YORKTON – A unique sound is headed to the stage of St. Andrew's United Church this coming Feb. 17 in Prairie Debut's latest concert for Yorkton Arts Council Presents.
Viðarneistí — pronounced vee-thar-nest-ee — will be visiting the city for the last stop of their Sask. tour.
Viðarneistí is the "Icelandic term for 'wood spark' [and is] an apt description for what happens when the rich, sultry tone of the clarinet meets the percussive punch of marimba," according to the group's Prairie Debut bio.
The musical act consists of Catherine Wood on clarinet and Victoria Sparks on the marimba, who say the goal of their performances is to showcase the capabilities of their two instruments.
Yorkton This Week spoke with Wood and Sparks ahead of their scheduled performance.
"What we bring is a unique instrumentation — we play marimba and clarinet which is definitely an unusual pairing — it's hard to say what kind of music [it is] because we've borrowed from all different kinds of eclectic styles — we commission new pieces that are written for us – we've also adapted other pieces that were written for piano or guitar or flute... to work on our instrumentation," said Wood.
"The style includes some jazz, some tango, definitely some new music of different styles and very lyrical things — some more unusual things — it's really quite varied and eclectic," added Sparks.
"The bars [of the marimba] are made out of Honduran Rosewood so they have a beautiful, warm resonant sound and it really blends so wonderfully with the clarinet," said Sparks, adding, "the first time we heard these sounds together we were like, 'we're on to something here'."
The duo — who have been performing together since 2015 — are both of Icelandic descent and credit Nordic, Scandinavian and Icelandic heritage as their inspiration.
"We're both of Icelandic descent – my grandfather came over from Iceland to New Iceland in Manitoba," said Wood, adding, "we tell some of their stories — not just through the music but verbally — it's not just a come on stage and play music – we talk quite a bit and tell stories."
"The culture really is very strong [in New Iceland] and people come from Iceland to visit Manitoba in this New Iceland area and they say, 'it feels like Iceland around here'," said Sparks.
Sparks said she had the same sentiments when the duo visited Iceland for a performance.
"You walk around in a place you've never been and think, 'I feel very comfortable here – I feel at home here,'" said Sparks.
"We've also worked with several Icelandic-Canadian composers – so we've actually worked with composers who have a similar heritage to us and given them a chance to tell some of their stories, memories and impressions through our instrumentation – so we've commissioned a few pieces to different Icelandic Canadian composers," added Sparks.
The duo has taken the stage in Belgium, Iceland and the Faroe Islands to name a few, but this will be their first time performing in Yorkton.
"This is our first multi-stop tour," said Sparks, adding, "we love getting a chance to share what we do."
"We're really excited about having a chance to get welcomed into all of these communities – everybody has been so kind, welcoming and accommodating," said Wood, adding, "that prairie spirit is really obvious — we know it – we're prairie girls — it's being confirmed for us on this tour."
The duo said they enjoy interacting with the audience even after the music has ended.
"We often — at the end of a concert — will do a Q and A if people want to stick around," said Wood, adding, "we're pretty approachable."
Viðarneistí is set to perform at St. Andrews United Church Feb. 17 at 7:30. pm. Tickets are available through the Yorkton Arts Council's website.
