Storyteller brings the folklore of Norway to the Library

Storyteller, artist and musician Arna Rennan will present a family program of tales, songs and music from Norway at 11 a.m., Sat., March 16, 2013, at the Cloquet Public Library. The event, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, is free of charge and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

With the simplest of elements, Arna Rennan transports her audience to another time and place—to the mountains of Norway.  Using her voice to sing and tell stories while strumming a dulcimer, she brings new life to ancient tales, a tradition used by grandmothers to entertain their grandchildren while mother was busy baking, cleaning or milking the cows. “Children learned stories that taught them courage and the use of their brains to carry them through any situation,” says Arna, who first learned Norwegian folk songs from her parents who emigrated from Norway in the early 1950s.

Arna later lived in Norway for 15 years, and has studied at the Institute for Folk Culture in Rauland, Telemark. There she learned "Kveding" vocal folk music from Ragnhild Furholt and Frode Nyvold. Her repertoire spans lullabies and ballads from the Middle Ages, cow calls, dance tunes and much more. She plays the seljefløyte, the overtone flute and “langeleik,” the Norwegian dulcimer. She has performed extensively throughout the Midwest for many years, including at the University of Chicago Folk Festival and most recently in Washington DC.  She has released two recordings: Nordic Shores and Big Brother, Little Brother with her ensemble, Nordic Angst.

For more information, call 879-1531.