Trafika Europe 1 - Northern Idyll

In the beginning, he walked alone, briefly stopping at Bakkahella, at Doktaragrund, up above the library, or simply whenever he saw a door ajar. He prayed an Our Father, blessed the household, and then sang a verse. But after Anna Sofie and Henrietta Løbner, mother and daughter, joined him, some other poor souls turned out as well. For the most part, they sang “Fare, World, Farewell” by the Danish hymn-writer, Thomas Kingo. They sang it to the sarabande-melody, and their swaying tread gave the group a solemn and peculiar appearance. No poet has made a greater impact on the Faroese national spirit than Thomas Kingo, and when Professor Christian Matras translated “Fare, World, Farewell” to Faroese in 1929, he walked the same narrow streets as hr. Hans before him, humming to himself, in an effort to instill the unique Kingo-musicality into the verses. The group also sang the more contemporary and milder hymn by Oehlenschläger, “Teach Me, Oh Wood, to Fade Glad Away,” and when they passed the house in Geil, Tóvó sometimes stood in the door and watched and listened to the little wandering church.

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