MultePod presents: Fiddlemaker

April 2, 2010

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Fiddlemaker A conversation with fiddlemaker Lynn Berg of Eugene, Oregon, who was awarded a bronze medal three times for hardingfeler (Hardanger fiddles) he made and entered in the 2002, 2004 and 2006 Norwegian Landskappleik (National Folk Music/Dance Competition Fiddle Exposition) held in Vågå (Gudbrandsdal), Eidsfjord (Hardanger) and Beitostolen (Valdres), respectively. Berg has just completed a [...]

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MultePod presents: Bridge of Peace

March 19, 2010

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Bridge of Peace An interview with Professor Andrea Een of St. Olaf College and Mary Hegge of the American Swedish Institute (ASI) Spelemanslag about the fiddling traditions of Norway and Sweden. We'll preview some tunes that the ASI Spelmanslag, Lars Skjervheim Spelemannslag and Twin Cities Hardingfelelag will play at their upcoming concert on Sunday in Northfield, Bridge of Peace: [...]

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MultePod presents: Strålande Jul

December 23, 2009

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Strålande Jul A special two-hour, commercial-free Multe Music with songs of a radiant Christmas. The complete show is available for download NOW on the Multe Music iTunes feed or on our archives/downloads page. The show will be broadcast online and on air at KYMNRadio.net on Christmas Eve (Thursday, December 24) from 7-9 p.m. and again [...]

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A train in the night…

December 14, 2009

In one of the very first postings on Multe Music, I wrote about a tune written by Norwegian fiddler Sturla Eide, "Tog i natta (A Train In The Night)", that was inspired by a visit to our fair town of Northfield, Minnesota. Recently Eide put a video (in HD, no less) of one of his [...]

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Leif Rygg – lausdans kar!?

October 6, 2009

Now here's some fun for those of you familiar with the folk music scene in Norway — Leif Rygg competing in… lausdans / halling ?!?! The video was taken at the recent Vestlandskappleiken 2009, held in Jostedalen. This is a multi-province folk music and dance competition on Norway's west coast. They have just announced that [...]

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From folk to classical: Myllarguten's Bridal March

September 22, 2009

As romantic nationalism grew in Europe in the 1800s, so did the use of folk themes in classical music. Among the strongest Nordic examples is Norwegian composer Edvard Hagerup Grieg. In the past 25 years, I've seen interest grow among classical musicians to hear and understand the actual sources / tunes upon which some of [...]

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Hardingfele and Nordfjordspringar at the movies…in 1939!

September 16, 2009

Here is a real treasure of a clip! Alfred Maurstad (1896-1967) is often remembered as a leading actor, theater manager and movie director in Norway. But he was also a major hardingfele (Hardanger fiddle) player and came from Nordfjord on Norway's west coast. This video clip comes from Maurstad's eighth movie, Gjest Baardsen (1939). Here [...]

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MultePod presents: Røvene (The Robbers)

September 12, 2009

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Røvene (The Robbers) This week's show uses Nordic music to help tell some of the story of the Northfield Bank Raid of 1876 by the notorious James-Younger Gang — and includes some tunes written by Nordic musicians specifically about Northfield. If you're new to listening to audio online or downloading the shows, here's how to [...]

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2009 Norwegian Folk Music Award nominees announced

September 9, 2009

The nominees for Folkealarmprisen (Norwegian Folk Music Awards) have just been announced. Multe Music has featured tracks from a number of these recordings over the past few months on the show. In fact, we were also able to get interviews with some of these artists that we will feature on future shows. And, yes, we [...]

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A wonderfully laus-y way to dance

August 31, 2009

We're going to celebrate the dance known as "halling" this week by featuring both the dance and music for the dance. In 2007 the winner of the Norwegian national competition in Class B laus/halling competition was Ulf-Arne Johannessen from Ål, Hallingdal. This was the second time Johannessen had won in Class B (open class) competition [...]

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Norwegian Dance: Sørlandsspringar

August 18, 2009

I recently came across an amateur video of a Norwegian bygdedans labeled "Sørlandsspringar" or "Springar from Sørlandet". This would be a traditional pair dance from the southern area of Norway, which is known as Sørlandet (The South Land). In this video, the dancers are Torbjørn Bergwitz Lauen from Høvåg and Anne Guro Sture from Tasta in Rogaland. [...]

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What are the top 5 traditional Nordic tunes?

August 11, 2009

Every Monday night here in Northfield, Minnesota, we have a group — Nordic Jam — that gathers to play traditional music from the Nordic countries. We've been meeting for almost seven years and it's been a joy to share both the traditions and music with each other. Recently, we were discussing repertoire and some new(er) [...]

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MultePod presents: A Midsummer Night's Dream

August 8, 2009

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A Midsummer's Night Dream An interview with stage director Susan Carlson, tellng the story of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Nights Dream" through Nordic music. If you're new to listening to audio online or downloading the shows, here's how to get started. This Week's Playlist: // Related Posts:MultePod presents: Strålande JulMultePod presents: First Edition (rebroadcast)MultePod presents: [...]

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Håkon Høgemo & Trent Bruner: Utan udla, hamborgar

August 5, 2009

Here's a treat – a video of a hamborgar! No, not a hamburger…a hambOrgAr! A hamborgar is a type of Norwegian polka. The video is of Håkon Høgemø and Trent Bruner playing a tune called "Utan udla" (sometimes spelled "Utan utla"), a tune from the Hordaland region of Norway. Høgemø plays the fiddle traditions of [...]

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A new Spindel on a tune…

July 13, 2009

Spindel is a band fronted by two wonderful female Hardanger fiddle players from Nordfjord: Liv Merete Kroken and Sigrid Moldestad. Here they are with a tune called — in Swedish — "Du och jag Alfred (You and I, Alfred)". This non-professional video was recorded at Halkaer Festival in Denmark in June 2009 . Listen at [...]

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