"We don't really feel that there are any boundaries, that we're not allowed to do this or that" says multi-instrumentalist Rickard Westman of Swedish band Garmarna's approach to Nordic folk. Taking ancient lyric sources and traditional melodies played on instruments like violin and hurdy-gurdy as the heart of its music, Garmarna adds layers of modern percussion and guitar, seamlessly fusing ancient and modern to create folk-rock that is deep, dense, and hypnotic. Around the intense, silken vocals of Emma Hardelin, Rickard's guitar and bass, Gotte Ringqvist's guitar and violin, Jens Höglin's percussion and Stefan Brisland-Ferner's violin, hurdy-gurdy and sampler swirl, creating music that is sometimes dreamy or melancholic, sometimes raw and hard-edged, but always vibrantly alive. Tonight, Garmarna present their interpretation of the works of the 12th century German nun and musician Hildegard von Bingen, using their own unique instrumental arrangements to enfold and augment the original lyrics and melodies of this medieval "collaborator" who believed in music as a means of recapturing the original joy and beauty of the Garden of Eden (the generous nun also loaned her name as the title for the group's 2001 album, on the NorthSide label).