With our year-long programme devoted to Friendship marking our 50th anniversary, who better than the Paris-based Swedish singer-songwriter Peter von Poehl to take part in France’s national music festival in our garden? We proudly remember that Peter performed one of his first ever concerts at the Institut Suédois.
This year he’ll be performing a live solo gig featuring songs from his new album Memories from Saint-Forget. A few weeks before lockdown, when the musical he was working on was cancelled in China and the virus was spreading across France, Peter von Poehl and his family found themselves almost by chance in the village of Saint-Forget, population 512, nestling in the lush green setting of the Vallée de la Chevreuse. In the garden was a shed where he decided to set up his home studio, moving the sound equipment from his tiny garret in Paris. The result? His fifth album, which, while breaking new ground, also represents a return to his roots: his first album, Going Where the Tea Trees Are, which was released 15 years ago; the garage band he started in his native Sweden at the age of 15 because ice hockey and football weren’t his thing; and the Bob Dylan records he bought compulsively as a teenager.
Dreams are still his chief poetic tool, and his songs are like snapshots or Polaroids set to music: “At the end of a song, we don’t know any more about what it says at the beginning”, says Peter with a smile.
Useful information
- There will be two performances: one at 19:00 and another at 21:00.
- Admission free while seats last (NB capacity is limited in compliance with health regulations)
- Entrance through the garden gate at number 10, rue Elzévir)
- Gate opens at 18:30.
- If it rains, the concert will take place in our auditorium.
- To ensure that everybody is protected and that events run smoothly, our team is implementing a number of hygiene and safety measures. Please read the barrier gestures by clicking here.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEhRxuq43kM
Institut suédois 50 years in 2021! This event forms part of our anniversary programme dedicated to the theme of Friendship. Click here to learn more.
PS. Due to current health restrictions, the return of the Midsommar traditions will unfortunately have to wait until 2022.