Swedish folk music
Encyclopedia
Swedish folk music is a genre of music
based largely on folkloric
collection work that began in the early 19th century in Sweden
. The primary instrument
of Swedish folk music is the fiddle
. Another common instrument
, unique to Swedish traditions, is the nyckelharpa
. Most Swedish instrumental folk music is dance music
; the signature music and dance form within Swedish folk music is the polska
. Vocal and instrumental traditions in Sweden have tended to share tunes
historically, though they have been performed separately. Beginning with the folk music revival of the 1970s, vocalists and instrumentalists have also begun to perform together in folk music
ensembles
.
) in 1811, shortly after the establishment of Sweden
as a modern constitutional monarchy
in 1809. The first published transcription of a Swedish folk tune
came out in their journal Iduna
in 1813. The men of the Gothic Society were primarily interested in collecting the oldest materials they could find among the peasants of the Swedish countryside. Collection in the 19th century largely followed this model; the music was generally arranged
for performance by people whose primary background was in art music
.
In the early 1890s, the first "public" performances of Swedish folk music by actual spelmän
(folk musicians) were held at Skansen
, Stockholm
's open air museum
of Swedish folklife
. The first Swedish spelman
contest was held in 1906, and the first national gathering of Swedish spelmän
in 1910. Over time, the contests began to fade, and the less formal gatherings became the primary venue for Swedish folk musicians
to interact with one another. Instrumental folk music was still primarily a solo
tradition during the first half of the 20th century, and the best-known players were virtuosic fiddler
s from the province
of Hälsingland
.
In the 1940s, the first spelmanslag
, or amateur
folk music
groups, were established, associated primarily with the music of Dalarna
. The first major recording project for Swedish folk music was also launched in the late 1940s. Some of the most popular recordings were of spelmanslag
in Dalarna
, and during the 1950s the spelmanslag
phenomenon spread throughout the country.
The beginnings of the folk music revival could already be seen in the mid-1960s, influenced by albums such as Jan Johansson's Jazz på svenska
("Jazz in Swedish") released in 1962 (EP) and 1964 (LP). The movement gained momentum in 1970 in the aftermath of Gärdesfesten, Sweden's answer to Woodstock
. The Swedish folk music revival peaked in the late 1970s.
In the years since, Swedish folk music has once again receded into a subcultural
niche, but the revival has effected a number of changes. These include the addition of a number of new instruments (saxophone
, flute
, tambourine
, guitar
, and mandola
, to name a few) as well as some revived instruments (e.g. Swedish bagpipe, hurdy-gurdy, and härjedalspipa
). The inclusion of these instruments has meant the invention of new forms of ensemble
music (given that Swedish folk music had previously been primarily a solo
melody
tradition). A polska
dance revival, beginning in the early 1980s, has meant new contexts for the music to be played in. Swedish folk music has entered the educational system at all levels; musicians are becoming more and more skilled at ever-younger ages.
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
based largely on folkloric
Folkloristics
Folkloristics is the formal academic study of folklore. The term derives from a nineteenth century German designation of folkloristik to distinguish between folklore as the content and folkloristics as its study, much as language is distinguished from linguistics...
collection work that began in the early 19th century in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. The primary instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
of Swedish folk music is the fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
. Another common instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
, unique to Swedish traditions, is the nyckelharpa
Nyckelharpa
A nyckelharpa , sometimes called a keyed fiddle, is a traditional Swedish musical instrument. It is a string instrument or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when a key is depressed, serve as frets to change the pitch of the string.The nyckelharpa is similar in appearance to a...
. Most Swedish instrumental folk music is dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
; the signature music and dance form within Swedish folk music is the polska
Polska (dance)
The polska is a family of music and dance forms shared by the Nordic countries: called polsk in Denmark, polska in Sweden and Finland and by several names in Norway in different regions and/or for different variants - including pols, rundom, springleik, and springar...
. Vocal and instrumental traditions in Sweden have tended to share tunes
Tune (folk music)
In folk music, a tune is a short instrumental piece, a melody, often with repeating sections, and usually played a number of times. The most common form for tunes in folk music is AABB, also known as binary form....
historically, though they have been performed separately. Beginning with the folk music revival of the 1970s, vocalists and instrumentalists have also begun to perform together in folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
ensembles
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
.
History
The history of Swedish folk music collection began with the formation of an organization called the Gothic Society (Götiska FörbundetGeatish Society
The Geatish Society, or Gothic League was created by a number of Swedish poets and authors in 1811, as a social club for literary studies among academics in Sweden with a view to raising the moral tone of society through contemplating Scandinavian antiquity...
) in 1811, shortly after the establishment of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
as a modern constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
in 1809. The first published transcription of a Swedish folk tune
Tune (folk music)
In folk music, a tune is a short instrumental piece, a melody, often with repeating sections, and usually played a number of times. The most common form for tunes in folk music is AABB, also known as binary form....
came out in their journal Iduna
Iduna
Iduna can mean several things:* One of several modern anglicizations of the name of the Norse goddess Iðunn.* A literature society co-founded by Guido von List called Iduna .* Asteroid 176 Iduna named after the goddess....
in 1813. The men of the Gothic Society were primarily interested in collecting the oldest materials they could find among the peasants of the Swedish countryside. Collection in the 19th century largely followed this model; the music was generally arranged
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
for performance by people whose primary background was in art music
Art music
Art music is an umbrella term used to refer to musical traditions implying advanced structural and theoretical considerations and a written musical tradition...
.
In the early 1890s, the first "public" performances of Swedish folk music by actual spelmän
Spelman (music)
In Swedish, the word spelman is most often used to describe a player of Swedish folk music. It may also be applied to folk musicians from other Nordic countries, from other European countries, from non-European countries, and even musicians in other genres...
(folk musicians) were held at Skansen
Skansen
Skansen is the first open air museum and zoo in Sweden and is located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was founded in 1891 by Artur Hazelius to show the way of life in the different parts of Sweden before the industrial era....
, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
's open air museum
Open air museum
An open-air museum is a distinct type of museum exhibiting its collections out-of-doors. The first open-air museums were established in Scandinavia towards the end of the nineteenth century, and the concept soon spread throughout Europe and North America. Open-air museums are variously known as...
of Swedish folklife
Folklife
Folklife is an extension of, and often an alternate term for the subject of, folklore. The term gained usage in the United States in the 1960s from its use by such folklore scholars as Don Yoder and Warren Roberts, who wished to recognize that the study of folklore goes beyond oral genres to...
. The first Swedish spelman
Spelman (music)
In Swedish, the word spelman is most often used to describe a player of Swedish folk music. It may also be applied to folk musicians from other Nordic countries, from other European countries, from non-European countries, and even musicians in other genres...
contest was held in 1906, and the first national gathering of Swedish spelmän
Spelman (music)
In Swedish, the word spelman is most often used to describe a player of Swedish folk music. It may also be applied to folk musicians from other Nordic countries, from other European countries, from non-European countries, and even musicians in other genres...
in 1910. Over time, the contests began to fade, and the less formal gatherings became the primary venue for Swedish folk musicians
Spelman (music)
In Swedish, the word spelman is most often used to describe a player of Swedish folk music. It may also be applied to folk musicians from other Nordic countries, from other European countries, from non-European countries, and even musicians in other genres...
to interact with one another. Instrumental folk music was still primarily a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
tradition during the first half of the 20th century, and the best-known players were virtuosic fiddler
Fiddler
A fiddler is a person who plays a fiddle or violin.Fiddler may also refer to:*Fabrangen Fiddlers, an American musical group founded in 1971*Tupolev Tu-28 "Fiddler", a fighter aircraft*Fiddler , a DC Comics villain...
s from the province
Provinces of Sweden
The provinces of Sweden, landskap, are historical, geographical and cultural regions. Sweden has 25 provinces and they have no administrative function, but remain historical legacies and the means of cultural identification....
of Hälsingland
Hälsingland
' is a historical province or landskap in central Sweden. It borders to Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and to the Gulf of Bothnia...
.
In the 1940s, the first spelmanslag
Spelmanslag
The spelmanslag is an amateur organization of Swedish folk musicians, usually dominated by fiddles, who play tunes together. Often these groups play tunes from the specific area of Sweden with which they are affiliated...
, or amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
groups, were established, associated primarily with the music of Dalarna
Dalarna
', English exonym: Dalecarlia, is a historical province or landskap in central Sweden. Another English language form established in literature is the Dales. Places involving the element Dalecarlia exist in the United States....
. The first major recording project for Swedish folk music was also launched in the late 1940s. Some of the most popular recordings were of spelmanslag
Spelmanslag
The spelmanslag is an amateur organization of Swedish folk musicians, usually dominated by fiddles, who play tunes together. Often these groups play tunes from the specific area of Sweden with which they are affiliated...
in Dalarna
Dalarna
', English exonym: Dalecarlia, is a historical province or landskap in central Sweden. Another English language form established in literature is the Dales. Places involving the element Dalecarlia exist in the United States....
, and during the 1950s the spelmanslag
Spelmanslag
The spelmanslag is an amateur organization of Swedish folk musicians, usually dominated by fiddles, who play tunes together. Often these groups play tunes from the specific area of Sweden with which they are affiliated...
phenomenon spread throughout the country.
The beginnings of the folk music revival could already be seen in the mid-1960s, influenced by albums such as Jan Johansson's Jazz på svenska
Jazz på svenska
Jazz på svenska is an album by the Swedish jazz pianist Jan Johansson. It was issued in 1964 and consists of jazz arrangements of Swedish folk songs. All arrangements are very sparse, consisting only of Johansson's piano play and Georg Riedel's bass...
("Jazz in Swedish") released in 1962 (EP) and 1964 (LP). The movement gained momentum in 1970 in the aftermath of Gärdesfesten, Sweden's answer to Woodstock
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
. The Swedish folk music revival peaked in the late 1970s.
In the years since, Swedish folk music has once again receded into a subcultural
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
niche, but the revival has effected a number of changes. These include the addition of a number of new instruments (saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, and mandola
Mandola
The mandola or tenor mandola is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola , a fifth lower than a mandolin...
, to name a few) as well as some revived instruments (e.g. Swedish bagpipe, hurdy-gurdy, and härjedalspipa
Härjedalspipa
The härjedalspipa is a Swedish traditional fipple flute, similar to the spilåpipa with a slightly softer sound and only six finger holes. The model originated in Härjedalen, hence the name, and the most recognized tradition bearer of the instrument was Olof Jönsson , called Ol'Jansa, in Överberg,...
). The inclusion of these instruments has meant the invention of new forms of ensemble
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
music (given that Swedish folk music had previously been primarily a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
tradition). A polska
Polska (dance)
The polska is a family of music and dance forms shared by the Nordic countries: called polsk in Denmark, polska in Sweden and Finland and by several names in Norway in different regions and/or for different variants - including pols, rundom, springleik, and springar...
dance revival, beginning in the early 1980s, has meant new contexts for the music to be played in. Swedish folk music has entered the educational system at all levels; musicians are becoming more and more skilled at ever-younger ages.
See also
- List of Swedish folk musicians
- Spelman (music)Spelman (music)In Swedish, the word spelman is most often used to describe a player of Swedish folk music. It may also be applied to folk musicians from other Nordic countries, from other European countries, from non-European countries, and even musicians in other genres...
- RiksspelmanRiksspelmanThe title of riksspelman , or "National Folk Musician" of Sweden, is a generally recognized badge of mastery for Swedish folk musicians. It is an honor bestowed upon bearers of the silver or gold Zorn Badge, awarded annually by the Zorn Jury, a panel of experts under the auspices of Svenska...
- SpelmanslagSpelmanslagThe spelmanslag is an amateur organization of Swedish folk musicians, usually dominated by fiddles, who play tunes together. Often these groups play tunes from the specific area of Sweden with which they are affiliated...
- Polska (dance)Polska (dance)The polska is a family of music and dance forms shared by the Nordic countries: called polsk in Denmark, polska in Sweden and Finland and by several names in Norway in different regions and/or for different variants - including pols, rundom, springleik, and springar...
- Traditional Nordic dance musicTraditional Nordic dance musicTraditional Nordic dance music is a type of traditional music or folk music that once was common in the mainland part of the Nordic countries — Scandinavia plus Finland. The person who plays this kind of music might be called speleman , spelman , spelemann , pelimanni or spillemand...
- Music of SwedenMusic of SwedenSweden shares the tradition of Nordic folk dance music with its neighboring countries including polka, schottische, waltz, polska and mazurka. The accordion, clarinet, fiddle and nyckelharpa are among the most common Swedish folk instruments. This instrumental genre is the biggest one in Swedish...