Minor Keyed
Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 09/30/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Väsen (Sw. Essence) is a unique group, contemporary musicians with thorough commitment to the authentic traditions and styles of Swedish folk music but with the technical skills on their instruments to impress and satisfy classical music "snobs' like me. At the heart of the ensemble is Olov Johansson's "nykelharpa", a fiddle fretted with keys by the left hand while the right hand wields a short slack bow. The instrument can produce any of several drone pitches, with an effect that may remind some first-time listeners of Irish or Scottish music. The other instruments you'll hear from the trio are a viola and a twelve-string guitar; this is plainly not a standard folk instrumentation, but it's one that provides immense possibilities of tone color and rhythmic accentuation.
Swedish folk music has an ancient penchant for minor keys, as you'll hear on almost every track of this CD. People tell me that it sounds melancholy; they often presume that it reflects the 'dark' temperament of Swedish culture as portrayed by Ingmar Bergman. Welllll... Bergman was gloomy, it's true, but most of Väsen's music is dance based, and if ever you go upcountry in the summer in Sweden, where people have their "stugas" (summer huts), and see the folk dancing, you'll come away with a different sense of Swedish joy. Minor is our major.
There are samples on amazon for this CD. Väsen's first CD, titled Essence in English, is still available also. Many of the intervening CDs have included percussion and have edged toward pop synthesis; to my ears thsoe recordings were far less compelling."
Fabulous
Allison Hayward | 09/15/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Vasen is a recent discovery of mine, and I am thrilled. Very enjoyable instrumental music. Some might classify it as "world" or "folk" but to me that implies a stodginess that isn't here. Fun stuff. Give the a listen."
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1