Utopian Folk Songs (2025)

In times when it seems as if the world is slowly but surely going down the drain, maybe it might help to imagine a world where everything is just harmony, cooperation and love? Since time immemorial, people have imagined a problem-free dreamland where there is nothing but happiness: Utopia, Arcadia, Cockaigne, Atlantis. And, not least, El Dorado in Voltaire's novel Candide, a polemical kick to the philosopher Leibnitz, who insisted that he lived in the best of all imaginable worlds, that nothing could be improved. 

So, what would a choir sing in Utopia? Utopian folk songs of course! A tribute to spring and fertility, a lullaby, an energetic and happy work song, a heartfelt funeral hymn, songs that accompany life in Utopia. The lyrics are in Utopian, a language we don't understand, so each one of us can add whatever we want to this dreamland.

Rolf Wallin, March 2025