After attending a concert by the Norwegian violin virtuoso Ole Bull in Boston in 1844, Fannie Longfellow remarked, “When I drove home, I seemed to see 12 moons instead of one.”

Bull, a handsome man and musician of international renown, had that effect on people, and particularly the ladies. He was admired by many and beloved around the world. His story is interwoven with that of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the famous American writer who was born in Portland and made his home in Cambridge.

Longfellow and his bride saw Bull perform in Boston in the spring of 1844, and the lives of all three were never quite the same. Bull became friendly with the Longfellows, and was a frequent guest in their home.

This coming weekend, Charles Kaufmann and the Longfellow Chorus will celebrate the friendship between Bull and Longfellow at the annual Longfellow Choral Festival, with performances, movies and events in Portland and South Portland.

The connections between Bull, Longfellow and the state of Maine run deep, Kaufmann said.

“Bull’s daughter, Ola Bull, was born in Lebanon, Maine, in 1871. Bull’s granddaughter, Sylvea Bull Curtis, of West Lebanon, would inherit Bull’s fairy-tale legend and legacy, ultimately donating Bull’s island estate, Lysoen, to Norway in the 1970s – now a national treasure,” Kaufmann said.

The major work of the festival is Elgar’s cantata “The Saga of King Olaf,” based on a Longfellow poem about Ole Bull. The festival also will feature two top Norwegian violin soloists, Arve Tellefsen and Henning Kraggerud.

The festival begins Saturday and runs through Monday. Full details are available at longfellowchorus.com.

Here is a summary of events:

• Arve Tellefsen narrates and plays Ole Bull’s “Fairy Tale,” 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Nickelodeon Theater, 1 Temple St., Portland.

• Tellefsen plays Bull and Grieg with the Longfellow Chorus and Orchestra at 4 p.m. Saturday, First Congregational Church, 301 Cottage Road, South Portland.

• Elgar’s “Scenes from the Saga of King Olaf,” featuring Tellefsen in the role of Ole Bull, with Brian Arreola, Deborah Selig, Bradford Gleim and The Longfellow Chorus and Orchestra, 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. March 4, First Congregational Church, 301 Cottage Road, South Portland.

• Winning songs and choruses from the 2012 Longfellow Chorus International Composers Competition; five new choruses, three new songs and Tellefsen performs Bull’s “Polka” and “A Visit to a Mountain Farmstead,” 1:30 p.m. March 4, First Congregational Church, 301 Cottage Road, South Portland.

• Henning Kraggerud stars in “Ole Bull, Conqueror of Heaven,” 4 p.m. March 5, Nickelodeon Theater, 1 Temple St., Portland.

• Henning Kraggerud and Geoffrey Wieting in recital, with music by Bull, Grieg and other Scandinavian composers. 7:30 p.m. March 5. First Congregational Church, 301 Cottage Road, South Portland.

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