"Klangen før fela" is coming!

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I am very excited to be signed up for the upcoming gathering “Klangen før fela” (the sound before the fiddle), a weekend of seminars and chatting with other folk music enthusiasts in the beginning of February.  I have signed up for the Langeleik classes this year, but hopefully by next time I’ll have learned enough tooting skills to take the Bukkehorn class! 

Langeleik (NF.1923-0285)Shared by CC-BY lisence (click through to source)

Langeleik (NF.1923-0285)
Shared by CC-BY lisence (click through to source)

When speaking of Norwegian folk music, thoughts often go to folk dancing an the use of fiddles and Hardanger fiddles, a special fiddle with additional drone strings.  However, there are other insturments that predate the fiddle that will be the focus for this musical weekend.

The Langeleikforum describes this instrument as one of the older folk intsruments, with one melody string and several dronestrings. The oldest dated langeleik dates to 1524, and this type of instrument can be traced across the country, right up to Finnmark.

Bukkehorn (NF.1906-2103)Shared by CC-BY lisence (click through to source)

Bukkehorn (NF.1906-2103)
Shared by CC-BY lisence (click through to source)

The Bukkhorn (Billygoat’s horn) is a wind instrument made of a hollowed horn with fingering holes on the side.  Check out soundtracks on the Norsk Lur– og Bukkehornlag website (under “Musikkarkiv”) or the Slaatify– playlist for Spotify/Tidal.

Other music forms that will be represented in the gathering are Lur, Kveding (folk singing), Lyre and Harp, and Munnspill (jaw harp).  This looks to be a most interesting weekend of traditional music!

 

Links:

  • “Klangen før fela”: https://www.deltager.no/KFF2018
  • Norsk Langeleikforum: http://www.langeleikforum.no/ 
  • and “Om langeleiken” (http://www.langeleikforum.no/?page_id=42)
  • Norsk Lur– og Bukkehornlag: http://www.lurogbukkehorn.org/
  • NLB on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/59918198617/
  • “Slaatify”- playlist for Spotify and Tidal: http://www.slaattify.no/instrument-1/2014/5/12/lur-og-bukkehorn

Pictures shared under CC-BY license:

  • Langeleik (NF.1923-0285): https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023151703/langeleik
  • Bukkehorn (NF.1906-2103): https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023131736/bukkehorn
  • Hardanger fiddles: click through to the Norwegian Digital Museum https://digitaltmuseum.no/search/?q=hardingfela&aq=owner%3F%3A%22NF%22