In our last guest blog post, Clare Button wrote: ‘Traditional music must be nurtured by other soils as well as its own if it is to thrive, and there is little to equal the thrill when musicians from different cultures and traditions meet and spark off each other.’ This is exactly what happened a few weeks ago when a group of Norwegian folk singers came together with the Edinburgh University Folk Society for an exciting musical meeting in a crowded back room at the White Horse pub in Edinburgh.

Some weeks previously Rosie York of EUFolksoc had received an email from Ingunn Lystad asking for some recommendations for ways to experience what Edinburgh has to offer in terms of Scottish music. A group of singers from the East Norway division of the Norwegian Folk Song Forum (Norsk Viseforum) were visiting Edinburgh and wanted to both listen and play.

‘East Norwegian Folksong Forum had organised a trip to Ireland five years ago, because there are quite a few of our members who like Irish and Scottish folkmusic,’ says Ingunn. ‘Now the time had come to visit Scotland, and Edinburgh was the obvious city to visit… I found [EUFolksoc] on the Internet a long time ago and signed up for their mailing list. I have always been looking for folk clubs and folk music in Scotland and in Edinburgh especially. The interest dates back to 1969/1971 when I lived in Edinburgh. I have been back a few times, always looking for places to hear folk music. When this trip was planned, I said I had a contact who might help us.’

‘I gave her a few names (Sandy Bells, Royal Oak etc),’ says Rosie, ‘and a list of other places to contact to see if they have weekend sessions. After a couple of emails, it turned out there were 19 of them! Ingunn (who has knowledge of Edinburgh folk scene in the 60s) said that altogether they would fill up the Wee Folk Club. At first I thought they were simply looking for info on busking permits!

So I emailed Scott [Gardiner] in, and he emailed her as well. We wanted to keep them together, but knew that 19 people (plus Folksoccers) would be far too many for one pub session.

Scott and I brainstormed places we could go as a ‘private group’, went to a few pubs, and finally settled on The White Horse. We checked with the committee of FolkSoc to see if people would be interested in a joint event – people were. Scott booked the room (which turned out to be perfect – like a little folky womb). We fixed a date with Ingunn.

To be honest, it was all incredibly easy to organise, but this is largely due to Scott’s motivation and know-how. He found a great pub I didn’t know existed. I don’t recall hearing from Ingunn again, until the session.’

I asked Ingunn how the music scene in Edinburgh had changed since she’d lived here in the 60s.

‘The difference is huge,’ she said. ‘The sixties and the start of the seventies was the height of the popularity for folk music. You could find folksingers in every other pub in Edinburgh. The Waverley Bar in Mary’s Street was my local pub. On the first floor there was folk singing every night. The place was packed. For a while I played four nights a week at the cellar pub in the Royal British Hotel on Princes Street. I was actually one of very few female singers who had gigs in the pubs. I left Edinburgh in 1971. When I came back in 1974 it was mostly over. I was very lucky to have been a part of this amazing time for Scottish folk singing. That time it was the song that was emphasized the most. The sessions with a lot of instruments doing reels etc were more rare.’

‘Our stay was really too short,’ Ingunn continues. ‘Only three nights. But we managed to find music in pubs both in the Royal Mile and on Bobbies Bar. Then our last night was the height of our stay.’

Rosie: I enjoyed the evening immensely. A few days before I was a little worried that not many Folksoccers would turn up (middle of exam/essay season). But was pleasantly surprised when there were about equal numbers of both groups. Furthermore, I was unsure how ‘old’ the group would be, or how ‘professional’ or serious. It turned out that the two groups blended fantastically. In fact, I would go so far to say that the evening gave me restored hope in the possibility for joint events with other groups (ie. currently there is talk for having the next weekend away with a ‘sister’ folk society –  an English one or something). Of course, the Norwegians had come over to hear and experience ‘trad Scottish music’, which is what they got! On the other hand, I think the FolkSoc crew really benefited from hearing some songs (there are few singers in FolkSoc this year). In some senses, the songs were not always ‘folk’ per se, but that kind of musical purism is totally not up my street. The ambiance created by the mutual sharing of tunes and songs was just magic. And there was lots of laughter and good craic too.

Ingunn: I don’t really know what we had expected at the White Horse. We hoped we wouldn’t be alone there, and hoped for 15 young singers (a number given us by Scott). We were overjoyed as we saw about 25 students with instruments filling up the room. Though we had expected more singing, the session was great. Our group could not get enough. They loved the young musicians.

And our performing folksingers really felt that the audience was listening to what they sang even though the words were in Norwegian. One said “I saw it in their eyes that we had contact”. Absolutely the height of our Edinburgh stay.

So are folk club exchanges worthwhile?

Rosie: I would completely support and encourage more cultural exchanges in the future. It livens up the standard FolkSoc repertoire and shows younger members that you really can sing or play any kind of tune and people will, always undoubtedly, clap at the end… even if that means stopping half way through to tune the guitar.

Ingunn: We know we loved the Edinburgh students and their music and we are thrilled that they seemed to like us and our music too.

With many thanks to Rosie York and Ingunn Lystad.