During the year celebrating the sesquicentennial of Norwegian composer, Edvard Grieg, I attended a concert in southern California with a diverse group of very well-known Norwegian artists:
- Karin Brennesvik, Norwegian national champion traditional dancer
- Hauk Buen, Norwegian national champion hardingfele player
- Sigmund Groven, world famous harmonica player
- Solveig Kringlebotn (aka Solveig Kringelborn), world class soprano
- Reidar Meinstad, Norwegian national champion traditional dancer
Kringlebotn sang "Aagots Fjeldsang (Aagots Mountain Song)", an aria from the first Norwegian opera, Et Fjeldeventyr (A Mountain Fairy Tale / Adventure). The opera's libretto was written by Henrik A. Bjerregaard and the music by Waldemar Thrane.
It was a fascinating mixture of traditional folk music and opera. You have to have a soprano who can also make traditional Norwegian cow call sounds!
I was so entranced by the piece, but couldn't remember the title or the composer and — off and on — spent time trying to track it down over the next 15 years.
Recently, I had some correspondence with Sigmund Groven and I took the opportunity to ask him if he remembered the piece. Right away, he put me in touch with the great people at Norway's National Music Collection at the National Library. And they sent me the PDF! (What technology allows us to do these days!)
The Norwegian lyrics, which are written in a very old dialectical form, are:
Kom Kjyra! Hoah! (trill)
Kom Ku, kom Kalv, kom Kjyra, kom alle di underli Dyra
Aa Smeen kom fram me Hammer aa Tang,
Sætte de Mærkje paa Tuterhodu,
de volte den skalkuli Lensmain, hoah!
Kom alle Kjyra mi, aa Stakkar!Sole gaar bak Aasen ne, Skuggjin bli saa langje,
Naatte kjøm snart attave tækje meg ti Fangje,
Krytrein uti Quee staaer, eg aat Sætersstuligaaer.Myrkt de æ ti qvar ei Bygd ti de djupa Dale;
her paa Fjeill ha Sole drygd mæ aa gaa taa Gale,
Test æg qvile onde Tak, Morgaa æ ho tille vak.Snart eg æ naa klar i Qvel, saa gaar eg te Qvile,
søv saa roleg onde Fell test i Maargaa tile,
nær eg da ha somna in, drøimmer eg om Gutten min.
And here is my attempt to translate as much as I can:
Come cows! Hey! (trill)
Come cow, Come calf, Come cows, com all the lit
To ?? kom forward hammer to ??
Set the mark on Tuterhodu
they ?? the ?? sheriff, hey!
Come all my cows, you poor things!
The sun goes behind the hills now, the shadows are so long,
Night comes soon to take me in its bosom/lap.
a ?? without each ??, I who work at a high mountain farm.Mark them, from the rural areas to the deep valleys;
here on the mountain has the sun ?? me to go ??,
?? each under a roof, Morning will she wakeSoon I will be ready in the ??, so will I go to each
sleep so peacfully under the mountain til I the morning ??,
when I have gathered them in, then I dream of my boy(friend).
Here is a video of Kringlebotn singing the aria at the first concert in the new Opera House in Oslo – with full orchestral accompaniment by Den Norske Opera's orchestra, directed by Christian Eggan and neverlur played by Gaute Vikdal. Kringlebotn is wearing a Rondastakk bunad from Gudbrandsdal.
