Fiddling for Norway : revival and identity / Chris Goertzen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Goertzen, Chris.

Series:

Chicago studies in ethnomusicology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Folk music--Norway--History and criticism.

Folk music.

Fiddling.

Fiddle tunes--Norway--History and criticism.

Fiddle tunes.

Music--Competitions--Norway.

Music.

Music--Competitions.

Norway.

Physical Description:

xv, 347 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1997.

Summary:

"Fiddling for Norway" is an engrossing portrait of a fiddle-based folk revival in Norway, one that in many ways parallels contemporary folk institutions and festivals throughout the world, including American fiddling. It is a detailed case study in the politics of culture, the causes and purposes of folk revivals, and the cultivation of music to define identity.

The book begins with an investigation of the people and events important to Norwegian folk fiddling, tracing the history of Norwegian folk music and the growth and diversification of the folk music revival. The narrative takes us to local fiddle clubs, concerts, and competitions on the local, regional, and national levels, and shows how conflicting emphases -- local vs. national identity, tradition vs. aesthetic qualities -- continue to transform Norwegian folk music. Goertzen utilizes a large anthology of meticulously transcribed tunes to illustrate personal and regional repertoires, aspects of performance practice, melodic gesture and form, and tune relationships. Ethnomusicologists and readers who fiddle will enjoy both the music and the stories it tells.

Contents:

Part 1 Fiddlers

Geography, History, and Norwegian Identity 3

Music in Oral Tradition in Early Norway 12

Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Fiddling and Fiddlers 15

2 Reviving Folkemusikk 25

Early Folk Music Contests 25

The Hardanger Fiddle, National Romanticism, and the Young National Fiddlers' Association 31

Growth of the National Fiddle Contest and of Norway's Institutionalized Folk Music Milieu 36

Artistry and Tradition: The History of Judging Contests 46

The "Normal" Fiddle in the National Fiddlers' Association 54

3 Fiddlers and Fiddle Clubs in the Late Twentieth Century 59

Who Becomes a Fiddler? 59

The Fiddle Club 69

4 Contests and Concerts 90

Local Contests 90

Concerts 100

The National Fiddle Contest Today 103

5 Reconfiguring the Norwegian Folk Music World: The Gammaldans Controversy 106

Beginning to Argue the Worth of Gammaldans Music 107

Terms of the Debate 110

Birth of the National Festival for Gammaldans Music 114

Portrait of the Festival in 1991 116

Part 2 Fiddle Tunes

6 Fiddle Tunes in Folkemusikk Genres: Mode and Form 125

Conventions of Transcription 127

Introducing the Issues: A Sample Performance 129

Mode 131

Extra Resonance: Unusual Tunings and Multiple Stops Reinforcing Mode 138

Form and Gesture 142

7 Local and Regional Style, Genre, and the Individual Fiddle Tune 146

Local Style: Subdivisions of Pols Territory 148

Other Major Folkemusikk Genres: Halling, Gammalvals, and Bruremarsj 150

The Listening Piece: Program Music, Exoticism, and Modern Needs 153

The Music of Gammaldans 156

The Testimony of Tune Titles 163

Musical Resemblances and Relationships 167

8 Musical Change and Cultural Forces Late in the Twentieth Century 173

Judging at Contests: Tradition, Art, and Winning 176

Tunes and Repertoires Today 185

Folk Music and Dance Events: Proliferation, Gigantism, and Change 187

The Folk Milieu, the Media, and the Norwegian Public 192

"Springar etter Gamle-Lars Tomasgard": Decentralizing the Revival 194

Tune Anthology 201

Performance Information 313.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [331]-335) and index.

ISBN:

0226300498

0226300501

OCLC:

36477044