Fartein Valen-heimen

The composer Fartein Valen (1887 – 1952) lived in Valevåg for large parts of his life. He was very attached to his home and the landscape surrounding it and it made a big impact on his compositions.

Fartein Valen's parents, Arne and Dorthea, were missionaries at Madagascar before they settled at their home village and built this house, finished in 1903. The composer himself lived here for two periods of his life, 1915-23 and 1938-52, with his sister Sigrid. Valen's house is full of history: musical, missionary and artistic. Today the house has a museum and a living area. It is used for presentations and concerts. In "Fartein Valen's Landscape" you can walk in his footsteps and get to know the landscape in which he lived and created.

From 1938 Fartein Valen lived permanently in Valevåg, and for the following seven years his longest journey was the forty miles to Haugesund. For him, Valevåg was the centre, but his horizons were broader than Valesåta and Siggjo. He was an internationalist that had previously travelled far and wide gathering memories and experiences, from his childhood years on Madagascar, his student years in Berlin, and his visits to Rome, Paris, Sicily and Majorca.

This is also evident in his music, both stylistically and in his choice of themes. He was drawn to the "classical" European traditions. His interest in philosophy and his deep religiosity are also connected to his feelings of affinity with mankind in general and the spiritual impulses of western civilization.

Valenheimen is open for guided tours by request.