Scandi music session, 27 February 2016

It was a really good first session this week with a great range of instruments. We did two waltzes, Silkesvalsen in A dorian/minor after Evert Åhs from Älvdalen, and a D major waltz from Småland with the rather awkward name 'Flickornas dans på kyrkogården', [the girls' dance in the church yard]. I have added the dots and videos below.

Pictures and video from a performance at the ArtsCafe in Manor Park, Lewisham

A video of me playing a polska from Galven, recorded at my recent Linear Obsessional Live performance.

 

Doing some melodeoning

Me and 'Mr. Linear Obsessional' himself, Richard Sanderson doing some free improvisation on two melodeons.

Scandinavian Music Course

It's time again for a new Scandinavian music course with the Trad Academy! This time it will be a full 6 sessions starting on the 24th of February until the 13th of April, with a two week break over Easter (23rd and 30th of March) as people might be away over the holiday. As last time we will be in the lovely café at 14 Bacon street (E1 6LF), just off Brick Lane, and next to Shoreditch High Street Overground Station. It is also just a 10 min walk from Liverpool Street Station and 15 min walk from Old Street Underground Station.
In the 4 week autumn course I focused on different kinds of polskas in particular, but this time the course will have a wider scope, and we'll look at different kinds of tunes, as well as, style, harmonies, rhythms, dances steps, lyrics and arrangements. The whole package that is, and it's yours for a mere £45 (contact the Trad Academy for concession rates)! To sign up, send an email to Ed at the Trad Academy, and check out their website, or contact me, for more information.

Esbjörn Wettermark 2016

Note: The fiddlers on the flyer are Mårten Andersson (1845-1929) from Ljusdal, and Erik Ljung(1851-1928) from Delsbo.

Performance in Lewisham's Manor Park on the 31st of January

A week from now I will be performing at Richard Sanderson's Linear Obsessional Live event at the ArtsCafe in Manor Park in Lewisham. Looks like an interesting afternoon with a range of improvisational in addition to my own contribution. I've also promised to do a free improvisation set with Richard (possibly one of the UK's top/only free-impro melodeonist...), so that will be something  to look forward to!

This is Richard's text about the event (the whole thing can be rear here):

'A concert of extraordinary live music, in a lovely cosy cafe in a park in Lewisham, brought to you by Hither Green based label "Linear Obsessional Recordings"
Featuring
Barrel (Alison Blunt - Violin, Ivor Kallin - Viola, Hannah Marshall - Cello) Improvising string trio featuring 3 top-notch London improvisers. Barrel's music could almost make you believe in telepathy- the music is sparky, witty, complex and hugely enjoyable.
Kathy Hulme - off-centre songs and poetry from one half of "skrewball folk" duo C-siders. Kathy's work is always refeshingly original and peculiarly affecting.
Esbjorn Wettermark - Spectacularly talented Swedish folk musician will play a solo set of traditional tunes on clarinet and melodeon.

Food, soft drinks, coffees and teas available. You are welcome to bring a bottle! I dare say we'll all goto the pub afterwards too....'

And its free!

The fourth and last session of this years Scandi music course

A great ending to the course last night! We did a bridal polska from the repertoire of the fiddler 'Olles Jonke' Jonas Olsson from tiny village Galven in the province Hälsingland. I learnt the tune from Olles Jonkes son Olle, or 'Vänster (left) Olle' as he sometimes was referred to as he played his violin with his left hand. It's a three part tune, and the story goes that it was devised by a fiddler to allow the bride to dance one part each with the vicar, her father and her new husband. Traditionally there used to be one separate polska for each dance but in this case the bride was heavily pregnant and couldn't cope with three separate polskas. I wouldn't necessarily claim that the story is true but I like it anyway.

below is also an impromptu recording of myself playing the tune.

I didn't find any recordings of the tune on YouTube but it was recorded by the fiddler Ulf Störling on the LP, 'I polsketagen' in the 1980s. Ulf learnt the tune from Olles Jonke when he was documenting older musicians in the southern areas of Hälsingland, today Ulf is, according to me, one of the best performers of this repertoire. I have attached a YouTube playlist with Ulf in different constellations below.
The music I played after the session was from two albums by Draupner a trio focusing on music from Hälsingland, well worth a listen! At the very end I also put on some recordings of Swedish bagpipe with Anders Norudde, who is most famous for his band Hedningarna but he is also great solo musician and luthier. I would also recommend the classic album 'Tunes from Hälsingland', first released in 1968 but now available on spotify, a bit aged maybe, but some great tunes!


Ulf Störling play list:

 Here is another play list with some other influential musicians from the area, especially Gällsbo Emil Olsson.

Third Scandinavian music course session

Another great session with yet another kind of polska, this time a Norwegian variety. A 'polsdans' from the border area between Sweden and Norway. These dance tunes with a short third beat are generally referred to simply as 'finnskogspols' to separate them from other kinds of polska rhythms.
 In the session I called the tune Black Marits, but it turned out to be a typo on my computer... it is supposed to by Back-Marits.

First here is my own recording of the tune with melody and the two different harmonies we did. The second harmony can be played together with the first one for a three part arrangement.

Here is the dots for the arrangement but as I have said before play with the recording first of all!

 
I found two slightly different versions of the tune on YouTube, the first one is played by the Norwegian melodeon player Ingunn Bjørgo, and the second one a version played by Atle Lien Jenssen and Olav Sæta is from the album '24 polsdanser frå Finnskogen', a CD which I played for you after the session (the whole album is actually available on YouTube).

Atle Lien Jenssen and Olav Sæta

Ingunn Bjørgo

And if you are interested in hearing some older field recordings from this area, I recommend the album "Puken i Kjerketårnet" (also available on YouTube)

The Scandinavian music course, 2nd session

Thanks for another good session last night, I thought it sounded really good at the end!

The tune we did was a polska after Elias Larsson, from Västergötland in Southwestern Sweden. I have recorded the various parts below and added an extra YouTube video with the group Crane Dance Trio (Jonas Simonsson (flute), Mats Eden (fiddle) and Mattias Perez (guitar)) playing their arrangement of the same polska. 

 

If you want to look at the dots for the music arrangement you can see them below but remember to listen and play with the recording as well. If you want to go back to basics you can have a look at the original transcription of the tune in the collections of the Swedish folk music commission here.

Some of the CDs I played before and after the course, was Crane Dance Trio, Härjedalspipan, and the Norwegian group Hått.

See you next week!