Hardanger fiddle
Classification | Bowed string instrument |
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Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 321.322-71 |
Related instruments | |
A Hardanger fiddle (
The
The Hardingfele's bridge is unique compared to other bowed instruments. It is somewhat taller and wider, resulting in the strings being slightly lower and farther apart; this allows for the easy execution of double-stops (playing of two strings at once). A similar technique is seen in some American old-time and bluegrass fiddlers, who intentionally move their bridge back a few millimetres closer to the tailpiece, for better double-stops.
The hardingfele is used mainly in the southwest part of Norway, whereas the ordinary violin (called flatfele, 'flat fiddle', or vanlig fele, 'common fiddle') is found elsewhere. The hardingfele is used for dancing, accompanied by rhythmic loud foot stomping. It was also traditional for the fiddler to lead the bridal procession to the church.
The instrument is often highly decorated, with a carved animal (usually a
Tunings
Unlike the violin, the hardingfele is a transposing instrument, meaning that sheet music for the hardingfele is written in a key other than the one in which the instrument sounds when it plays that music. Specifically, the hardingfele is a D instrument,[3] meaning that the hardingfele's written C corresponds to D on a non-transposing instrument, such as the piano. The notes given below for tunings are therefore relative to the hardingfele's written A, not to a concert A.
The understrings are tuned to vibrate according to the main tuning. For example, when the main strings are tuned A-D-A-E, the understrings are tuned B-D-E-F♯-A.[4] The tuning largely depends on the region in which the instrument is being played, or the requirements of a particular tune.
In Norway, more than 20 different tunings are recorded.[5] Most hardanger tunes are played in a common tuning (A-D-A-E). The hardanger fiddle can also be played in "low bass", the word "bass" referring to the lowest string, (G-D-A-E), the normal violin tuning. In certain regions the "Gorrlaus" (F-D-A-E) tuning is sometimes used. Many well-known players (such as Annbjørg Lien) frequently employ E-scale tunings; i.e., instead of A-D-A-E, with tunes being mainly played in a D-scale, the instrument will be tuned to B-E-B-F#, so the tunes are mainly in an E-scale. Going higher still, the player Knut Buen recorded several albums in an F-scale tuning, C-F-C-G. This is possible only on a smaller-bodied instrument (such as a Hardanger fiddle), being rarely attempted on a standard full-sized violin. As a substitute, many fiddlers who play standard violins will simply tune their G string to A, using the A-D-A-E tuning, enabling them to play the same style of music.
Another tuning is called "troll tuning" (A-E-A-C♯). Troll tuning is used for the fanitullen tunes, also called the devil's tunes, as well as the tunes from the Kivlemøyane suite (thus associated with the hulderpeople as well as the devil); in the Valdres district of Norway, using this particular tuning is called "greylighting", a reminder that the fiddler tuned his fiddle like this when the morning was near, and he had played himself through a number of other tunings.
Legend has it[6] that the fiddler learned fanitullen tunes from the devil. This tuning limits the melodic range of the tunes and is therefore sparsely used.
Technique
The technique of bowing a hardingfele also differs from that used with a violin. It's a smoother, bouncier style of bowing, with a lighter touch. The player usually bows on two of the upper strings at a time, and sometimes three. This is made easy by the relative flatness of the bridge, unlike the more curved bridge on a violin. The objective is to create a continuous sound of two (or more due to the sympathetic understrings) pitches. The strings of the fiddle are slimmer than those of the violin, resembling the strings of violins from the baroque period. Many classically trained violinists use a baroque bow when playing the hardingfele in order to counteract the extra weight that classical violinists naturally place on the string.
Here is an example of technique shown by Rose Logan with an instrument held at St Cecilia's Hall.[7]
The Hardanger fiddle and religion
The hardingfele has had a long history with the Christian church. Well known early fiddle maker Isak Botnen is said to have learned some of his craft from church lay leader and school master Lars Klark, as well as the methods for varnishing from pastor Dedrik Muus.
Known modern fiddler Annbjørg Lien has played with church organist Iver Kleive,[12] but even she has experienced prejudice before performance from the religious side.[13] Also, the oldest known fiddles still in existence can be heard accompanied by the oldest playable church pipe organ in Norway (originally built for an 18th-century church) on the album "Rosa i Botnen" by Knut Hamre and Benedicte Maurseth.[11] While the use of a hardingfele in church in Norway may still be a bit sensitive for some, fiddlers in other parts of the world have no problems playing in churches for all types of occasions, including weddings.[14][15]
Influences
In recent years, the instrument has gained recognition in the rest of the world. Japan has been one of the countries that has found an interest in the hardingfele and Japanese musicians travel to Norway just to learn to play this instrument. In 1997, the Australian classical composer Liza Lim wrote the piece Philtre for a solo Hardanger fiddle, and she also includes the instrument in her work Winding Bodies: 3 Knots (2013–14).[17][18] Her string quartet The Weaver's Knot (2013–14) is inspired by the sound and performance techniques of Hardanger fiddle playing. Another recent work is "mobius II" for hardanger fiddle and electronics by the British composer Rose Dodd (2011, premiered at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival by Britt Pernille Froholm).
Players
Notable hardingfele players include
In March 2010 Olav Luksengård Mjelva won the Spellemannprisen Traditional music/Norwegian folk category (the Norwegian equivalent of the Grammy Awards), for his album Fele/Hardingfele, Røros/Hallingdal.[citation needed]
Use in film
The Hardanger fiddle was used in the
The Hardanger fiddle is also featured in the soundtrack of Armageddon (composed by Trevor Rabin), and in Fargo (composed by Carter Burwell). In the latter, the context is a little more traditional—the main theme it plays is an arrangement of a Norwegian folk song entitled "The Lost Sheep".
Steven Van Zandt used the Hardanger fiddle in the theme song he wrote for the TV series Lilyhammer.
In the Japanese animated movie Tales from Earthsea it is played by Rio Yamase.
The Hardanger fiddle is featured in the soundtrack of the 2017 film Dunkirk, as well as the soundtrack for the 2021 Loki series.
See also
- Låtfiol, a Swedish fiddle with two sympathetic strings
- Nyckelharpa
- Kontra
- Stroh violin (vioara cu goarnă)
- Rabeca
- Viola d'amore
- Swedish Double-decker, a Swedish fiddle with 4-8 sympathetic strings
References
- ^ Aksdal 1993, 21
- ^ Aksdal 1993, 22
- ^ "What You Should Know About the Hardanger Fiddle - Hardanger Fiddle Association of America". www.hfaa.org.
- ^ "A Guide to Tunings on the Hardingfele - Hardanger Fiddle Association of America". www.hfaa.org.
- ^ Gurvin 1958.
- ^ no:Fanitullen
- ^ Hardingfele (Hardanger fiddle), retrieved 2022-03-08
- ^ Sandvik 1983, p.12.
- ^ Broughton, Ellingham 1999 p.212.
- ^ Sandvik 1983, p.13.
- ^ a b George 2008
- ^ Broughton, Ellingham 1999 216.
- ^ Magiske understrenger - historien om hardingfela (Documentary produced by NRK).
- ^ "Hardanger fiddle player at Faith Lutheran Church in Isanti Nov. 27". Archived from the original on 23 March 2006. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
- ^ Andrea Een and the Hardanger Fiddle - Brightcove
- ISBN 9781843833437– via Google Books.
- ^ "Philtre (music): for solo retuned violin or hardanger fiddle / Liza Lim". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
- ^ "Winding Bodies: 3 Knots". Liza Lim. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
References
- Aksdal, Bjørn, and Sven Nyhus. Fanitullen: Innføring i norsk og samisk folkemusikk. Oslo: Universitetsforlag.
- Broughton, Simon, and Mark Ellingham. Rough Guide to World Music Volume One: Africa, Europe & the Middle East. London: Penguin Books, 1999. 212-216.
- George, Patrice. "Knut Hamre and Benedicte Maurseth - Rosa I Botnen." RootsWorld. 26 Feb. 2008 http://www.rootsworld.com/reviews/botnen06.shtml
- Gurvin, Olav. 1958. Hardingfela. In Hardingfeleslåttar, ed. Olav Gurvin. Norsk Folkemusikk, ser. 1 vol I. Oslo: Universitetsforslaget.
- Sandvik, Sverre. Vi Byggjer Hardingfele. Tiden, 1983. 12-13. English translation "(How) We Build the Hardanger Fiddle" by Eldon Ellingson
External links
- Hardanger Fiddle Association of America
- Fashioning the Hardanger Fiddle
- Hardingfeleverket--Norsk folkemusikk serie 1: Hardingfeleslåttar – i syv bind og Feleverket--Norsk folkemusikk serie 2: Slåtter for vanlig fele – i fire bind
- Hardanger Fiddle, Isak N. Botnen/Skår (Norwegian, 1669–1759) and Trond Isaksen Flatebø (Norwegian, 1713–1772) made in 1756
- Hardanger Fiddle, Norway, 1786
- Scordatura: The Dahle Tradition (Anne Svånaug Haugan. Etnisk Musikklubb: EM26) Archived 2007-10-19 at the Wayback Machine
- Andrea Hoag, Loretta Kelley, Charlie Pilzer
- hardanger fiddler Christian Borlaug