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August and Janne Bohlin
Spelmanssläkten Bohlin (Tongang)
$18.99
1912-13 recordings by Swedish fiddler August Bohlin (1877-1949), accompanied on 5 of the 20 tracks by Johan (Janne) Bohlin (1841-1916), nyckelharpa.
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Tunes
Notes from the recording
Eric Ersson (1797-1842) worked at the Strömsberg foundry works in northern Uppland, and later also became a forest warden. In his youth he changed his name to Bolin, as did many of his contemporaries. In 1829 he married Helena Lovisa Hellstedt (1806-1890), daughter of day labourer Petter Olsson (1771-1855), at the Tobo works. His father, Olof Olsson Helgstedt (1745-1819), also was a day labourer at the foundry, but had started out as a saltpeter boiler when he first arrived there. Eric and Helena's youngest son Johan Bolin (1841-1916), grew up with his mother, two older brothers and a younger half-brother. He started playing the nyckelharpa at age 10, chiefly self-taught. In 1863 he married Greta Stina Andersdotter (1841-1914), and the couple had 13 children of which only 5 seem to have reached maturity. The family moved frequently, as can be seen from the map. Their son Karl Erik Bolin (1868-1934), and his son Karl Enar Bolin (1898-1934), also played the nyckelharpa.
Youngest son August Bohlin (1877-1949) started playing the fiddle at age 12 on a self-built instrument with two strings. In 1911 he married Maria Henrika Pettersson (1887-1982), and the couple lived with his parents until they passed away. August used to play on a self-built violin with five strings together with his father. He also built nyckelharpas, and at an instrument exhibition in Stockholm in 1925 he received a silver medal "for nyckelharpa. Good tone and good work". From 1929 to 1931 he was engaged at the outdoor museum Skansen in Stockholm to play nyckelharpa. In 1909 at the big fiddle contest in Uppsala, August won the violin class against stiff competition, while Johan earned a cup in the nyckelharpa class and Karl Erik an extra prize. August and Johan came in second in the twin fiddle class playing, among others, the Bonaparte March and the Hälsinge March. In 1910 at Skansen, August was chosen, with three others, to represent Uppland. All participants there (this was not a contest) received a silver medal, designed by Anders Zorn. In 1912, again in Uppsala, it was Johan's turn to win the nyckelharpa class, while August won an honorary award on violin. In the early 1920's August also took up playing the nyckelharpa. After the Zorn medal contest began, he entered in 1942, and won the silver on the violin to become Riksspelman, "for good playing and good tunes and also good work to further folk music".
Apparently there are only 27 published tunes transcribed directly from August Bohlin's playing. This is surprisingly few, considering his acknowledged influence on fiddling in Uppland. One reason for this scarcity of transcriptions could be that he was quite unwilling to be recorded or share his tunes with anybody. The present recordings therefore increase this number quite a bit. A large part of folk music history is its myths. Many of the myths about the Bohlin family originate from a transcription of August Bohlin's words, submitted by Rune Lundqvist (8), almost a year after Bohlin's death. Its content, when it is possible to check official sources, seldom concurs with the real facts. Another source is August's own application form for the 1909 Uppsala contest (2). For one thing, it seems that the only source as to the Hellstedt father and son being fiddlers, are August and Johan Bohlin. No other fiddlers in 1909 mention them, when asked for stories about great fiddlers. For another, August claims that his grandfather Eric was of Walloon descent and was originally named Boulange, but that is not borne out by the official books. If we consider that only great fiddlers merit inclusion in myths, we can easily live with the idea that the facts do not always agree with the myths. However, it is in his playing that August's greatness shows, and here it is, collected for the first time.
Spelmanssläkten Bohlin
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