Giga Catalog: Swedish Folk Music
All Giga titles are either in stock or available for special order. Contact me about special orders.
First, here is a list of titles I normally keep in stock or that are on order:
Below that is a longer list of available titles and descriptions.
Öst och väst (East and West) - Kalle Almlof and Jonny Soling
$17.99
(cdRoots# giga-74)
The record label says: Two giants of folk music come together again on record after 16 years. Kalle Almlöf from West Dalarna and Jonny Soling from East Dalarna play music from the two river valleys. Among other things you can enjoy several of Mockfjärd fiddler Anders Frisell's relatively unknown polskas alongside tunes from Malung, Lima, Orsa and Rättvik. All presented with vigour, finesse, a tremendous joy of playing and with a unique tone shared by the two masters.
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Boda spelmanslag Låtar på Bodamål GCD-3 To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Boda Spelmanslag in 2003, Giga is offering a choice delicacy. In 1979 the LP "Låtar på Bodamål" was released. Now this record is being re-released on CD. In addition to the tracks which were on the first edition there are another ten fantastic Boda tunes which were recorded at the time, but for which there was no room on the LP. |
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Ole Hjort & Jonny Soling Efterkälken GCD-55 At last Ole Hjorth and Jonny Soling have recorded an album together! But it took 30 years of mutual music making. Now you can enjoy the tunes Ole & Jonny most like to play. Perhaps "slägdangan" Marcuspolska or tunes after Hjort Anders and Olle Falk, melodies bearing the mark of Påhl Olle and Nils Agenmark or beautiful Orsa polskas. |
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Kjell-Erik Eriksson Offerdalslåtar GCD-60 The music of Offerdal, and especially that of Falks brothers Olle and Ante is at the heart of this album, featuring Jämtlander Kjell-Erik Eriksson. Normally, he plays in the groups Hoven Droven and Triakel, but now, when he is given full freedom on his first solo record, he chooses the tunes of the old fiddlers from Offerdal. With a confident style he treats us to some light and airy fiddle playing. |
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Svärdsjö spelmanslag 50 år GCD-62 What could be more appropriate than an anniversary album of Svärdsjö Spelmanslag, when the club now celebrates its 50th birthday? Here you will find tunes from all parts of the old Svärdsjö parish in Dalarna. Most tracks are played by the whole team, but there are also some played solo, on two fiddles and with small groups of fiddlers. All stirringly performed and with a good swing. What else would you expect from a spelmanslag renowned for good dance music? |
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Mattias Helje med Anders Almlöf, Zara Helje och Perjos Lars Halvarsson Smedjelåtar (IN STOCK) GCD-54 Three smiths and a smiths wife recorded at the old smithy, Kättingsmedjan at the Furudal Works. Mattias Helje plays ten tunes solo and the other 18 as duets with his wife Zara or with colleagues Anders Almlöf and Perjos Lars Halvarsson. The finely crafted tunes come from north Västerdalarna and the adjoining Østerdalen in Norway. |
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Göran Premberg Orustlåtar GCD-61 The island of Orust in Bohuslän has a rich tradition of fiddlers and many associations with the British Isles. Göran Premberg has taken this as his starting point on his first solo album, which is entirely devoted to tunes from Orust. The CD is dedicated to David Andersson (1904-1994) with whom Göran managed to spend a few musical summers. |
In Stock |
Hjärp Erik, Accordion Långt jässbôd (The Long Feast) GCD-52 Rättvik man Hjärp Erik was drawn to the accordion when Jularbo fever was rampant in Sweden. But he wasn't interested in Calle Jularbo's music. Erik's favourite music was to be found among the fiddlers in his home village of Blecket, and especially at the home of his neighbour Blank Kalle. Hjärp Erik has developed his own technique for adapting the fiddle tune ornaments, quarter notes and bowing strokes to his own instrument. Other accordionists, stunned, wonder how he can play like he does. Erik, born in 1928, has played the accordion for more than 60 years. Today he is more active than ever and has become an important role model for many accordionists and fiddlers. |
In Stock |
Sophia Eriksson, Anders Nygårds, David Tallroth Klacklek GCD-53 Klacklek provide energetic, playful and danceable folk music. Sophia (fiddle), Anders (fiddle) and David (mandola) met on a folk music course at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. Sophia and Anders were brought up as spelmän in their hometowns of Hagfors and Rättvik. Stockholmer David has a jazz background but changed tracks when he fell for Swedish folk music. Bearing in mind Sophia's and Anders' origins it is not surprising that the repertoire is dominated by tunes from Värmland and Dalarna. This summer Klacklek are providing the music for Västanå Theatrical Company in their production at Berättarladan, Rottneros. |
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Bengt Löfberg Luringen GCD-56 Bengt Löfberg is the fiddler who breathed fresh life into the folk music of Småland during the 70s. He rediscovered long-forgotten tunes, suggestive longdances and polskas. He was a pioneer and became a role model for many young musicians. Yet Bengt Löfberg has continued his search and moved on from the "old-style" monotony of the 70s to more variation, a form of improvisation within a given framework. Most important of all is that the music is good for dancing. In this field Bengt, together with long-standing musical companions Pelle Björnlert and Erik Pekkari, has honed an airy rhythmic way of playing which pleases them and which has found favour with many dancers. Bengt's first solo album is almost entirely about dance music - mostly polskas, a couple of longdances and the occasional schottis or waltz. |
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Pelle Björnlert Fors GCD-57 Bob Dylan, Pelle Fors and Bengt Löfberg are three musicians who have meant a lot to Östergötland fiddler Pelle Björnlert. Dylan aroused interest in the young Björnlert for making his own music. The 60s folk song craze paved the way for the folk music wave of the 70s: fiddles replaced guitars. Pelle Fors (1815-1908) was a legendary fiddler in Östergötland. The Hellström brothers at Vikbolandet played his tunes so Pelle Björnlert could at least achieve some kind of direct contact. Smålander Bengt Löfberg had already begun to root around in his local musical treasures before Pelle Björnlert. In Bengt, Pelle found both a teacher and a musical companion. Three role models, but Pelle soon made his own name on the basis of his personal way of playing with a catchy dance rhythm. Here he makes a musical round up, while, at the same time, he sees this as a starting point, with new discoveries to be made in the world of fiddles and polskas. |
In Stock |
Päkkos Gustaf med Jonas Holmén och Ola Bäckström Päkkoslåtar (Päkkos Tunes) GCD-58 Päkkos Gustaf with Jonas Holmén and Ola Bäckström One of the great exponents of fiddle music in the late 20th century was Päkkos Gustaf, from Bingsjö, Dalarna. With his intensive playing and strong personality he became a source of energy for the whole movement. Gustaf never sought praise, but deservedly ended up in the limelight during the last few years of his life. "Gustaf was a musician constantly on the move. He was never finished working with the tunes, they were forever being changed" says Jonas Holmén, who, together with Ola Bäckström, accompanies Gustaf on this new Giga record. |
Nils Agenmark
GCD-12
Music with roots in the fiddlers' village of Bingsjö,
coloured by Nils
Agenmark's intense temperament. Agenmark was the son
of Hjort
Anders Olsson's daughter, and in his youth he had lessons
from his
grandfather - an exacting teacher. But Agenmark was stubbornly
determined to explore new paths and develop his own style.
His
fantasies about how the legendary 19th century Bingsjö
fiddler Pekkos
Per might have sounded provided an impetus for his daily
playing.
Frihetens
Långdans (The Freedom Long-dance)
Pers Hans Olsson plays his own tunes
GCD-13
Pers Hans inherited a rich musical legacy from his home
district of Rättvik.
To this he has added many of his own compositions which
bear evidence both
of tradition and of innovation - and which give a more
complete picture of this
forceful fiddler. Here are the tunes he wrote for his
two daughters, for his
father and grandfather (both of whom were leading fiddlers)
and for his colleagues,
as well as the stately Östbjörka Bridal Tune
and the Freedom Long-dance.
Hopspelt
(Getting Together)
Kalle Almlöf and Jonny Soling
GCD-14
On every one of the twenty tracks on this CD it's obvious
how much these two
fiddlers enjoy playing together. Some are new compositions,
but the majority are
traditional tunes from the regions of Österdalarna
and Västerdalarna. Since the 1970s
Kalle from Malung and Jonny from Orsa have played together
on tours and worked
together at numerous fiddlers' courses and in their daily
lives as folk music teachers
at the Malung Folk High School. When they get together
with their fiddles there is
ample room for new ideas.
Längs
gamla stigar och färdevägar (Along Old Paths and Horse-tracks)
Simon Simonsson's quartet plays tunes from Älvdalen
GCD-15
Twisting tunes from a region dominated by dense forests,
huge mountains and the
beautiful Älvdalen river. The quartet is made up
of Simon Simonsson and Ola
Bäckström (fiddles), Ale Möller (bousouki,
mouth organ and willow pipe) and
Stefan Ekedahl (cello, bagpipes). The CD is a tribute
to the self-willed Evertsberg
fiddler Ekor Anders, and demonstrates a way of expressing
his musical ideas with a
broader sonority than can be produced just with fiddles.
In Stock
Ole
Hjorth
Hjort Anders Tunes
GCD-16
Ole Hjorths professional career has been devoted to the
violin - as an orchestral
musician, teacher and fiddler. It was Hjort Anders who
first aroused Ole's interest
in the instrument. Ole studied with him for eight years
in his youth and since then
the Hjort Anders tunes have been Ole's dear companion.
A large part of this CD is
devoted to a part of Hjort-Anders' repertoire that is
less well-known, slow ballad-like
tunes which are Ole's absolute favourites.
Kungs
Levi Nilsson
GCD-17
Kungs Levi's fiddle-playing is a subtle combination of
order and fantasy. It is pure
in style and well-controlled, with crystal-clear trills
and robust tone. But when he
plays the tunes from his home district of Siljansnäs
and the neighbouring regions of
Leksand and Rättvik, it's the ingenious musical
story-teller who comes to the fore.
A record where dance rhythms (mostly polskas) are interspersed
with marching-tunes,
herding tunes and ballads.
Lars
Hökpers and Matts Arnberg
with Sven and Sören Roos
Tillman Tunes
GCD-18
Tillman Tunes gives us an insight into the strong, distinctive
fiddling tradition of a
relatively small region. The master fiddler Olof Tillman
from Dala-Floda passed on
the tunes to his sons, together with his extrovert, dance-like
style of playing, and
they in their turn became models for Lars, Matts, Sven
and Sören when they began
to search for their musical roots in their teens. Want
to hear a swinging hager waltz
in 2/4 time? Listen to the Tillman tunes!
Mats
Berglund
GCD-19
Music from the borderland between Värmland in Sweden
and Hedmark in Norway.
In this "realm of the elk", as the Värmland poet
Bengt Berg called it, folk music
roams at will, oblivious of country borders - just like
the king of the forest. Mats
Berglund has the same open approach and interprets the
fiddle tunes from this
region in his own, highly personal way. There are also
some new compositions on
this CD, based on traditional tunes, that were written
for the stage version of
Selma Lagerlöf's Gösta Berling's Story.
Per
Gudmundson
GCD-20
The tunes from Rättvik form the base of fiddler
Per Gudmundson's repertoire.
He can usually be heard in the folk group Frifot together
with Lena Willemark and
Ale Möller, but on this solo album Per presents
his own versions of several splendid
tunes from Rättvik's rich musical heritage. "My
exaggerated respect for tradition
has gradually turned into a strong feeling of joy in
learning to master a language,
a language rich in nuance, colour and expression", says
Per.
Ola
Bäckström
with Hans Röjås, Carina Normansson, Stefan
Ekedahl and Björn Tollin
GCD-21
An album which shows the breadth of fiddler Ola Bäckström's
musicianship.
Traditional tunes from his home region of Ore are combined
with ingenious tunes
that he has made up himself. Nine of the numbers feature
Ola on his own, sometimes
he plays an accompanying part on the fiddle, sometimes
he plays bouzouki or guitar
with the group. Hans Röjås and Carina Normansson
play the fiddle, Stefan Ekedahl
plays bagpipes and cello, Björn Tollin plays the
tambourine.
Hjort
Anders Olsson
GCD-22, 23, 24
Hjort Anders Olsson (1865-1952) from Bingsjö was
one of the greatest fiddlers of the
20th century. His colourful life and unique fiddle-playing
are shown off to full
advantage in Giga's CD box. A Swedish "old man blues",
as someone once called him.
An important part of Sweden's musical history, at all
events. The box (3 CDs) contains
all the professional recordings of Hjort Anders, 76 tunes
in all, as well as a long radio
documentary from 1950. A 40-page booklet provides an
exhaustive commentary on the
fiddler's life, on tradition, technique and the tunes
themselves. The recordings were
made between 1917 and 1952.
Pers
Hans Olsson and Björn Ståbi
GCD-25
More than any other fiddlers today, Pers Hans and Björn
Ståbi personify the strong
status of two-part fiddling in the Swedish fiddlers'
tradition. The first time they played
together in 1963 the sparks flew - and they're still
flying! This is their second joint CD,
which appeared 25 years after their first knock-out success,
Bockfot. Hans usually
plays the melody and Björn plays the second part.
Some of the tunes are played as
a solo. Except for a couple of numbers, the tunes are
in the Rättvik and Orsa tradition.
Rättvik
Spelmanslag 50 Years
GCD-26
The fiddlers' club or spelmanslag is an important meeting-point
for fiddlers in
many parts of Dalecarlia. The first fiddlers' group was
formed in Rättvik in 1944,
and thanks to the Rättvik Spelmanslag this form
of playing together soon caught on.
The sound of several fiddlers playing together was new
and attracted large audiences.
Today there is still a large interest in the fiddlers'
group and there is certainly no lack
of new members. No fewer than 49 fiddlers took part in
this jubilee CD, on which
tunes are sometimes played by the whole fiddlers' group,
sometimes by smaller groups.
There are also several solo numbers featuring the fiddlers
Sparf Anders, Pers Hans
Olsson, Per Gudmundson and Anders Bjernulf.
Jonny
Soling
GCD-27
Jonny Soling is an important model for present-day Swedish
folk musicians in two
senses - firstly as a fiddler with a special fondness
for the tunes from Orsa, Bingsjö
and Rättvik and secondly, as the teacher of hundreds
of pupils at high schools, fiddlers'
courses and his own one-year folk music course at the
Malung Folk High School. On
his first solo album Jonny's playing is inspired by his
own models - Nils Agenmark,
Pål Olle and Gössa Anders. He also presents
a couple of his own compositions.
Päkkos
Gustaf and Ole Hjorth
GCD-28
The village of Bingsjö has a special place in the
hearts of Swedish folk music lovers,
both for the huge fiddlers' rally which takes place there
every summer and, above all,
for its unique musical heritage, which today is preserved
by farmer and fiddler Päkkos
Gustaf. This CD was released in time for Gustaf's 80th
birthday on the 8th March,
1996. Gustaf's fiddle-playing is full of temperament.
On eight of the tracks he plays
on his own, on the other nineteen Ole Hjorth provides
the second part - all the tunes
are in the Bingsjö tradition.
Anaros
Agneta Stolpe (vocal) with Ola Bäckström
(fiddle, bousouki, guitar),
Per Gudmundson (fiddle), Lars-Urban Helje (double
bass).
GCD-29
A much longed-for CD with Agneta Stolpe, one of the most
important names in
Swedish folk song. She is backed by fiddlers Ola Bäckström
and Per Gudmundson
and jazz bassist Lars-Urban Helje. Agneta¹s warm
voice invites us to listen to
several beautiful, melancholy ballads as well as playful
songs and some of her
own compositions. The result is an exciting mixture of
music in traditional style
and completely new worlds of sound.
In Stock
Kalle
Almlöf
Lejsmelåtar (Lejsme Tunes)
GCD-30
Lejsme Tunes is devoted entirely to the repertoire of
one of the legendary fiddlers
of the 19th century, famous both in Dalecarlia and in
Värmland. Lejsme Per Larsson's
circumstances were meagre and he lived in the poor people's
area of the Malung
forest, but he left a rich heritage of tunes. This is
proved beyond all doubt when
the triplet polskas and fast waltzes are brought back
to life by a master fiddler of
our own time, Kalle Almlöf from Malung.
Uppå
marmorns höga berg (On the High Marble Mountain)
Susanne Rosenberg
Ulrika Bodén, Karin Holdar, Eva Rune, Sven
Ahlbäck, Mikael Marin,
Annika Wijnbladh
GCD-31
Swedish folk songs sung in parts in exciting arrangements
with a backing of fiddle, viola
and cello. Susanne Rosenberg has pioneered the Swedish
folk song tradition. In particular
she has explored the repertoire of the province of Gästrikland,
which is where all the
songs on this CD come from - ballads, love songs, herding
songs and one or two comic
songs. A very varied CD, ranging from solos by Susanne
to songs played and sung by the
whole septet.
In Stock
Drängkammarlåtar
(Farm-hand Tunes)
Simon and Olle Simonsson, Kjell-Erik Eriksson
GCD-32 (IN Stock)
Music that was in fashion among country people in Sweden
at the beginning of this
century. Simon and Kjell-Erik (he can also be heard in
the Hoven Droven group) play
the fiddle as well as Simon's brother Olle, who also
plays the accompaniment on zither
and guitar. Most of the tunes come from the fiddlers
from Älvdalen in Dalecarlia and
Offerdal in Jämtland. The music, together with Simon's
commentaries in the booklet,
provide a glimpse of a world that not many people are
familiar with nowadays. How
about the "flat jump", for instance, a dance that was
considered so immoral that it
was forbidden in certain dance halls!
Erik
Björkman
Svärdsjö Spelmanslag
GCD-33
In the mid-1800s Svartnäs in Svärdsjö
Finnmark was a lively community with one of
the largest iron foundries in Sweden. The village was
also a musical centre, with such
legendary fiddlers as Vingel Anders and Sammil Gustaf.
When Erik Björkman was born
in 1906 Svartnäs was still full of life and music.
He learnt the Svartnäs tunes and passed
them on to the Svärdsjö fiddlers' group. Here
the fiddlers' group can be heard, as well
as Erik on his own, in polskas, waltzes and some Svartnäs
songs.
Perjos
Lars Halvarsson and Mattias Helje
GCD-34
Lars and Mattias have brought new life to the old traditions
from Lima. Both are smiths
and fiddlers and they live a stone¹s throw from
each other in the village of Heden. Lars
and Mattias have developed a fresh approach to playing
together and are much in demand
at dances. This is their début on record with
tunes after the great Lima fiddlers of bygone
times, such as Sjungar Lars, Perbjörs Erik and Kvarnmyr
Lars.
Björn
Ståbi
Orsa Tunes
GCD-35
Björn Ståbi has made many records, the earliest
date from the late 1960s, but this is
his first solo album. It is entirely devoted to the music
from Orsa, the fiddle tunes that
have accompanied him since childhood. It was Björn
himself who decided to wait so
long before making his first solo record: "I haven't
felt ready to play some of these
tunes until now. They are developing all the time and
in my opinion this has led to
greater simplicity", Björn said when he made this
record in 1996.
Tokpolska
(Crazy Polska)
Ellika Frisell with Sven Ahlbäck and Mats Edén
GCD-36
Ellika found herself at the centre of a playful experiment
with Swedish folk music
when she played in such groups as Filarfolket and Den
fule. At the same time she
was searching for an archaic style of fiddle-playing,
with a fresh, rough-hewn quality.
She found what she was looking for when she heard the
old fiddlers - Gössa Anders,
Nils Agenmark and Päkkos Gustaf. And that is why
a large part of Ellika's record
is devoted to the tunes from Orsa and Bingsjö. Here
she plays on her own and
also together with Sven Ahlbäck, fiddle and Mats
Edén, fiddle and viola.
In Stock
Pers
Hans Olsson
Låtar inifrån (Tunes from the Heart)
GCD-37
With clarity and power in his playing and rich warmth
of tone, Pers Hans takes the
listener on a round trip of the region of Rättvik
- a journey in time and space with
the tunes and fiddlers that influenced him in his youth.
He takes us on a visit to his
father Pers Erik in Östbjörka, to Blank Kalle
in Blecket, to Börjes Olle from Lerdal,
Perols Gudmund in Gärdebyn and Jones Olof in Backa.
These fiddlers gave Pers Hans
new inspiration on the fiddle and started him off on
a career as fiddler which was
crowned in 1993 with the Zorn Gold Medal "for masterly
and expressive playing in
the Rättvik tradition.
All
den kärlek (All The Love)
Kungs Levi Nilsson, Saras Göte Alfredsson, Alm
Nils Ersson,
Kjell-Olov Nilsson
GCD-38
Thanks to these four fiddlers from Siljansnäs, an
almost totally neglected legacy
of tunes has been rescued from oblivion and given a new
lease of life. This exciting
music with its distinctive rhythmic displacements that
they rescued from the depths
of the archives is known as the "Leksand's Dance", a
variant of the polska which
was the commonest dance in the district until the mid-1800s.
The latest tunes that
accompanied the dance were preserved in transcriptions
in the early 1900s after
such fiddlers as Roligs Per and Skommar Anders.
"Gränslandslåtar"
(Tunes from the Borderlands)
Mats Berglund
GCD 39
Mats Berglund, well-known fiddle-player from the province
of Värmland, is one
of the most talented Swedish folk-musicians. His popularity
as a dance musician
has helped him create his own personal style of play.
In "Gränslandslåtar"
(Tunes from the Borderlands) Mats plays both solo and,
in duo, with Göran Håkansson,
Fredrik Lundberg and Anders Nordlöf. Most of the
tunes on this CD are polska dance
tunes with the asymmetrical rhythm that is typical for
this geographical and cultural
border country of Swedish Värmland and Norwegian
Hedmark.
Leksand
Spelmanslag 50 Years
GCD-40
Three of the most famous fiddlers' groups in Sweden celebrated
their 50th anniversaries
in 1998 - Leksand, Malung and Orsa Spelmanslag. To celebrate
the anniversaries each
fiddlers' recorded their own CD on the Giga label. The
Leksand Spelmanslag's record
offers many pearls from the repertoire, including several
splendid marching-tunes.
Tunes performed by the whole group are interspersed on
this CD with performances
by smaller groups and solos from Sofia Sandén,
vocal, Pelle Lindström, mouth organ,
Pär Pettersson, horn, Pellas Mats Andersson and
Lars Jobs, willow pipe and Kungs
Levi Nilsson, Hans Fältgård and Lars Björk,
fiddle.
Malung
Spelmanslag 50 Years
GCD-41
The Malung Spelmanslag's jubilee record is devoted entirely
to dance rhythms, and
the quick springlek tunes have pride of place.
The fiddlers' group boasts several
composers and eleven of the thirty-three tracks are new
tunes in traditional style,
including the group's signature tune, Selim Bengtlars'
waltz In the Mountain Pastures.
Hars Åke Hermansson sings a couple of songs and
solos are played by Juha Höglund,
bagpipes, and Kalle Almlöf, Joel Hermansson and
Anders Almlöf, fiddle.
Orsa
Spelmanslag 50 Years
GCD-42
The Orsa Spelmanslag's jubilee record provides a comprehensive
picture of the
rich musical traditions of the region with the emphasis
on the exciting Orsa polska
with its distinctive rhythms. But old time dances of
more modern type are also lovingly
presented. The music that has become widely known through
the members that form
the Orsa Spelmän is also presented here. Solos are
played by Pelle Jakobsson, willow
pipe and horn, Jonny Soling, horn and Björn Ståbi,
Nicke Göthe, Hans Björkman, Kalle
Liljeberg and Olle Moraeus, fiddle.
Bohusbeddar
and Övdalslieker (Tunes from Bohuslän and Älvdalen)
Marie Stensby and Verf Lena Egardt (fiddles)
GCD-43
Two strikingly distinctive fiddlers and friends meet
to play duets and solos.
Marie Stensby's swinging triplet polskas from Bohuslän
and Verf Lena Egardt's
wild Älvdalen tunes are full of energy and nerve.
Marie and Lena have had the
privilege of learning their tunes from fiddlers who were
born around the turn
of the century. They got to meet the old fiddlers and
hear their stories and play
with them. In this way they themselves have become part
of a tradition which
stretches back hundreds of years. And now, with their
special brand of vigorous
playing combined with an irrepressible joy in making
music, they are taking these
tunes into the 21st century.
Ole
Hjorth and Sven Ahlbäck "Arabiskan "
GCD-44
In a way this is a perfectly straight forward album of
tunes by Ole Hjorth and
Sven Ahlbäck. They treat us to a whole string of
gems from their repertoire,
one playing melody and the other harmony. But the sound
isn´t quite what we
are used to when we listen to two (Swedish) fiddles.
Ole and Sven feel it is
important that the harmony leaves as much freedom as
possible for playing
the melody, especially when it comes to the tonality
of older folk music. The
album is devoted to the music of four fiddlers who have
meant a great deal to
Ole and Sven: Hjort Anders from Bingsjö in Dalarna,
Anton Jernberg of
Gästrikland, Uppland-born Viksta-Lasse, and Olle
Falk from Jämtland.
"Livets
låt"
Simon Simonsson
GCD 45
Simon Simonsson is an important link with the older generation
of Swedish folk musicians.
Simon (born 1945) has met and played with many legendary
old fiddle players, especially
in the provinces of Jämtland, Dalarna and Uppland.
Simon has formed his personal old-
fashioned style of play and like many of his predecessors
is a witty storyteller, in both
words and music. A glance at the list of tunes on this
solo CD and Simon's own comments
is bound to arouse curiosity - how about Love-making
Polska, The Ice Hockey Tackle,
or Telephone Kiosk Polska, for example?
In Stock
Kalle
Almlöf and Anders Almlöf "Malungslek"
GCD-46
In the summer of 1999 at Arvika, Anders Almlöf was
made Riksspelman, a title
reserved for the best folk musicians in Sweden. He was
the first person for many
years to accomplish this on his first attempt. Twenty
seven years earlier, Kalle Amlöf
had achieved the same thing at Gävle in 1972. Kalle
and his nephew Anders became
Riksspelmän at the same age. Despite the family
connection, the two fiddlers have
only just started playing together. Now Kalle and Anders
Almlöf meet on this, their
first joint album. Most of the tunes are from Western
Dalarna but there are also trips
to Särna and Norway. Anders and Kalle divide the
melody and harmonies in a
brotherly way. Both play fiddles made by Kalle.
In Stock
"Danslåtar
efter Hedlund"
Svärdsjö spelmanslag
GCD 48
Vilhelm Hedlund (1868-1946) lived all his life in Enviken,
a remote settlement in eastern
Dalarna. A shoe-maker by trade, Hedlund was also the
foremost fiddle-player in the district.
His enormous stock of tunes, many of them learned from
family members and dating back
to the 18th century, is still a goldmine for present-day
folk-musicians. He had many really
old polska tunes - and no one had so many out of the
ordinary waltzes as Hedlund. Svärdsjö
Spelmanslag (the Fiddle-players of Svärdsjö)
have picked out and polished 28 of Hedlund's
nuggets for their latest CD of dance tunes.