Melkorka Ólafsdóttir, Flautist, on Being a Modern Melkorka

Melkorka Ólafsdóttir is a flautist in the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and takes her name from the Melkorka of the Icelandic Sagas. She traces her lineage back to that Melkorka, who is said to have been an Irish Princess taken into slave and bought by an Icelandic chieftain and brought to Iceland. Melkorka is a poet, as well as a flautist, and she has written a poem for her name sake and she shares it with us in Icelandic and English. In this episode producer Helen Shaw and composer Linda Buckley sit down with Melkorka and talk music, Bjork and motherhood. You can find out more about her music here And Melkorka's Svikaskáld (Imposter Poets) are here  Music: Melkorka Ólafsdóttir - Fantasia 6 - Dolce (from solo CD: Telemann Fantasias) björk - utopia Watch a short video cut of our chat with Melkorka (and her stunning cats!) - https://vimeo.com/372931299 

Om Podcasten

How the genetics of Iceland reveals its Irish motherhood; an exploration of the connections between Iceland and Ireland presented by composer Linda Buckley and produced Helen Shaw at Athena Media. Acclaimed Irish composer Linda Buckley has a personal and professional affinity to Iceland and in this radio series she teams up with documentary maker Helen Shaw to trace the connections between the two places. The Icelandic female line goes directly back to gaelic women, mostly taken as slaves, by Norwegian Vikings who settled the land over a thousand years ago. http://mothersbloodsistersongs.com