Falling into Folk Preview | Nordic Folk Music

Leah Froyd
Sep 27
3 min read

Hello and welcome to our first sneak preview of our concert cycle, Falling into Folk. This week we will be spotlighting Nordic folk music with the help of resources by the Danish String Quartet.

RSVP

Nordic Folk Music

The main instruments used in this tradition of music were variations of dulcimers and fiddles of which a string quartet can emulate very well! Specific variations of the instruments included the Hardanger fiddle and Nykelharpa (keyed fiddle).

Nordic folk music was integral to social gatherings and dances, hence the popularity of of jigs, waltzes, and minuets in this genre.

Danish String Quartet

The Danish String Quartet has become a pillar in the classical chamber music industry as specialists in the typical classical music canon as well as traditional nordic folk music.

Since their formation in 2002, they have recorded, transcribed, arranged, and composed a wide spanning collection of traditional folk music for the quartet.

This work is highly important as it preserves the folk traditions of the region and exposes it to music lovers across the world. It’s also wickedly fun to play their arrangements as they are the epitome of string music written by string players FOR string players!

Sønderho is a tiny village on the southern tip of the Danish island Fanø. It is a legendary location for Nordic folk music aficionados. In Sonderho they have a unique type of dance, a "sonderhoning", which is entirely unique to the island. It is a dance that somewhat resembles a polska, but the music is played in a different meter than the dance, creating a very hypnotic feeling of coordinated un-synchronization. Æ Rømeser is one of the traditional sønderhonings from the 18th century, the title simply meaning The one from Rømø: Rømø is the first island south of Fanø and is perhaps the origin of this particular sonderhoning.

-- Danish String Quartet

In this excerpt listen for the way the instruments sounds blend together to create a chorale texture at the beginning. As instruments are subtracted and added back in, you can notice how the melodies are passed around the ensemble. For example, when the cello has the melody, you can notice they play in a higher register to come out of the texture.

Rasmus Storm was the son of an indentured peasant who worked as low-rank assistant to a merchant in Fåborg on the island of Funen. In his spare time, he was a renowned fiddler and dance master. His collection of tunes, written down in the 1760s, is one of the earliest collections of Danish folk melodies. Almost half of his melodies were minuets, a sign of how popular this dance was in the latter part of the 18th century. The beautiful Minuet no. 6o is rather complex: in four parts with both major and minor keys.

-- Danish String Quartet

In this piece, listen for the strong 3/4 minuet time. For a bonus listening, compare it to this Minuet by Haydn written around the same time and notice the ways in which the two have a very similar rhythmic structure. However, this piece has a Danish twist— listen for drones (long notes) indicative of the traditional instruments and the way they were used.

Want to hear it in person?

Have burning questions about the music?

Have something else to share with other members of our community?

Our general admission sale is currently underway for our next concert series in San Francisco. You can now reserve a seat at any of our upcoming concerts!!

RSVP