Sjofn is an album by Gjallarhorn. It was the band's second studio album, and was released in 2000. It combines striking singing by vocalist Jenny Wilhelms

Jenny Wilhelms

Jenny Wilhelms is a Finnish musician. She studied classical and folk music in many Nordic countries. She was the lead singer of the innovative folk band Gjallarhorn from 1994 to its disbandment in 2007...

 with vigorous Swedish folk-style accompaniment, but with a didgeridoo

Didgeridoo

The didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...

 as an updated drone.

The album was brought out with the help of Finlands Svenska Folkmusikinstitut (Finland's Swedish Folk Music Institute) and Svenska Kulturfonden (The Swedish Culture Fund).

Reception

Steven McDonald, writing on AllMusic, described Sjofn as "a thoroughly Pagan delight of an album", explaining that it is "essentially dedicated to the goddess" Sjofn. He felt that the album was supported "quite well" by the two videos supplied on the 'enhanced' CD, specially liking the 'Suvetar' video which seems to show a fertility rite

Fertility rite

Fertility rites are religious rituals that reenact, either actually or symbolically, sexual acts and/or reproductive processes: 'sexual intoxication is a typical component of the...rites of the various functional gods who control reproduction, whether of man, beast, cattle, or grains of seed'..They...

, though he also admired the 'Dejelill Och Lagerman' video which has "the local equivalent of" horned god Cernunnos

Cernunnos

Cernunnos is the conventional name given in Celtic studies to depictions of the horned god of Celtic polytheism. The name itself is only attested once, on the 1st-century Pillar of the Boatmen, but depictions of a horned or antlered figure, often seated in a "lotus position" and often associated...

/Herne

Herne

Herne may refer to:Places in England* Herne, Kent, near the town of Herne Bay* Herne Bay, Kent, seaside town located in southeastern Kent* Herne Common, Kent* Herne Hill in LondonPlaces in Australia* Herne Hill, Victoria...

 watching Gjallarhorn playing in an urban environment. The CD, McDonald concludes, is "great stuff, and very, very highly recommended."

Track listing

1. "Suvetar (Goddess of Spring)" – 5:14
2. "Tova och Konungen (Tova and the King)" - 4:20
3. "Dejelill Och Lagerman" - 3:23
4. "Minuer from Jeppo (Polska)" - 1:05
5. "Minuer from Jeppo (Polska)" - 3:12
6. "Kom Helge Ande (Come, Holy Spirit)"
7. "Näcken och Jungfrun (The Water-Sprite and the Maiden)" - 3:15
8. "Su Ru Ruskadirej" - 3:55
9. "Berhfäst (Mountain Haunted)" 7:41
10. "Oravais Minuet" - 3:33
11. "Lille Dansa (Dance a Little)" - 2:46
12. "Hjaðningaríma (Heathen Song)" - 2:26
13. "Sinivatsa (Dolphin Calling)" - 7:37

• Recorded at Martin Kantola Audio, Karpero, Finland between June and August, 1999

Personnel

• Jenny Wilhelms
  Jenny Wilhelms
  Jenny Wilhelms is a Finnish musician. She studied classical and folk music in many Nordic countries. She was the lead singer of the innovative folk band Gjallarhorn from 1994 to its disbandment in 2007...
  
   - vocals, fiddle
• Christopher Öhman - vocals, viola, mandola, kalimba
• Tommy Mansikka-Aho - harp, didgeridoo, djembe, udu drum
• David Lillkvist - drums, bongos, congas, darabuka, cymbals, djembe, kalimba, shaker, surdo, tambourine, triangle, udu drum, chimes
• Sara Puljula – acoustic bass

External links

• Gjallarhorn's Website

• Gjallarhorn on MySpace Music

• Gjallarhorn's 'Suvetar' video

• Gjallarhorn's 'Dejelill och Lagerman' video