Promoting Scandinavian Folk Music and Dance October 2007 Scandinavian Dance Party Shingle Springs Cajsa Ekstav and Bosse Larsson Saturday December 2, 2007 Cajsa and Bosse were in the San Francisco Bay Area Live Music with Tim Rued. Couples & Singles Wel- the first week of October! come. These two Rikspelmen from Uppland gave a house Easy dances reviewed 7 - 8 PM concert in Berkeley on October 3rd. Nyckelharpa les- Dance Party 8 to 11PM sons by Cajsa and fiddle lessons by Bosse were during the day at Anita Siegel’s house on Saturday the 6th. Wolterbeek Dance Barn, 3100 Ponderosa Road, Shin- That evening, at the 1st Saturday dance in Palo Alto, gle Springs. Bosse and Cajsa gave a mini concert and played for From Sacramento, take Highway 50 to Ponderosa dancing. Road exit. Go left (North) on Ponderosa, and in about 2 miles look for a sign into Wolterbeek’s parking lot. Thank you Jill Myers (and helpers: Sarah Kirton, Linda It’s on your left just before the Sogno vineyard. Persson, Anita Siegel) for organizing this event! Carpooling from Sacramento can be arranged. Donation: $5 Please see photos of the house concert on page 3. Sponsored by El Dorado Scandinavian Dancers Contact: John Hingtgen , (916)651-9106, Below are the tunes taught to the fiddlers by Bosse <http://www.folkdance.com/scandi/> Larsson : 1. Vendelspolska av Viksta-Lasse, Bond 2. Låt mot trötthet e. Hjort Anders, Bingsjö polska 3. Polska e. Slunk Jerk e. Pekkos Gustav, Bingsjö 4. Bingsjö skänklåt 5. Mårtamåsgubbens, “Brödkakan”, e. Hjort Anders 6. Polska e. Lump Janne, Uppland, Bond 7. Kyrkmarsch e. Olav Jansson fr. Österväle 8. Hultkläppens Vals Here are the nyckelharpa tunes taught by Cajsa Ekstav Newsletter Inside: (Sorry, this list is in need some clarification.): Board Members, About the NCS 2 Photos 3 Äppelbo Gånglåt Folkmusic from the mining Region of Dalarna, by Snoa Fred Bialy 4 Bond Polska efter BåtsmanDäck Go to Hell!, by Wes Ludeman 5 Schottis - Eric Sahlström e. Styfberg Scandiadans 6 Brudmarsch 2nd Saturday Party 6 Devils Polska from Flel South Bay Dance 7 Sacramento Class 7 American Scandinavian Music Internet Sites 8 Annual Reminder 8 Calendar 9 Volume 17 Number 4 Page 1 Northern California Spelmanslag News October 2007 About the Northern California Spelmanslag The Northern California Spelmanslag is a non-profit public The Board and Board Meetings benefit corporation which aims to promote Scandinavian music, dance and culture through special workshops, regular The Northern California Spelmanslag has a board of 12 meetings, concerts and performances. The organization members. Current directors are: consists of a central organization and three member groups: Nordahl Grieg Leikarring, Nordic Footnotes, and Scandiad- ans. In addition to dance groups, the Spelmanslag contains Jeanne Sawyer, President, many members who are active in playing Scandinavian mu- [email protected] sic, loosely organized in playing groups by locality. Betsy McKone, Vice President, [email protected] NCS organizes and presents festivals which include exten- Jim Little, Treasurer, sive instruction in both folk dance and folk music, concerts [email protected] with dance demonstrations, and dance parties. We also play Frank Tripi, Secretary, host to visiting musicians, and organize musicians' work- [email protected] shops, concerts, and/or dances in conjunction with their vis- Fred Bialy, Director , its. [email protected] Zena Corcoran, Director We hold regular meetings for musicians in three locations where Scandinavian folk music is taught and shared, and we [email protected] have been successful in introducing newcomers to Scandina- Marie Kay Hansen, Director vian music and dance. [email protected] Sarah Kirton, Director, The Spelmanslag sponsors regular Scandinavian dance [email protected] classes via Scandiadans, Nordahl Grieg Leikarring, and Nor- Linda Persson, Director, dic Footnotes, and has provided these and other groups with [email protected] non-profit status and insurance coverage. Henry Sawyer, Director, [email protected] (Continued on page 5) Tom Sears, Director, [email protected] The Northern California Spelmanslag News Jane Tripi, Director, is published quarterly. [email protected] The NCS News is also online at: <members.aol.com/jglittle/ncs.html> If you would like to offer input regarding Spelmanslag activities or would like to become actively involved, Deadline for next issue: January 20, 2008 please contact one of the directors with your ideas and Send articles, and calendar information, and com- suggestions. You are welcome to attend board meet- ments to: ings. If you are interested in being a board member, Marie Kay Hansen, editor NCS News, please let one of our current directors know. Normally, (209)836-5494, <[email protected]>, elections for the board take place on the first Saturday or of October. Contact Jeanne Sawyer for the time and 15564 Rancho Ramon Dr., TRACY, CA, 95304-9754 place of board meetings. To update Web Page Calendar between issues, send information to: Jim Little, (650)323-2256 560 Kingsley Ave, Palo Alto CA 94301-3224 <[email protected]> Address all other correspondence to: Northern California Spelmanslag 560 Kingsley Ave, PALO ALTO CA 94301-3224 Volume 17 Number 4 Page 2 Northern California Spelmanslag News October 2007 Cajsa and Bosse Photos by Nigel Warren Story, page 1. Volume 17 Number 4 Page 3 Northern California Spelmanslag News October 2007 Folkmusic from the revived. Mining Region of Dalarna The polskor found in these tune books are of two main by Fred Bialy types. The sextondelspolska (16 th note polska) was represented mainly by the polonaise. These tunes first (This article appeared in the NCS newsletter back in arrived in Sweden from Europe in the early 1700s. 1995 Vol 5, # 3.) Rhythmically these tunes were very even with every beat getting equal weight. A rhythmically more asym- It is apparent upon perusing the contents of the new metric polska was also notated in these books and is recording Låtar från Dalabergslagen that much of the felt to have developed at the same time as the sexton- th repertoire is of younger origin than what we have come delspolska. Know as the åttondelspolska (8 note pol- to associate with Dalarna. We find many waltzes, ska), these tunes give a stronger emphasis to the first hambopolskas, mazurkas, and polketts, but no vallåtar and third beats. or långdanser. Yes, there are polskor, but it is note- worthy that most of the older tunes from southern These tune books are a valuable record of changes in Dalarna in today’s repertoire have not been maintained musical fashion and reveal when new tune and dance in an unbroken tradition. By the early 20 th century, types were introduced into peasant society. Besides the when researchers began to tour through Sweden in an polska, the menuette, kadrilj, and engelska were also effort to document and preserve folk culture, these fairly common during the 1700s and early 1800s. By older tunes had pretty much gone out of fashion in the mid-1800s these dances and their tunes were falling southern Dalarna. Clearly, music traditions in this re- out of favor. The polska was being replaced by the gion developed on a different path than the rest of hambopolska, which has a hambo-like character with a Dalarna. This difference can be attributed to two fac- hint of the older polska retained. The waltz was al- tors unique to southern Dalarna: the mining industry ready becoming popular in the 1820s. Then over a pe- and the presence of military regiments. riod of 20 years, the polka (1840), the mazurka (1850), and the schottis (1860) arrived in close succession. The mining industry in this region produced a strong urban influence on peasant life. The music and dances Besides dance music, the books contain a rich reper- introduced at parties hosted by the local iron barons toire of ceremonial tunes. Many served special func- quickly spread to the village dance hall. And what was tions at weddings and parties: brudmarscher were new soon became favored over the old. This cultural played as the bridal pair or wedding party walked from spread was facilitated by musicians connected with one point to another. A skänklåt signaled that it was area military regiments. It was the regimental musi- time to give presents to the newlyweds or that the mu- cians who played in the ballrooms of the iron barons. sicians expected to be paid. A steklåt was played as These musicians had close contact with village musi- food was brought out to begin dinner. cians (in fact they were often one and the same person) and they enjoyed a free interchange of music. New The folk music miljö in southern Dalarna is character- tunes spread quickly throughout the region. As a re- ized by the popularity of other instruments besides fid- sult, the folk musicians of southern Dalarna had a dle. The clarinet was particularly popular among regi- fairly uniform repertoire; one does not find the degree mental musicians of the mid 1800s. It was quite com- of local variation over short distances that exists in mon for a clarinetist to play with one or two fiddlers at th other parts of Dalarna. a village party. By the late 19 century the cittra and accordion became increasingly prevalent. The cittra Through contact with regimental musicians, who usu- was initially played mainly by women as accompani- ally had had some education, many village musicians ment to singing. Gradually it was used more and more learned to notate music and began to write down their to provide chord backup for dance music. The cittra tunes in notebooks. The oldest surviving tune book and accordion contributed to the decline of interest in from this region was begun in 1803. Through the older polska tunes, especially those in minor keys, study of these old notebooks much of the older reper- since these instruments were best suited for tunes in toire, largely polskor, from southern Dalarna has been (Continued on page 5) Volume 17 Number 4 Page 4 Northern California Spelmanslag News October 2007 (Continued from page 4) Mining Region of Dalarna Go to Hell ! major keys which melodically allow regular chord changes.