Gamanvísur by Vermeira

Skaldic poetry brought to life in music using various bowed lyres and other traditional instruments. Vermeira aims to be more than just music. It is a story told through history. "Gamanvísur", the first album, consists of skaldic poems written by Haraldr Harðráði who was also a king of Norway in 11th century. The poems tell about his journeys as far as the island of Sicily. "Gamanvísur" ("The Verses of Joy") are adressed to the king's beloved one, his future wife Princess Ellisif whom he met in the lands of the medieval kingdom of Rus' (also known as Kyivan Rus'). The album strives to capture the emotional spectrum of those journeys of the young viking before he became a king. The songs are filled with the feelings of battle rage, grief of loss, of joy, and longing for the loved one as well as of despair of not knowing if they shall ever meet again.

A musical project exploring landscapes of spirituality while drawing inspiration from the Norse mythology. Vermeira uses traditional musical instruments from various cultures as well as vocal techniques ranging from different kinds of throat singing to regular European folk vocals. The languages used in our lyrics are usually Germanic, mainly Old Norse, modern Danish, Old English and Gothic.