Search - Sven Nyhus :: Traditional Norwegian Fiddle Music

Sven Nyhus's Traditional Norwegian Fiddle Music

12/29/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sven Nyhus is an unusual musician. He was born to the fiddle tradition of Norway and has played for decades as both a dancer's musician (with his own small group ensemble) and a musician's musician (solo concerts on international stages). Beyond that? Well, he is scholar of the music with a university professorship and books to his credit. This CD reflects his breadth of his traditional interests: tunes carefully chosen and artfully played on both the regular fiddle and the hardanger fiddle (resonating sympathetic strings). Hard to imagine a better or more authentic introduction to the string traditions of this country. If you are not familiar with Norwegian folk music, you should to get this CD. If you have scratched the surface (say with Annbjorg Lien), you need this CD. As a matter of fact, if you have gotten as far as reading this review, you ought to have a copy of this CD!"

It Must Be Close to Yuletide

Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 11/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"JUL is the Swedish word for Christmas, and although none of Sven Nyhus's fiddle music has anything to do with Christmas, this is the time of year when I feel a need to listen to him. Nyhus plays the "flatfele" - the ordinary violin - in the most uncompromisingly traditional style of eastern Norway, so his performance sounds to me like perfectly civilized Swedish folk music. Be warned: this is a whole CD of one man playing dance tunes on a fiddle - no electronics, no concession to 'world music' or synthesis, and the only percussion comes from Sven's tapping foot. It might be possible to be very bored with such a CD, except that Sven Nyhus is a true virtuoso of his style. Ethnographic recordings of old Scandinavian fiddlers often suggest either a loose concept of tuning or else a weird modality, but Nyhus is totally in control of his pitch and of his bow. The style calls for a lot of semi-contrapuntal double stopping, and a fanatical attention to steadiness of rhythm. Odd springy rhythms are perhaps the hallmark of this repertoire. To some people, it may sound vaguely "Celtic", while to others it will resemble a more leisurely, meditative blue-grass. In any case, Nyhus plays it as well as anyone I've ever heard. You can get an idea of whether you might enjoy it by using the preview samples on amazon."