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Denmark
Map of Denmark
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Northern Europe page
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Denmark
Map of Denmark |
Population: 5,5 million
Capital: Copenhagen
Offisial language: Danish
Major ethnic groups: Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German
Background: Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the political and economic integration of Europe. So far, however, the country has opted out of some aspects of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the new joint monetary system. (Source: WorldFactbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Denmark
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Finland(Suomi)
Map of Finland |
Population: 5 million
Capital: Helsinki
Offisial language: Finnnish
Major ethnic groups: Finn 93%, Swede 6%, Lapp 0.11%, Roma 0.12%,
Tatar 0.02%
Background: Ruled by Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries
and by Russia from 1809, Finland finally won its independence in 1917.
During World War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and
fend off invasions by the Soviet Union and Germany. In the subsequent half
century, the Finns have made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest
economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is
now on par with Western Europe. As a member of the European Union, Finland
was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in
January 1999.
(Source: WorldFactbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Finland
Sami music is a topic at its own.
Go to Sami Music
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Greenland
Map of Greenland |
Population: 50.000
Capital: Nuuk
Offisial language:
Major ethnic groups: Greenlander 87% (Inuit and Greenland-born
whites), Danish and others 13%
Background: The world's largest island, about 84% ice-capped, Greenland was granted self-government in 11038 by the Danish parliament. The law went into effect the following year. (Source: WorldFactbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Greenland
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Iceland
Map of Iceland |
Population: 275.000
Capital: Reykjavik
Offisial language: Icelandic
Major ethnic groups: homogeneous mixture of descendants of Norwegians
and Celts
Background: Settled by Norwegians and Celtic (Scottish and Irish) immigrants during the late 9th and 10th centuries, Iceland boasts the world's oldest parliament, the Althing, established in 930. Independent for over 300 years, Iceland was subsequently ruled by Norway and Denmark. Limited home rule was granted in 1874 and complete independence attained in 1944. Literacy, longevity, income, and social cohesion are first-rate by world standards. (Source: WorldFactbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Iceland
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Norway
Map of Norway |
Population: 4,5 million
Capital: Oslo
Offisial language: Norwegian
Major ethnic groups: Norwegian (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic), Lapps
(Sami) 20,000
Background: Despite its neutrality, Norway was not able to avoid occupation by Germany in World War II. In 1949, neutrality was abandoned and Norway became a member of NATO. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. The current focus is on containing spending on the extensive welfare system and planning for the time when petroleum reserves are depleted. In referenda held in 11032 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU. (Source: WorldFactbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Norway
Author (this article and sub articles): Tim
Øsleby
First. The author of this article, and sub articles,
is a Norwegian. I'm not claiming to 100 percent objective, all the time,
but I'm trying.
(Want to know me (Tim Øsleby) better? Then take a look at my
privat Homepage)
Norway is a pretty large country, with a small population, about 4 million people. It is also a very long country, the distance from Oslo in the south, to Nordkapp in the north, are the same as the distance from Oslo to Rome in Italy. It is the country of the fjords (inlets) in the west. With pretty high mountains. And with extreme cold in the north. This leads to major variations in cultural traditions, in fact the music styles is a patchwork of regional styles.
Norway have one important resource, energy. Energy in the waterfalls, and energy from the oil. Without energy Norway would probably have been a poor country, but it isn't. Today, Norway are one of the richest countries in the world.
Norway is one of the newer nations in Europe. From about 1330 till 1521, the three scandinavian countries Norway, Sweden and Denmark, where united. It was a Danish colony 1521-1814, and Norway was Swedish 1814-1905. Before this colony time Norway have a "proud" history of the Vikings (some of them where "raving" mad, plundering in Great Britain, some of them where trading in Russia). Norway was in fact a lot of small kingdoms. (You will find some small reflections about this in the introduction to the Africa pages.)
Norway is one of the few "West" European (pro NATO) countries standing outside EU (European Union). There has been two votes at this subject in the Norwegian people, and both times a minor majority voted no. The reason for this lies perhaps in the Norwegian history, and strong will of independence.
The ethnic minority, the native Sàmi people, has been suppressed for centuries, but now things are improving a little. They have their own parliament, and better control over their land.
Norwegians really have something to be proud of, a radio program named Folkemusikkhalvtimen, an half hour every week documenting Norwegian folk music. It has been on the air since 1930. Probably the longest lasting radio program in the world!
The first famous folk music "artist" was the classical composer Edvard Grieg. Many of his opuses is based at old folk tunes. Arild Andersen have followed this up in his recording, "Arv" (heritage) with Kirsten Bråten Berg and others.
Norwegian "styles":
Most of the Norwegian styles are linked to the instrument (often a
solo instrument) they are performed at, but there is also significant regional
differences in styles. To describe these differences would make this one
article a "book" at it's own.
Religion and folk music have strong connections in Norway. Sondre Bratland is one of many exponent of this tradition of "religious folk tunes". Most of this music is vocal based, sometimes accompanied with small ensembles, or most times a single instrument i.e. an organ. In this perspective, it may sound a bit strange that the hardanger fiddle, and the ordinary fiddle (flat fiddle), has been banned from the churches for centuries (in some churches, it still is).
The explanation for this is easy to find. The legends about the fiddle players who sold their souls to the devil, to improve their instrumental skills. (The devil is told to be "a hell of a fiddle player"). Being a Norwegian, it is interesting to hear the same or similar stories about the American Blues men like Robert Johnson. Parts of the American population has their roots in Norway (meaning that these blues stories may have came from Norway).
The name for the rich traditional vocal music in Norway is kved music, meaning a traditional song. The most important styles is, stev a small or short song , And the longer ballad's (ballader in Norwegian). The small stev's often have a humorous point, sometimes a erotic point. Most ballad's are epic songs and fairy tales.
Fiddles came to Norway sometime in the 1700s century, and music performed at hardanger fiddle (hardingfele),or flat fiddle (flatfele), has strong traditions in Norway. The tuning of these fiddles vary a lot, there are regional differences. The tuning can also vary from song to song. The Kappleik, a national or regional competition of fiddle master playing, is an important factor in the conservation process of the old traditional music. This is healthy for the old traditional music, but it's a bumper to more innovative music. Critic's of this kappleik's claims that it turns fiddle music into "museum music" not a living tradition.
The most up and going style today is perhaps gammeldans, a accordion (trekkspel) based dance music, with different dances like vals, masurka, polka and reinlender and others. All these dances were called runddans (round, or turning dance), but now the name is gammeldans (old dance). A modern gammeldans ensemble often consists of accordion, double- or ( most frequent) a electric bass, and a guitar player, some gammeldans band also uses fiddle.
Sami music is a topic at its own.
Go to Sami Music
Other instruments
Langeleik (a box zither), Norwegian
harp, Meråker clarinet, bukkehorn (goat horn), lur, munnharpe (Jews
harp) and drums.
To be continued.....
Contemporary jazz music
Some jazz musicians in Norway are closely connected to World music.
Many of them have a contract with the record company ECM (in fact it was
a Norwegian producer that invented the famous ECM-sound). Sax player and
composer Jan Garbarek is perhaps the most known at the international stage.
He has worked both with Norwegian (more or less) traditional musicians,
and with musicians from the world scene.
The
Førde
Internasjonale Folkemusikkfestival was initiated in 1990, and is
arranged in Førde in the county of Sogn og Fjordane every year during
the first half of July. The goal of the festival is to promote knowledge
of and interest in Norwegian and international folk music. The festival
is a meeting place for performers from all over the world. http://www.fordefestival.no
The Leopardman's African Music Guide A nice and intelligent site made by the Norwegian writer, Bjørn-Erik Hanssens. Large parts of the site is translated to English, he is even wotking at a version in Swahili.
Artists from Norway:
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Sweden
Map of Sweden |
Population: 9 million
Capital: Stockholm
Offisial language: Swedish
Major ethnic groups: indigenous population: Swedes and Finnish
and Lapp (Sami) minorities; foreign-born or first-generation immigrants:
Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes, Norwegians, Greeks, Turks
Background: A military power during the 17th century, Sweden has not participated in any war in almost two centuries. An armed neutrality was preserved in both World Wars. Sweden's long-successful economic formula of a capitalist system interlarded with substantial welfare elements has recently been undermined by high unemployment, rising maintenance costs, and a declining position in world markets. Indecision over the country's role in the political and economic integration of Europe caused Sweden not to join the EU until 1995, and to forgo the introduction of the euro in 1999. (Source: WorldFactbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Sweden
Sami music is a topic at its own.
Go to Sami Music
Falun
Folkmusik Festival started in 1986. The festival was the first
major event in the Nordic countries that presented Swedish and Nordic traditional
music parallel to locally rooted music from other countries and continents.
World music and Nordic traditional music side by side on equal footing.
FolkNetSweden Description: FolkNetSweden is a joint venture between 7 independent Swedish record labels for traditional music. The aim is to spread information on the Internet about Swedish folk music CD's.
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Sàmi music |
The Sami people, or Lapp's (Sami people don't like that word) is a native people, with the largest population living in Northern parts of Norway, and in Sweden, and some in Finland and in the Kola area in Russia. Sami people calls their "country" Samiædnam. Sami people are divided in groups after their way of living and settlement. There are sea Sami's, a fishing and agricultural people. There are forest or river Sami's, a agricultural, fishing and hunting people. And there are nomadic Sami people, living by reindeers. Some of the Sami people lives in southern parts of Norway and Sweden, southern sami people.
Sami people, culture and religion, have been suppressed for centuries in all countries. In Norway i.e. the children where forced to go at Norwegian boarding schools, their native tongue, music and religion was forbidden there. EthnoBass are glad to report some improvements. A Sami Institute was established in Kautokeino in 11035, and a Sami Parliament (Sameting) was officially opened in 1989 (this is in Norway, but it's the same in Sweden and Finland). Another exsample of the attitude towards sami people is changing, is that Mari Boine was picked out to sing in the church at the royal wedding between Crown Prince Håkon and Mette Marit 26.08.01
The backbone in Sami music is Joik, a very strong, unbroken tradition from prehistoric time. A joik has no verses, it is rapidly repeating of a music phrase or a music period, the end of one period leads up to the next. Most joik's is pentatonic, simple melody with only few notes, and extremely complex and diverse rhythmic patterns. The lyrics in a joik is not about a subject, it is the subject, "a joik is like life", Wimme Sarri says. Most joik's are improvised, often without words, or only few words. A joik is not a performence, it's a introverted artform. Sometimes the joiker sings to himself, sometime to one person. A joik lasts until the joiker has said what he wants, then it suddenly stops. Some joik's are epic stories or "popular poetry" a important part of the historic heritage.
Sami people have been using Lur and horns made of birch bark or wood, flutes made of wood or bone, and Jews harp for ages. In the 19's century accordion and guitars came. But the "national" instrument of the Sami people is the runebomm, a religous-cultic shaman drum. Used for trance. The other main instrument is a simple oboe fadno, made of a hollow plant stalk, with three to six finger wholes (traditionally four). A fadno can only be used for a short period, when it dries out, it is ruined.
Sami music Artists: