Customer Reviews

Three Swedish Fiddlers

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Swedish folk fiddle music in an authentic, yet lush and approachable form. This is the place to start if you want an introduction to the roots of Swedish folk music; the stuff that lies behind Vaessen, Hedningarna, Frifot, and other current "crossover" and "world music" groups from Sweden. Each of the these three musicians is a gifted solo artist in his own right: Bjoern Staabi with the music of Orsa, Pers Hans the third generation in a family line that carries the Raettvik tradition, and Kalle Almloef for tunes from Malung and Western Dalarna. As an ensemble they make every one of the 17 tunes on this album memorable; not a wasted byte on this CD!

This is the classic, which has introduced & won many of us to Swedish folk music. The Swedish national folk music is primarily fiddle music: anything from solo to 60 or 70 fiddlers playing together. But perhaps most typical are the duos and trios -- of which this group is the prototype. The idea is less to show off your virtuosity, and more to blend well -- often with improvised harmonies -- and this group does it the best. "The" recording of many of the tunes, which cover the entire emotional range (as is typical of Swedish folk music): from stark brooding laments to lushly harmonized, driving celebrations.

"Tre Spelmän" was released in Sweden in 1976 to great acclaim;
this is Shanachie's release of the same recording. Traditional
Swedish tunes, mostly dance tunes, in tight two- and
three-fiddle harmony. A great listening experience, and an
inspiration to anyone who dances to or plays this music.

Note that the new SONET folk series has rereleased this CD
as well, with some previously unreleased tracks.

This is a wonderful album, by three very accomplished folk fiddlers. They are playing dance tunes from different parts of Sweden, with the distinctive sound of Swedish twin fiddling. In this tradition, one fiddler plays the melody and the other plays a harmony part. The result is a gorgeous sound.