Erik Rydvall - Northern Dances (2019) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

You are now entering our world of epic folk music from around the Baltic Sea, played on a large church organ and the nyckelharpa, the keyed Swedish fiddle, in a recording made in tribute to the new organ in the Domkirke (Cathedral) in Kristiansand in Norway. The organ was constructed in 2013 by the German company Klais, which has created an impressive and colourful instrument with a large palette of different sounds, from the most delicate and poetic to the most majestic and festive – a palette that adds space, character, volume and atmosphere to the original folk tunes. The nyckelharpa, a traditional folk instrument, has its origins in the sixteenth century, and its fragile, Baroque-like sound is happily embraced by the delicate solo stops – for example, the ‘woodwind’, or the bells, of the organ – or it can be carried, like an eagle flying over a majestic landscape, with deep forests and high mountains, by a powerful northern wind. The realm of folk dance is a fascinating soundscape of irregular pulse, ostinato- like melodic figures and improvised sections. The melodic and rhythmic variations they show are equally rich, both in the musical tradition itself and in the traditions of the hundreds of different types of dances that make it up. We have chosen folk tunes that are, in a more profound sense, majestic, epic, sacred, elegant, wild, delightful or meditative. The arrangements are not written down, but are more or less improvised, according to these characters.

Tracklist:

01. Northern Dances
02. Springar (After Sølve-Knut)
03. Church March
04. Estonian Chorale (I Praise One Man): Ma kiitlen ykspäinis
05. Maria's Wedding Waltz
06. Estonian Chorale (I Praise One Man): Oh Kristus valgus oled saa
07. Polska in D Major (After Sven Donat)
08. Northern Stories
09. Gästrikland: Ockelbogubbarnas favorit Polska: Ockelbogubbarnas favorit Polska
10. Sexdrega Collection: Polska in A Minor
11. Polska in A Minor (After Karl Lindblad)
12. Storhurven
13. Polska from Östra Ryd (After Anders Larsson)
14. Svanen (The Swan): Svanen
15. Polska from Åre (After Lapp-Nils)
16. Storebråten (After Olav Vestenfor)
17. Andreas Höök Collection: Polones in G Major
18. March (After Hans Brimi)
19. Northern Bells



All thanks go to the original releaser