Teodor Wolgers on tour with grandfather Beppe Wolgers' poems - see him at the City Hall this fall!
With "Episode in Vikens kapell on tour", grandson Teodor Wolgers takes his melodies and grandfather Beppe Wolgers' poems on a journey into the country. It becomes a kind of crack in time, between then and now, before and after. It is a story about heritage and environment, about family ties and man's relationship to nature, to God, to his family.
Teodor Wolgers (b. 1993) never met his grandfather, the great poet, lyricist, satirist and actor Beppe Wolgers (1928–1986). In an attempt to get to know his grandfather, he went in the summer of 2023 to the Jämtland that Beppe has repeatedly depicted in poems and in the film Dunderklumpen! (1974). He brought with him a copy of Beppe Wolgers' poetry collection "Episode in Vikens kapell - om en hände i somras" (1973), which Beppe wrote after finding Vikens kapell in the village of Frostviken one summer day in 1972. The small parish hall also inspired the LP "Det for två vita duvor" (1973), which Beppe recorded in the chapel together with organist Merit Hemmingson.
The same chapel became the starting point for the album that his grandson Teodor Wolgers made there 50 years later. Inspired by Beppe's poetry collection, he composed melodies that were recorded under the direction of producer Hampus Norén and with guest appearances by Jämtland residents Annika Norlin, Merit Hemmingson and Kjell-Erik Eriksson. The album also features an 8-member choir of people from the village, which the chapel's caretaker helped put together.
“Vikens kapell” is an audio art collage where Teodor's compositions interact with Jämtland folk music, set poems and sounds from nature and the water outside the chapel, where everything is recorded. Grandfather Beppe is also on the album, in the form of voice recordings left behind. The album is thus a kind of crack in time, between then and now, before and after. It is a story about heritage and environment, about family ties and man's relationship to nature, to God, to his family.
The album will be released on May 16th and a tour with a performance based on the music will be announced on the same day. Teodor Wolgers says: I will play the album live with projections of films in the background. They are from Jämtland, filmed by me and my grandfather. It will be like a performance where I will also talk about my grandfather, the lyrics and our meeting.
About Teodor Wolgers:
At the age of 22, Teodor Wolgers became the youngest student from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music ever to have a work performed in Berwaldhallen (Dreams, 2016). He has collaborated with the world-famous philosopher Martin Hägglund and folk musician Sara Parkman on the albums “Distractions in a Capitalist World” (2021) and “Dialogues” (2023), respectively. He has written television music, and the EP “hopes” (2019) has over 20 million streams on Spotify. The album “Vikens kapell” is his most personal work to date.