendship Through Music
Birgit Rike Lund was a renowned folk musician and singer from Valle. It was pure coincidence that Birgit was the one who sparked Kim’s interest, but following their encounter in 2003, a lifelong bond gradually developed between Kim and Birgit.
– We were close and spent a lot of time together. She would call me just to see how I was doing. She meant a lot to both the folk music scene and to me personally. At the age of 94, she showed up in the audience to support me when I was in the finals of Stjernekamp—that’s amazing!
Thanks to *Stjernekamp*, even more Norwegians became aware of Kim—and, by extension, folk music. Although the music has roots stretching far back in time, Kim emphasizes that folk music is a tradition that is very much alive throughout the Agder region.
– It’ll be great to come back; it’ll actually be a reprise of a piece I’ve done with the symphony orchestra before
– Kim Rysstad
Setesdal in my heart and mind
“Right now I’m at the country house in Sweden, then I’ll be heading back to Norway for a few concerts before making a quick trip home to Rysstad and the Setesdal Folk Festival in August. It’s a tradition I don’t want to miss,” Kim smiles.
In "Folkelig kraft," folk musicians from the region come together for a musical collaboration with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, but performing folk music with an orchestra isn't necessarily a given, according to Kim.
“Folk music has been, and largely remains, a solo tradition; it wasn’t originally intended for an orchestra. In *Folkelig kraft*, there are many performers on stage, each with their own style and unique character; the orchestra will serve to unify and tie it all together,” says Kim.
First meeting
For many, Folkelig Kraft will be their first introduction to folk music in Agder, and on that note, Kim speaks enthusiastically about his contribution to the program.
“Among other things, we’re going to do a stevleik. In short, it involves singers performing stev to one another. Traditionally, it was performed as a kind of conversational song, often in a festive setting; one singer would begin, and the next would continue by building on the content of the stev that was performed first,” Kim explains.
“Most of the time, the lyrics are about love, mountains, fjords, nature, and everyday events, but sometimes they can be a little cheeky and a bit edgy. Yeah, almost like a modern rap battle,” Kim laughs.
This isn’t the first time the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra and Kim have performed together. Back in 2011, Kim performed folk music on stage at Kilden mark the venue’s opening. Since then, he has also appeared there as a soloist on several occasions.
“It’ll be nice to come back; in fact, it’ll be a reprise of a piece I’ve performed with the symphony orchestra before, *Heming*, a medieval ballad with a melody from Setesdal. It’s a long ballad consisting of nearly 100 verses, of which I’ll perform five,” Kim reassures us in closing.