Arts Midwest Folkefest Study Guide
Emilia Amper Band from SWEDEN
About the Artist Emilia Amper is a world-renowned singer and performer of the Swedish keyed fiddle, the nyckelharpa. Borned and raised in Småland, southeast Sweden, Emilia began playing the nyckelharpa when she was only 10 years old. She has been nominated for Grammy Awards in the United States, Sweden, and Norway and won Artist of the Year in 2012 at the Swedish Folk & World Music Awards. With their deep knowledge and love for this music, Emilia and her band perform arrangements of Swedish folk songs and original compositions, skillfully interweaving influences from traditional music from all over the world, jazz, pop, rock, and classical. Still, the band stays true to the original goal of Swedish folk music: to make you dance and enjoy each other’s company!
Members The members of the Emilia Amper Band. Emilia Amper Nyckelharpa Left to right: Fredrik, Erika, Emilia, Anders Anders Löfberg Cello Erika Risinger Fiddle Fredrik Gille Percussion Tesser Call Sound engineer
Swedish Folk Music The origins of Swedish folk music go back to medieval times. Music was practiced and shared within a variety of different groups in Scandinavia: the nobility and court, the church, farmers, and everyday people. Influences and inspiration were shared between these layers in society, and we generally call this folk music. Songs and ballads told stories of real and fictional events through dance music, most often performed by solo fiddle and foot stomping. Kulning, or herding calls, were used at the pastures to communicate over vast forests and valleys. These traditions were aurally passed down from generation to generation. Starting in the 18th century, Swedish folk music began being collected and transcribed to paper as a means of remembering and preserving songs. Since the late 19th century, Swedish society underwent a transformation, from agrarian (farming) to industrialized. This change influenced the music of the region, going from “modal” towards “tonal”. Jazz and pop music began to be popular. In the 1960’s there was a “folk music revival”, as a part of a wave of growing interest for traditional handicraft and culture. Instruments such as the nyckelharpa regained popularity, and varieties of spelmanslag, or fiddlers’ ensembles, were formed. Since the 1990’s it has become possible to study folk music and jazz in higher education. The number of folk musicians and teachers educated in music colleges is growing, grasping the full spectrum of old styles and newer styles; they are researching, educating, and carrying the tradition while composing new music and connecting with musicians from other genres and cultures.
Media Check out Emilia Amper’s videos on YouTube. Listen to Emilia Amper’s music on Spotify.
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Emilia Amper Band from SWEDEN
Nyckelharpa The nyckelharpa is a keyed fiddle that is unique to Sweden. Over 600 years old, this instrument used to only be played in a specific region of Sweden northeast Ask the musicians! of Stockholm, and is now enjoyed by thousands across the country. The What’s your favorite Swedish dance? nyckelharpa features keys along the neck of the instrument that change the Where do the stories in your songs come from? pitch of the strings when played, in Why does the nyckelharpa have so many strings? addition to twelve resonant strings (one for each key of the chromatic scale) that give the nyckelharpa a special “hum”.
Fiddle The fiddle is an ordinary violin that is used to play folk music. The violin was brought to Sweden in the 17th century from Germany, and by the 18th century the fiddle became the most popular folk instrument in Sweden. The fiddle is made in a variety of sizes, and usually has four or five strings that can be played with a bow or plucked with fingers.
Did you say “polka” or “polska”?! The term “polska” is used to describe the most common type of partner dance in Sweden. This dance is used in social settings, from weddings to national holidays such as Midsommer. The polska is in 3/4 time with an emphasis on the first and third beat, creating a lilting feeling that helps give the dance energy and movement. There are many types of polskas, and each comes from a unique region in Sweden - for example, bondpolskas from the Uppland region, slängpolksas from the east and south, and triolpolskor from the west. Check out a video of a polska here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVx5RJojwnA
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attributi on-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 U nport ed License. Learn more at www.artsmidwest.org/folkefest