Traditional music from Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark, performed on fiddles, nyckelharpa and Hardanger fiddle with guitar, brac, piano and harmonium.

18 MP3 Songs
WORLD: Scandinavian, WORLD: Swedish Folk



Details:
Laurie Hart and Sarah Cummings on fiddles, Laurie on nyckelharpa and Hardanger fiddle, with Mia Boynton on guitar and brac and John White on piano and pump-organ. Traditional music from Sweden (mostly), Finland, Norway and Denmark. Fiddlespel brings the dance music of Scandinavia to life with glorious harmonies and rhythmic drive. Having played together since 1998 as leaders of the Daughters of Sweden spelmanslag (Scandinavian fiddlers' league), Laurie and Sarah struck out on their own with this CD.

In Scandinavian countries, fiddle music has been played for couple dancing and ceremonial occasions for centuries. Most of our tunes come from Sweden, where each village or region has its own repertoire of tunes and dances. On this recording, we play many types of polska, a family of couple dance tunes in three-four time, although the three beats are not always equal in length. In the nineteenth century, waltz, polka and schottis were added to the fiddlerâs reperotire throughout Scandinavia. Early in the twentieth century, the Swedes especiallly developed a rich tradition of two fiddlers playing in harmony. Laurie and Sarah alternate between playing melody and harmony on this recording.

Reviews of Fiddlespel:
"...infused throughout with Hart and Cummings' beautifully interweaving melodic and harmonic lines...a broad collage of timbre and mood... Fiddlespel prevails in rendering its songs with virtuous precision."
--Jon Ulrich, ITHACA TIMES
"I was really impressed to hear your final product. You folks are clearly thoughtful listeners and players and have pulled together a very nice collection of music."
--Matt Fichtenbaum, fiddler and nyckelharpa player, Boston