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A polska halling

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Many people think that halling is a dance found only in Norway. That's not true. Sweden, too, has a halling tradition.

Halling is usually played and danced in a beat of 2/4 or 4/4. Here we have an interesting blending of halling being danced to a polska tune, which is in an asymmetrical beat of three.
The [...]

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What are the top 5 traditional Nordic tunes?

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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 [...]

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Väsen: Slängpolska efter Carl "Byss-Calle" Ersson Bössa

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On the first Multe Music show, I featured the Swedish group, Väsen, playing their version of Slängpolska efter Carl "Byss-Calle" Ersson Bössa.
Here they are, as filmed by Doug Oines, playing the tune live at a concert in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 2008.

Listen carefully at about :54 as they segue into another familiar tune — Lucy in [...]

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New Dutch Nyckelharpa Society

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An effort has begun in the Netherlands to form a national organization of those who play nyckelharpa.
The instrument, also known as a keyed fiddle, is related to the Byzantine lira and the hurdy gurdy.
The oldest known representation of a nyckelharpa — from the 14th century — has been found on the gates of a [...]

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A nyckelharpa road trip: Per-Ulf + Nyckelharpa = Sant

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Nina Winter Østerberg and Per-Ulf Allmo have made a lovely short feature about the Swedish nyckelharpa, Per-Ulf + Nyckelharpa = Sant (The Truth).

It's a journey through the history of this unique Swedish folk instrument.
Sture Sahlström and Leif Alpsjö are among those featured, with plenty of music and video from Uppland, Sweden. There's lots to enjoy [...]

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NORDIC: Efter dig

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Here's a Swedish band, NORDIC, performing a tune they call "Efter dig (After you)" live at Theater Giljotin in Stockholm, Sweden during April 2009.
The group uses an interesting combination of cello, nyckelharpa and mandolin.

NORDIC is:

Magnus Zetterlund
Erik Rydvall
Anders Löfberg

NORDIC's music is available on iTunes.Related Posts:Väsen: Slängpolska efter Carl "Byss-Calle" Ersson BössaA nyckelharpa road trip: Per-Ulf + [...]

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Storis & Limpan Band + Dan Berglund: Brottet

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Just yesterday, a neat video appeared of the Storis & Limpan Band, joined by Dan Berglund on double bass.
They were playing a concert at Cafe Rosenberg in Reykjavik, Iceland, and this is world music version of a polska and the tune is called Brottet.

The musicians are:

Magnus "Storis" Holmström – nyckelharpa (also a member of Fomp, Klinga [...]

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Tagelharpa

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Here we have a demonstration of a tagelharpa — a harp-like bowed instrument that may have its roots in Viking times.
The demonstration is done in Norwegian Swedish, but the hand gestures help even non-Swedish speakers understand a bit of what the presenter is trying to get across.

The instrument has a form like a [...]

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Sax and Pellikvalsen

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Pellikvalsen efter Lejsme Per Larsson (1822-1907) is a familiar Swedish waltz from Dalarna. Here it is done on a 1990 Swedish television show with a saxophone / trumpet group and a full complement of folk musicians playing fiddle, nyckelharpa and cittra.

Swedish guitarist Kenny Håkansson Sr. also recorded this on his 1978 progressive rock album "Kenny [...]

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What is the meaning of the drone?

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While reading an article titled "Alone with the drone" in The Reykjavik Grapevine about the langspil, Iceland's "national instrument", I was struck by a quote from Ørn Magnússon.
Magnússonhas been building langspiller after developing and interest in the instrument. In the article, he is quoted talking about the presence of the drone strings. A traditional langspil [...]

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A short video primer on the Swedish nyckelharpa

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Maria L Hallengren from Sweden has produced a short (just over one minute) video that is a good primer on the Swedish nyckelharpa — also known as keyed fiddle.

This nyckelharpa pictured in the video is built by Lars Hallengren after Sören Åhker.
The tune heard in the background is an original composition, titled "Löftet (The Promise)", [...]

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Swedish nyckelharpa on World of Warcraft

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It's fun when traditional folk instruments start showing up in unusual places in contemporary settings.
World of Warcraft (or "WoW") is a well-known multiplayer online game. Swedish nyckelharpa player Cajsa Ekstav is featured playing her instrument as part of the background music for some WoW scenes.

Here she's featured in Wrath of the Lich King – Grizzly [...]

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Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus: Jul, jul strålende jul

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On Friday, December 12, I attended the 2008 holiday concert of the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus, titled "Peace".
One of the pieces they featured on the program was the beloved Swedish Christmas carol, "Jul, jul strålende jul (Christmas, Christmas, glorious Christmas") by Gustaf Nordquvist (1886-1949) and Edvard Evers (1853-1919).
The tune was first published in 1921 [...]

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Britta Zetterström: Snön ligger vit (The Snow Lies White)

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Britta Zetterström of Sweden has made a beautiful holiday album called Vinterljus: Jullåtar från förr (Winterlight: Christmas songs from the past).
One of the the tunes fits perfectly in our snow theme this week, "Snön ligger vit (The Snow Lies White)". The melody is a traditional Swedish folktune with words by Per Runberg.
It's a beautiful tune [...]

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Järvelä nyckelharpa…

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Kimmo Pohjonen is a Finnish accordionist and composer, (as the Wikipedia entry says),
whose singular mission is to expand the capabilities, sound, scope, performance and experience of the accordion to levels never before attempted, seen or heard. Accordion, voice, effects, surround sound and light show combine to make a unique and captivating performance event.

He has done [...]

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