This…collaboration between an Early Music folk fusion trio from Canada and a Swedish singer…immediately has the appeal of the unusual. (Issue 131, The Living Tradition)

At their Chamberfest debut, Skye Consort & Emma Björling will perform their “trans-Atlantic chamber folk” with arrangements of songs and tunes from Sweden, Norway, Ireland, Scotland, England, Québec, Acadia, and the USA, bringing old stories, melodies, and themes back to life in a contemporary musical setting.

About their album Skye Consort & Emma Björling, The Whole Note’s Barry Livingston says that “the songs are beautifully arranged, and Björling’s vocals are fully integrated into the ensemble, giving the music the feel of a true collaboration. One of the best folk recordings of 2019.”

Emma Björling, award-winning Swedish singer, composer, and arranger, met Alex Kehler (fiddle, nyckelharpa), Amanda Keesmaat (cello), and Seán Dagher (cittern/bouzouki, banjo) during a La Nef project in Montréal in October 2017 and “thanks to” Emma’s cancelled flight and their mutual love for each other’s celebrated musicianship, the Skye Consort & Emma Björling partnership was born.

With voice, fiddle, nyckelharpa, cello, bouzouki, banjo, and percussion, each musician brings their unique slant to these musical traditions to create a program of whirling polskas, groovy reels, passionate love songs, breathtaking hymns, and original compositions.

• Skye Consort & Emma Björlingensemble