Next on our virtual journey we are doing a bit of fjord hopping along the west coast of Norway to the municipality of Jølster. This is where multi-award winning Hardanger fiddle player Erlend Apneseth was born in 1990, whom we have already met duetting with Margit Myhr. He performs solo or as part of his trio and his written music for cinema, theatre, dance performances, poetry and musical ensembles and orchestras in different genres. His latest 2022 solo album Nova was recorded in the Vigeland mausoleum in Oslo, giving the sound an eerie reverberation. Here is a tune from the album called Speglingar:
Staying in Jølster, which by all accounts is a bit of a hotspot of traditional music, we meet another Hardanger fiddle player in Gro Marie Svidal. She started on the instrument aged 5 and has 2 solo albums to her name to date, plus various collaborations. Her 2016 album Eilov is pure unadulterated Hardanger fiddle playing traditional tunes from her home region. Here are a couple of tunes from the album, beginning with the opening track Håstabøen:
We head on further north to the municipality of Hornindal, where we meet yet another Hardanger fiddle player in Britt Pernille Frøholm. She combines traditional Norwegian folk tunes with some contemporary and jazzy notes, adding her own compositions. In her latest 2021 album Årringar (year rings) she collaborates with bass player Sigurd Hole, which is themed around the harsh seasons of western Norway. Here is a tune from the album called Elerida:
Also from Hornindal is singer Unni Løvlid. She is also rooted in Norwegian folk, but combines it with jazz, experimental sounds and influences from other parts of the world. In her latest project she combines with Japanese musicians playing traditional Japanese instruments such as the sho, a free reed instrument, and the shakuhachi, an end blown bamboo flute. Together they explore the classcial Japanese gagaku tradition of imperial court music and dances, together with definite Nordic inspirations. This is a live version of a track from the resulting 2017 album Hymn called Vind, kom, which is inspired by the northern lights:
We continue our journey north along the west coast to the county of Møre og Romsdal to the small community of Mauseidvåg near Ålesund, where perhaps the most famous Hardanger fiddle player of all, AnnbjørgLien, grew up in a musical household. She initially learned the instrument from her father, then went on to study under various masters, eventually achieving a PHD in 2019 in Hardanger fiddle at the University of Agder. During the early part of her career she played with folk group Bukkene Bruse, whom we already covered in Oslo. She has since a number of solo albums and has collaborated with folk musicians from all over the world, crossing musical borders on her way. This a tune called Inoque from her 2002 album Aliens Alive:
Also check out her latest album Janus.
We conclude our tour of the west coast for the time being in the municipality of Kristiansund, where singer and composer Lynni Treekrem grew up, although she was born in Seattle in the USA in 1958. There isn't much information out there about her, except that she won a Spelemanprisen award for her 1995 album Haugtussa, which is based on a selection of poems by Arne Garborg. So here is a song from the album called Den Snilde Guten:
That's it for today, next we are heading back inland to the appropriately named county of Inlandet. In the meantime you can follow my virtual route on my tripline map as usual.
No comments:
Post a Comment