Hardanger (Norwegian fiddle) music..?

Okay, this is a bit of an odd request. After having watched the entirety of my Two Towers Extended Edition DVD last night (in one sitting, including all the extras, for a total of about 10-11 hours of LOTR joy ), I fell completely in love with the sound of this instrument, the Hardanger. Howard Shore used it for the theme of the Rohirrim, which is absolutely gorgeous, and the sound of the instrument - which is a special kind of fiddle that uses sympathetic strings to produce a rich, resonant sound - is really, really lovely.

So, I want to hear more! Anyone know any good recordings of music performed on this instrument? I don't particularly care what sort of music it is - I'm up for anything!

Dunc

P.S. - I noticed Mr. Shore used ATC Active 20s (my new speakers... soon...) as nearfield monitors during the recording/mixing of the score at Abbey Road Studios! Although it does seem like a bit of an odd pairing with the B&W Nautilus 801s used for far-field monitoring - I would've thought the sound would be very different (though not having heard the 801s, I couldn't say for sure)...

 

I don't know the Hardanger. But there is a baroque instrument which may be quite close: the viola d'amore. It also has sympathetic (ressonant) strings and has a very lovely sound (and violin range, too).

There is at least a concert for it by Vivaldi.

 

I should know more about this but I don't. In the meantime you could have a look at this disc at Amazon and stuff by Knut Buen and if I get any better griff I will post back.

 

You're right, according to a Swedish dictionary: "Hardangerfiol, norskt folkinstrument, ett mellanting
mellan violin och viole d'amour (se Viola), enligt
uppgift först bygdt omkr. 1670 af en skollärare Lars
Klark i Hardanger. Denna fiol (eller »fela») har 4
strängar liksom violinen, men den (eller de båda)
lägsta är uppstämd en hel ton högre, hvarjämte under
gripbrädet löpa 4 medljudande stålsträngar"

My swedish is a bit weak, but: "Hardanger fiddle, Norwegian folk instrument, a halfway house between violin and viole d'amour (see viola) apparently first built arounf 1670 by a scholar Lars Klark in Hardanger [a fjord region of Norway]. This viol has 4 strings like the violin, but the (or the two) lowest are tuned up by a whole tone and under the fingerboard are four resonant steel strings."

 

Hardanger fiddle

I'm replying to the message about Hardanger fiddle music in The Two Towers. It's a thrill for me when others become enchanted with Hardanger fiddle. I play the instrument and am smitten.

The most beautiful aspect of the Hardanger fiddle is the constant drone created by the sympathetic strings. It is related to the viola d'amore. Before the violin became the "standard" stringed and bowed instrument in Europe there was a wide assortment of instruments everywhere. Scandinavia is one of the corners of the planet with all sorts of exotic instruments that harken to a much earlier age. I was first a classical cellist and played professionally before dropping it for the Hardanger fiddle. The only thing I miss about cello are the Bach Cello Suites. They are very similar in form and style to the traditional Hardanger fiddle tunes based on early Baroque and Renaissance-style dance forms.

But I would never have to leave the traditional Norwegian folk music scene as it would be a lifetime of study to learn the thousands of tunes that have been passed down from one fiddler to the next in Norway. This is not one tradition but many. Each valley in Norway has its own unique dialect and within each valley each community has it's own repertoire. Daunting!

The best source on the internet is the website for the Hardanger Fiddle Association of America. www.hfaa.org. On their site you can hear a wide variety of audio samples and can order CDs, including mine. Also, my CD is for sale at www.cdbaby.com/solgard where all of the tunes can be sampled. If you want to see some video clips of the dances that go with the traditional style of music on the Hardanger fiddle go to http://mnfolkarts.org/norse/norse.html

I am usually one of the people on the Hardanger Fiddle Association's site who answers questions in the FAQ section, but you may also contact me directly through zeroGain.

God Jul,
Karen

 

Hi Karen, Welcome to the forum.

I think that you have the honour of being the first female poster on this forum It's a rather male dominated place here, sad but true I am afraid!

Robbo

 

Now isn't that amazing! Is the forum linked to many other places? How long has the forum been in existence? Also, I think women have generally been more cautious about new technology and have arrived a bit later unto the internet.

What sent me to this forum was a search on Hardanger fiddle I did recently. I do it periodically and find that more and more people are doing interesting things with the instrument.

All the best,
Karen

 

Hi Karen,

The forum has been going since June and has only recently been googled up, and so we are getting loads of new posters here now.

Hifi is generally accepted to be a bit of a mans thing (you know how much men like to play with their toys!), but it would be great to see loads more female posters here as well

 

Wonderful links, Karen! Thank you.

Marvelous instrument, the Hardanger, and Norwegian Folk music is also very interesting. And you play it so well! Thank you indeed.