Conference turris::scandia

  Sorry to disappoint you again, but Finlandia has nothing to do
  with the Finnish national anthem. The anthem is credited to Fredrik
  Pacius and is much older than Finlandia; recent musical research
  has discovered, however, that Pacius plagiated an old German drinking
  song.
                                                
  Finlandia was composed during the last years of the czarist Russian
  regime in Finland.
  

  Strangely enough, "Finlandia" is the national anthem of Tanzania.

    How about contemporary Scandinavian musicians?  Who are the famous
    ones?  What types of music do they play?  What do Scandinavians
    listen to?
    
    In the "pop" realm I've heard of ABBA.  But how about other pop
    and rock bands?  Has Scandinavia been hit by "punk" and "new wave"
    music?  How about any "hard rock" ?
    
    George

    Re: .3:
    
    This reply has gone unanwered long enough.  Unfortunately I know
    very little about contemporary music (specializing as I do in folk 
    and work prior to the early 20th century); but, I've heard ABBA 
    on the radio and watched one of their TV specials once.  I liked
    most of their music very much, especially "Dancing Queen" and "SOS."
    
    One of my English noter/friends, John Fox, tells me that one of the
    female ABBA singers, Agnetha Faltskog, has gone solo; he's been
    a fan and is presumably following her career.   
    
    Neil

re .3

I asked one of my younger and more musically aware friends this very question.
Personally I like the later ABBA (wish these keyboards could do a reverse B).
Specifically "The Album" and on up to "The Visitors" their last American
release, which seems to be an attempt at New Wave but is more synthetic
instrumentally and emotionally.  I happen to like that, however.  Reality
is a crutch for those who can't handle fantasy.  

Perhaps someone can substantiate a rumor I heard around 1977-78 or so: 
ABBA was at that time Sweden's largest money making export, and not restricted
to just their music but all ABBA-related industry (fan items, I suppose
I mean).  Was/is this true?

My friend's comments:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
In my opinion, with the exception of Britain, Europe has not gotten the
"hang" of rock and roll.  All of their bands sound so studied and unnatural.
They lack "soul," in the Aretha Frankin/James Brown sense or in the 
Rolling Stones/Clash/Talking Heads sense.  

ABBA is a good example of the stuffiness of European bands.  They rely 
heavily on synthesizer, use "swarmy" production techniques that produce a 
"wall of sound," and they use only the most basic of rhythms (with the 
exception of "Waterloo," which is out and out FUN).

About Scandanavian bands, I think I heard on the Grammy Awards last night 
that the group A-HA is from Norway.  They sing that song where the lead
singer keeps singing higher and higher notes until it sounds as if his 
head will explode.  Again, they rely heavily on synthesizers, stick to pop
melodies, and avoid complex rhythms.

The only European band I've heard that seems to have a feel for American 
pop/rock is Nina (sp?) from Germany.  Their song "99 Luftballoons" sounds
good in both English and German, and the reason for that is that the 
song is very solid, using a basic rock and roll beat.  If I were to bet on any
European band making a mark in America and Britain, it would be Nina.

    That's Nena... and she looks good, too.
    

    
    RE .-2
    
    I can understand your statement about the european beat/rock, since
    it is derived from the fact that the only/most music you hear is
    the most international songs which the record-companies think has
    the best chance of making money abroad.
    
    A lot of groups/bands in europe *and* scandinavia plays more
    "intensive" rock/beat than ABBA [ :-) ] but never gets outside europe
    and that's not always because of thhe language since many bands
    sing in english.
    
    Of course there is some truth in your statement about the difference
    in the way the soul is involved in european music compared  to american
    music, which could be base for dedicated conference, therefore I
    won't try to be clever on this issue.
    
    Klaus
    

Well, a couple of years back 'Secret Service' had big hits all over the
world (Ten a'clock postman ?). Maybe because they never said that
they were from Sweden... today they sell quite well in Europe, especially
in Germany.

ABBA is no more... Agneta F�ltskog and Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad are both
'on their own'. Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson made Chess... and are
planning to write a new musical.

Also, in Europe there are other famous groups, like Hanoi Rocks (partly english
though, plays new wave) and Europe (soft?... heavy metal).

	...ankan...

    Hanoi Rocks no longer exists. After the death of their drummer Razzle
    on a car accident last year they decided not to carry on with the
    band anymore. Mike Monroe (their lead singer) is now with The Lords
    Of The New Church. Sam (bass player) has he's own project going
    on in Sweden and the rest of the band Andy and Nasty have formed
    a new band called "Cherry Bommz" along with Timo Kaltio (a Finnish guy),
    Terry Chimes (former Clash drummer) and Anita Chellamah (former Toto
    Coelo singer).  English people, check out the group. Pretty hot
    stuff.
    
    Timo  

Associated Press Fri 18-APR-1986 18:13                      BRF--Europe Sings

        Critics Say European Song Contest Entires Are of Poor Quality
    
    OSLO, Norway (AP) - The 20 entries in the 1986 European Song Contest
    are of poor quality, critics agreed Friday after watching a closed
    90-minute video preview of the May 3 competition. "The quality, if
    possible, is even poorer and less exciting than in recent years and
    there are no clear favorites," wrote the Oslo newspaper Verdens Gang. 
    
    Dagbladet, another Oslo daily, also was disappointed after the preview:
    "Even earlier favorites like Israel and West Germany let us down this
    year. We hope they will have improved their acts by May 3." 
    
    Norway won last year's contest with the song "La Det Swinge" (Let It
    Swing), performed by Hanne Krogh and Elisabeth Andreasson, who call
    themselves the "Bobbysocks". 
    
    The countries competing in this year's contest are Luxembourg,
    Yugoslavia, France, Norway, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Iceland,
    Turkey, Spain, Switzerland, Israel, Ireland, Belgium, West Germany,
    Cyprus, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Portugal. 

    
    	While I was in Norway, I watched two consecutive years of the
    European Song Contest (1972-1973).  Norway won one of them with
    their song Sm� Ting.  All of the songs were pop as far as I could
    tell, and being a rocker I was not impressed.  
    	I don't know if it has anything to do with the country or not,
    but there is a band clled Husker Du, which is Norwegian for do you
    remember?  Anyone know about  them?
    
    						-Jerry
    

    I have a recording of Martin Best (British musician) singing Bellman;
    it's one of the best albums I've ever heard.  The one I have is
    called "Bellman in Britian" (or something close to that):  does
    anyone know of other recordings Martin Best has done of Bellman
    songs?  I know he has done others, but none are sold in the US (I
    got my album in Sweden).
    
    Warning: opinion coming...
    
    Bellman is the best song writer I've ever come across (that includes
    Schubert, Schumann, Mozart...).
    
    Dick Wolfe

    RE:.11
    I think you must remeber wrong about Norway and the Eurovision Song
    Contest. The first time ever that Norway won was in 1985, so this
    year the contest was held in Bergen (my hometown). 
    About Husker Du, I have wondered about this group myself. I think
    they are from California somewhere and I have not heard about any
    norwegian connection. 
    
    Svein.
    

    I'm disappointed!  Except for a brief mention of her in .8, noone
    said anything about Ani_Frid Lyngstad, to my mind, the most successful
    of Scandinavian solo artists in the recent past.  After her carreer
    with ABBA, she released a very successful solo album, which unless
    I'm mistaken, takes its title from the most successful single on
    the album "Something Going On".  This album was produced by Phil
    Collins, and even though its Frida's (her "international stage name")
    album, you can hear Phil all over it.  Besides the "Something's
    Going On" cut (made famous by a good video on MTV), Frida does a
    good remake of one of Phil's songs "You know what I Mean", and does
    a fantastic duet with Phil called "Here We'll Stay".  To be honest,
    I'm not sure the album would be the same without Phil, but
    Frida does have (in my opinion) one of the purest, best female voices
    in popular music today.  
    
    That album came out a couple of years ago.  THE music news from
    Scandinavia today is of course, the Norwegian band A-HA.  They
    virtually "swept" the prizes at MTV's last awards show.  I tend
    to disagree with a previous reply to this note talking about the
    lack of "soul" in European music.  It's not just the Europeans,
    it's all new music.  Sure A-HA doesn't have the force of the Stones
    or the Who, but they can be compared very favourably with newer
    bands such as The Human League or XTC.  It's just the direction
    of the industry at present, not a continental inability to "rock".
    Scorpions, for instance, is a relatively popular hard-rock band,
    and they're from Germany.  There is another, sort of cult at present,
    hard-rock guitarist who's presently on the rise named Yngve Malmsteen
    (sp ?) and he's from Sweden.
    
    As for commenting on serious music, my personal favourite is Grieg.
    I LOVE Peer Gynt (esp. "In the Hall of the Mountain King")!  There
    is also another Swedish composer of some note not mentioned thus
    far, Alfven (again, sp ?) who wrote "Swedish Rhapsody" - a tune
    I'm sure most readers of this file would find familiar.  As for
    "songs" (i.e w/words), Sibelius, and Grieg have written some wonderful
    pieces.  In my carreer as a voice minor, I had the pleasure of singing
    some Grieg (in German), and a fantastic piece called "Svarta Rosor"
    by Sibelius.  To the best of my knowledge, the only time anyone
    has ever sung in Swedish at a recital in Wittenberg University,
    was the time I did "Svarta Rosor"! 
    
    Well, enough of my rambling.
    
    					H�lsningar!
    
    					Scott
                                            

	Yeah!!!

	Have y�u ever heard about lapplandian joiku's

	or so call�d Finish  Pierre Kusela ?

		Asko

    RE: .15
    
    Asko, I'm glad you mentioned Pierre Kusela. 	
    In fact I just heard that they are showing Pierre's video
    "The Laughing Tramp" on London's infamous satellite channel
    called "The Sky". That's the kind of news I like to hear.
    Has anyone seen the video?                                 
    
    Timo
    
    P.S.  Asko, what's wrong with your terminal?

No mention yet of Wilhelm Stenhammar, of Sweden.  There are two CD's out on the BIS label of his stuff.  (BIS is hard to find in the USA.  Try the Coop. Their normal price was $20, but they were having a 20% off sale that day.)

The one I have is a Serenade, performed by the Goteborg symphony orchestra.
Reminds me a lot of the Saint-Saens 3rd symphony.

Stenhammar's most famous piece, "Excelsior" is on the other disk, that
I don't have.

	FYI

	Husker Du is not from California they are from
	Minnesota; St. Paul or Minneapolis I'm not sure.

	I believe they are no longer together as a band.

	
    	- David 

    From: [email protected] (David L. Golber)
    Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
    Subject: Hardanger fiddle player and dancers on tour
 Keywords: Hardanger fiddle, hardingfele, dance, music, Norway, Telemark, Grieg
    Date: 14 Apr 90 17:40:38 GMT
    Organization: The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA
 
 
    In late April and May, there will be a tour by Norwegian Hardanger 
    fiddle virtuoso Knut Buen, with dancers Karin Brennesvik and Reidar 
    Meinstad.  They will be giving concerts and workshops across the 
    country.
 
    The Norwegian Hardanger fiddle (hardingfele) has been in existence  for
    over three hundred years.  It looks like a violin, basically,  but has
    additional sympathetic strings running under the fingerboard  parallel
    to the playing strings.  The top of the instrument is  inlaid with bone
    and mother-of-pearl, and the top of the pegbox is  carved with a
    stylized lion's head.  The instrument is played with  nearly continuous
    double stops, which creates a complex dense  texture.  The music is
    traditional, handed down from player to  player.
 
    Matt Glaser, of the Berklee School of Music in Boston, a jazz 
    violinist and biographer of Stephane Grappelli, said "Bach on Venus" 
    when he heard this music.  The meaning of this strange statement:  this
    is unusual, subtle music ... with the seriousness of Bach.
 
    A recent article about the Hardanger fiddle in STRINGS magazine 
    includes an interview with Knut Buen, and describes this music as 
    "powerful and compelling, rhythmically subtle".
 
    Two of the concerts (in Los Angeles and in Washington DC) will have  a
    very interesting classical music connection:
 
    In 1902, Edvard Grieg wrote a collection of piano pieces, his Opus  72,
    called "Slaatter" in Norwegian and "Norwegian Peasant Dances" in 
    English.  These pieces are arrangements - very direct - of pieces  for
    Hardanger fiddle, as played then by traditional fiddle player  Knut
    Dahle.  Since then, the original folk music has lived on in the 
    traditional repertory.
 
    The concerts in Los Angeles and Washington DC will include  selections
    from the Grieg Opus 72, played by pianist Anne-Karine  Helland, with
    each of the Grieg pieces preceded by the traditional  Hardanger fiddle
    piece.  Knut Buen is an authoritative master of the  Hardanger fiddle. 
    He plays the traditional music which was Grieg's  source with
    particular authority: he learned these pieces from Knut  Dahle's
    grandson.
 
    Do come to a concert.  For information, call
 
    Seattle (April 27-29)          Scandia Folkdance Society 
                                  (206) 822-9716.
    Los Angeles (April 30, May 2)  AMAN 
                                  (213) 629-8387.
    Eugene (May 3):                University of Oregon Cultural Forum 
                                  (503) 686-4373.
    San Francisco (May 4-6)        North California Spelmanslag 
                                  (415) 482-2522.
    Boulder (May 8-10)             Boulder Scandinavian Dancers 
                                  (303) 938-8151.
    Washington DC (May 11)         Folklore Society of Greater
                                  Washington
                                  (703) 281-2228.
    New York (May 12-13)           Ethnic Folk Arts Center 
                                  (212) 691-9510.
    Minneapolis (May 15-20)        Karen Torkelson 
                                  (612) 724-5540.
    

    I'd like to get the sheet music for a ballard by Cornelis Vreeswijk
    called "The ballard of Fred Singer and Sweet Miss Cecilia Lind" 
    
    I heard this song on a CD called "Sweden's Greatest" which was produced
    by an expatriate American named Roger Hinchliffe.  Hinchliffe has lived
    in Stockholm since 1973.  I recommend the entire CD highly; it includes
    works by Bellman, Evert Taube, Ulf Lundell, a selection from CHESS by 
    Benny and Bjorn formerly of ABBA, and Mikael Wiehe; all translated to 
    English by him.  I fancy it to be a window on contemporary Swedish popular 
    music.
    
    Hinchlife writes "Cornelis was born in Holland and came to Sweden to
    live at the age of 11.  He was corpulent and controversial, sarcastic
    and socially conscious, blasphemous and blustering, humorous and
    humane,hard-living and soft-hearted.  His lackadaaisical voice
    delivered provocative, bittersweet poetry in a structure and style that
    could only be Cornelis'."
    
    The English lyrics are:
    
    	"Near Gothenburg's seacoast an orchestra plays
    	A full moon is shining like glass through the haze
    	They dance cheek-to-cheek as the accordions begin
    	Fred Singer and sweet Miss Cecilia Lind
    
    	She closes her eyes and his heartbeat she feels
    	She floats in his arms as they swing on their heels
    	He leads and she follows as light as the wind
    	But why are you blushing, Cecilia Lind?
    
    	Could it be something Fred Singer has said?
    	"Your grace and your perfume go straight to my head
    	Your figure is lovely 'et tres feminine'
    	My God your so pretty, Cecilia Lind"
    
    	Shame on you Freddy, your old heart's gone wild!
    	Cecilia Lind is still only a child
    	as pure as a flower, unblemished by sin
    	"I'm soon seventeen" said Cecilia Lind
    
    	But the band finished playing, 
    	where could they go now?
    	The street where she lived was near his anyhow
    	They arrived at the gate and before going in
    	"I want you to kiss me" said Cecilia Lind
    
    	The hours drift away in the stars' magic light
    	Though Freddy is old, there's a new moon tonight
    	They say love is blind, you may lose -- you may win
    	"Oh, kiss me again" said Cecilia Lind  
    
   I want to have this sung at my wedding, which is at the end of April.
    
    Can anyone ot there help me?

    Hi,
    
    I was sure I had this one at home but it seems to have gone missing.
    I'll have another look at the weekend (all my music needs a good 
    sorting out anyway!). 
    
    By the way, if you like Cornelis's music try to get hold of a CD called
    "Flygande Holl�ndaren" (The Flying Dutchman). Cornelis was a far
    greater success in Sweden than he was down here in Holland and, when
    he died, someone thought that he should be commemorated. A load of 
    current Swedish artists got together and covered a lot of his songs
    albeit in a modern style. It makes for interesting listening!
    Cecelia Lind's on it (performed by Marie (Roxette) Fredriksson i think.
    
    Be in touch..
    
    Pete 

    Are there any record stores in the greater Boston / southern New Hampshire
    area that carries a decent selection of Norwegian or Swedish classical,
    opera, "folkemusik" or "viser"?

    Are there any mail-order catalogs for such music?

    Mange takk,

       hilsen K�re, (fremdeles nordman etter atten �r i statene)

I have found more intersting collections through Scandinavian fairs than, say, 
the huge Tower Records of Boston.  Even if you don't like what the fair offers
it is still a contact point to find out about suppliers and stores.

\bob

    From: [email protected] (Kjell E Post)
    Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
    Subject: Re: Carl Bellman
    Date: 18 May 91 22:08:41 GMT
    Sender: [email protected]
 
    [email protected] (Allan Hollander) writes:

   >Are his songs still popular and well-known in Sweden?
   >Also, on the tape were some more songs of Bellman's sung
   >in Swedish by the bass Fred Akerstrom.  Does anyone know this singer?

    Fred �kerstrom was probably the foremost interpreter of Bellman. He
    passed away a couple of years ago, unfortunately.   If you have the
    opportunity to buy records from Sweden I would recommend a double CD
    where Fred plays some of Fredman's Epistles.   The fact that Bellman is
    still popular was witnessed about two years ago by the release of
    "Proud City" (Swedish: "Stolta Stad") where contemporary Swedish
    artists play Bellman's songs in their own, modernized way.
 
    About Bellman himself... well, I don't know much except for the fact
    that he would have celebrated his 200th birthday last year, if he
    hadn't been such a drunkard. :-)

--
  |   |  |\  /| |\  |\   | Kjell Post               | Vi i Sverige har blivit
  |  /|\ | \/ | | \ | \  | CS Grad Student, UCSC    | trygghetsnarkomaner.
 /|\ \|/ |    | |   |    | email: [email protected] | Livet best}r inte bara av
/ | \ |  |    | |   |    `--------------------------' trygghet.  --Curt Nicolin

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    From: [email protected] (Bryan Lyles)
    Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
    Subject: Re: Carl Bellman
    Date: 20 May 91 05:36:14 GMT
    Sender: [email protected]
    Organization: Xerox Palo Alto Research Center
 
    I learned about Carl Michael Bellman during a two year stay in Sweden.
    Can't understand why he is not widely known.  His songs deal with life,
    death, love and life in  Stockholm and are universal.  One of the neat
    things about Bellman's songs is that they are still sung as a living
    tradition.  One would never think of singing Handel at a party:  too
    old, too irrelevant to the situation.   However, Bellman is often sung
    at parties.
 
    There are two books in English about Bellman and his music, both by
    Paul Britten Austin:
 
    The Life and Songs of Carl Michael Bellman:  Genius of the Swedish
    Rococo, Allhem Publishers Malm|, Sweden, 1967  (my copy cost 127 SKr)
 
    -- an excellent introduction to the life times and music of Bellman. 
    Part biography, part critical examination, part history.
  
    Carl Michael Bellman, Fredman's Epistles and Songs:  A selection in
    English, Reuter and Reuter Forlags AB, Stockholm 1977.
 
    -- Singable translations of the Swedish.  
  
    As for CDs of Bellmans work:
 
    Fred �kerstr�m, Fred �kerstr�m Sjunger Bellman:  Till Carl Michael, WEA
    Records AB 244859-2 
 
    -- I had the distinct privledge of seeing Fred �kerstr�m sing in
    V�stervik during the summer of 1984.  He was great;  my only regret is
    that my Swedish was even weaker then than it is now.  At the end of the
    evening he was completely drunk -- a perfect personality and voice for
    singing Bellman.
  
    Sven-Bertil Taube, Fredmans Epistlar & S�nger sjungna af Sven-Bertil
    Taube, EMI Svenska AB CDP 7483692, 1987.
 
    -- An older analog recording.  Sven-Bertil is not enough of a drunkard
    for my taste.  Others like him.
  
    Martin Best, Songs of Carl Michael Bellman, Nimbus records NI 5174,
    1989
 
    -- Martin Best is too sweet.  
  
    Another singer of Bellman with the personal experience to back up the
    songs is Cornelis Vreeswijk.  I have a record of his Bellman, but no
    CD's.  
 
    (Maybe someone else has the CD?)
   
    One of the neat things about Bellman is that he is almost timeless. 
    The Swedish rock group Imperiet recorded M�rk hur v�r skugga...,
    Fredmans Epistle 81:
 
   To Quarrelsome L�fberg, at the Danto Barrier,
   in the house of mourning, composed by the gravesite
   
   
   Mark how our shadow, mark Movitz, mon frere,
     One small darkness encloses,
   How gold and purple that shovel there
     To rags and rubbish disposes.
   Charon beckons from tumultuous waves,
   Then thrice this ancient digger of graves.
     For thee ne'er grapeskin shall glister
   Wherefore, my Movitz, come help me to raise
     A gravestone over our sister.
     
     ...
     
   So to her rest, from scuffle and dance,
     Quarrelsome L�fberg, your wife went,
   Into the grass where your furious glance
   Backward turns, thin-neck'd, on strife bent.
     From Danto Barrier taken to die,
   With her all our lusty merriment fly.
     Who now for bottles shall call?
   Thirsty she was, yet more thirsty am I;
     Thirsty we are, each and all.
     
   Fredmans Epistile 2 is much lighter:
   
     To Father Berg, concerning his fiddle
     
   So screw up the fiddle,
   Come, fiddler, quick, I say!
   Dearest sister, hey!
   Never say me nay,
   Say but yes and we'll be jolly.
   Sit down, man, don't dawdle,
   Caress thy silver string;
   Let the fiddle sing
   Till the rafters ring,
   Nor break it in thy folly!
   Thou sweatest.  A bath
   of brandy be thy solace,
   for underneath this roof
   Is Bacchus' palace
   -- cello noise --
   Without question
   'Tis thy profession
   Men to lead in pleasure's path.
   
   ...
     
   (Translations by Paul Britten Austin)
   
   -Bryan
   

    By Robert E. Dallos of the Los Angeles Times (copied from the Travel
    section of the Wilmington Delaware Sunday News Journal)

    Troldhaugen, Norway -- Not long before his death on September 4, 1907,
    Edvard Grieg was rowing near his beloved home here. He gazed up at the
    cliff and said, "Here I would like to rest."

    The composer was granted his wish. His ashes are buried in a niche cut
    out of a cliff overlooking the estate. Grieg's wife, Nina, who lived
    another 28 years, also is interred there.

    Grieg and his wife, who was a concert singer and who accompanied him on
    most of his travels, built the home at Nordasvannet in 1885. The name
    Troldhaugen means Troll Hill. The name was suggested by Mrs. Greig
    because the local people called the ravine that forms one of the
    boundaries of the site "Troll Valley."

    It was here that the leading men and women of the artistic world met
    every summer for 20 years. And it was such occasions that inspired
    Greig to write "Wedding Day at Trollhaugen."

    In the main house the tour begins in what in Greig's day was the
    kitchen and pantry. Today it contains a collection of Greig's treasures
    and memorabilia.

    There are also many trophies and ribbons, reminders of his many
    performances abroad. There are original manuscripts and letters.
    Greig's own conductor's score for his piano concerto is on display. One
    wall is convered with portraits of the maestro.

    There are only two other rooms on the ground floor -- the dining room
    and the living room, both basically left untouched. The rooms are
    filled with the many gifts Edvard and Nina received, including the
    Steinway piano they received on their silver wedding anniversary in
    1892.

    A few steps from the main house is the place where Greig went to get
    away from everybody, a small red one-room cabin. The modest working hut
    where Greig did his composing was built by the artist in 1892. He
    referred to it as "my little workshop." Several of his compositions
    were written there, among them a series of "Lyrical Pieces" for the
    piano.

    But because Greig bought the property so late in life, his most famous
    masterpieces -- his piano concerto, the Peer Gynt suite, the String
    Quartet in G minor -- were written elsewhere.

    The hut (it is closed to the public but its interior can be viewed
    through a large glass window) even was used after Greig's death. Danish
    composer Carl Nielson, guest of Greig's widow, wrote part of his violin
    concerto there.

    The tiny workshop stands today as it did a century ago with a stand-up
    piano and a small desk. On the desk is a Greig manuscript and a feather
    pen.

    When he went on his travels, Greig left a message on top of his work
    addressed to possible thieves. "Dear thieves," he started a polite
    note, and went on to beg any intruders not to remove the papers, as
    they were of no value to anyone other than himself.
                                     
    The museum, about 15 minutes' drive from Bergen, is open from May 2 to
    October 1. Admission is 10 krona.

Grieg's home is lovely.  It's all on a hillside leading down to a fjord.  The
architect really understood sunlight (I guess Norwegian architects have to
know how to get all the sunlight they can), so the house is wonderfully 
bright.  There are gardens and paths all over the place (tough for handicapped
access).  The gravesite is situated such that it catches the last rays of the
sun on summer days.

His studio hut looks out on the fjord.  There's a highway on the opposite bank
of the fjord, but there are sound/sight barriers that prevent it from spoiling
the scene.

There's a small hall built on the property where there are occasional concerts
and radio broadcasts, but it's so well sited (along with having a grass roof)
that you hardly notice it as you walk around.

    From: [email protected] (Dave Golber)
    Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic,rec.music.folk,alt.exotic-music,
	rec.music.classical,rec.folk-dancing
    Subject: "From Norway with Grieg" On Tour
    Date: 28 Mar 1993 04:07:13 GMT
    Organization: The Aerospace Corporation
 
    "From Norway with Grieg" Show to Tour U.S.
 
    A performance of Norwegian folk and classical music performed by some
    of Norway's best musicians and dancers, "From Norway with Grieg" was 
    created in honor of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Edvard Grieg. 
    Hauk Buen, the premiere master of the Hardanger fiddle, will be 
    performing the old authentic folk music that inspired Grieg to create 
    some of his greatest masterpieces. The folk dances that accompany the 
    Hardanger fiddle music will be performed by Karin Brennesvik and Reidar 
    Meinstad, two of Norway's finest folk dancers.  The other musicians
    will  be Solveig Kringlebotn, soprano, Ivar Anton Waagaard, piano, and
    Sigmund  Groven, harmonica.
 
    Performances
 
    2 April - Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C. 

    3 April - Orpheum Theater, New Orleans, LA. For more information on
    both  of these concerts, call the Norwegian Embassy in Washington D.C.
    at  (202) 333-6000.
 
    9-11 April - Folklore Village, Dodgeville, WI. Workshops and a concert 
    of the folk music and dance of Telemark, Norway, with Hauk Buen, Karin 
    Brennesvik and Reidar Meinstad. For more information call Folklore 
    Village at (608) 924-4000.
 
    14 April - Los Angeles area.  7 PM at the Armstrong Theater, Torrance 
    Cultural Arts Center, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance, California 
    90503. For more information call 310/781-7171.
 
    15 April - Great Falls, WI. For more information call the Norwegian 
    Consulate in Minneapolis at (612) 332-3338.
 
    16-17 April - St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN. A concert and workshops 
    in folk music and dance in connection with the Edvard Grieg 
    Sesquicentennial Celebration. For more information call B. J. Johnson
    at (507) 646-3179.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Sender: [email protected]
    Organization: St. Olaf College; Northfield, MN

    He [B.J. Johnson] can tell you anything you need to know about the
    whole event we're hosting.  Or, if you don't want to waste a
    long-distance phone call, email me.  I've got the brochure, and am
    playing in the final concert, so I do know *quite* a bit about the
    whole she-bang.
 
    --Andrea

    From: [email protected] (Kevin D Wright)
    Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
    Subject: Article text: Bjorn Again (about ABBA)
    Date: 23 Feb 94 15:45:15 GMT
    Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
 
 
    The following article is taken from the February issue (1994) of
    "Swedish Press" (publ. monthly by the Swedish Press Society, Box 1616,
    Blaine, WA 98230, for $20 per year).  At the top of the article are b/w
    photographs of Ace of Base, Erasure, and Abba.  (Please ignore my
    typos, I did.)
 
 
    "Hi, my name is Dave, and I like Abba."  That was the opening line of
    an article on Abba by David Jefferson in the Wall Street Journal last
    year.   Titled "The First Step to Recovery" the article notes that the
    Swedish pop group is hipper than ever "because the in-crowd has dubbed
    the 1970s its nostalgia decade...and selected Abba as the band that
    best epitomizes the aural accomplishments of the time."  Not bad for a
    band that disbanded more than a decade ago.

    The four members of Abba were all professional singers in their own
    right before they formed the quartet that has been called "the biggest
    selling quartet in the history of recorded music" selling more records
    even than the Beatles and more than Michael Jackson and Madonna
    combined. It all started in 1966 with a chance meeting.  One day, at a
    crossroads in Sweden, the Hootenany Singers (schoolboys who sang like
    the Kingston Trio, but in Swedish) bumped into the Hep Stars (rockers
    heavily influenced by Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley and the
    Rolling Stones).  A few hours later, Bjorn Ulvaeus (born April 25, 1945
    in Gothenburg) from the first  group and Benny Andersson (born December
    16, 1946 in Stockholm) from the second group wrote their first song
    together.  It was called "Isn't it easy to say."

    That song did not make big waves but Bjorn and Benny continued their
    collaboration and eventually started working with their publisher
    Stikkan Andersson, in his office "and we were expected to write hit
    songs."  In  the process Bjorn met singer Agnetha Faltskog (born April
    5, 1950 in Jonkoping) and Benny teamed up with vocalist Ann-frid
    Lyngstad (born November 15, 1945 in Narvik, Norway).  The romance
    between Bjorn and Agnetha and Benny and Anni-frid respectively slowly
    bloomed into a professional  relationship.

    At first the girls provided teh do-da-do-da background to Bjorn and
    Benny's Swedish top-of-the-pops creations. "Then we had a crushing
    desire to try our songs in pop-style in English."

    What the Abba historians consider to be "the first real Abba song" was
    made in 1972.  "She's My Kind of Girl" went unnoticed in Sweden but was
    a big success in Japan for "Bjorn and Benny and the Swedish girls" as
    Playboy records had labelled the disc.

    It was Stikkan Andersson who came up with the name Abba because he was
    tired of having to write "Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, and Annifrid" on every
    contract.  Abba was already an established name in Sweden at that
    time--for a herring product.  But it did not seem to matter much to
    the group. The general sense seemed to be that this pop-group would
    probably be quite short-lived.

    But the golden moment for Abba was soon to come--on April 6, 1974 at
    10:18 PM in the English town of Brighton, Abba won the Eurovision Song
    Festival with "Waterloo."

    Then came about eleven years and 250 million Abba discs.  That put
    Sweden more or less in the middle of the world map of popular music,
    especially in Australia where the band had its biggest success. 
    Abba's record company Polar showed a profit of 40 million Swedish
    kronor in 1977, making it Sweden's most profitable company.  In the
    same year Abba beat the record of most sold discs, which was until then
    held by the Beatles.

    When Polygram's "ABBA Gold" with the group's greatest hits was released
    in September two years ago, it quickly achieved triple platinum status
    in 10 countries, not to mention all the golds.

    Abba historians are watching with interest how the Abba revival is
    developing in the US which is the only market that the Abba members
    consider to have been a disappointment (despite a number one song,
    three other top 10 hits and nine additional singles that made the top
    30).

    Just about everyone has a favorite Abba song.  "Dancing Queen", "Take a
    Chance on Me," "S.O.S.," "Lay All Your Love On Me" and "The Visitors"
    have become dance/club standards world-wide and are but a few songs
    that have been performed by many other artists.  Erasure leads the pack
    with its hugely successful Abba-esque E.P. which topped the charts all
    over Europe and included that hit single and video "Take a Chance on
    Me."  An English studio band, Abbacadabra has done an entire album of
    Abba dance covers titled appropriately "Abba-Salute."  The Munich
    Philharmonic Orchestra has released an album of Abba Classics and in
    Pakistan sisters Sainta and Sabina sing Abba favourites in Hindi.

    The wildly popular Australian Abba-clone live act, Bjorn Again, is
    playing to packed houses all over Europe and is planning a U.S. and
    Canadian tour in 1994.  Bjorn Again is cashing in on Abba's signature
    harmonies, melodies and 70s fashion as it camps it up on state with
    comedy and corny Swedish  accents.

    Meanwhile, U2 has been playing an acoustic version of "Dancing Queen"
    on its recent Zoo T.V. tour.  Abba's Bjorn and Benny appeared with the
    group for this song last June when it performed in Stockholm to
    ecstatic applause.

    ABBA The Movie, which opened internationally in 1978 is being shown in
    theaters around the world again.  ABBAcadabra, a play of Abba music has
    been staged in Sweden.  (Abba's Frida climbed on stage for a finale and
    sang the closing number "Thank You for the Music" with the cast).  Abba
    Karaoke bars are popping up all over Europe.  Abba bootlegs are
    flooding the underground market once again.  And at Oxford University
    there's group of followers calling themselves ABBAholics
    anonymous--addicts of the 70s Swedish legends.

    The Abba revival has taken the old band members by surprise.  Agnetha,
    who made solo albums after the 1982 break-up of Abba, has made a film
    debut (with Gunnar Hellstrom in Raskenstam).  Apart from this she has
    withdrawn from  public life.  Bjorn and Benny, who have both remarried,
    are busy working on transforming Wilhelm Moberg's epic novel "The
    Emmigrants" into a musical. In 1986 they premiered the musical "Chess"
    that they wrote together with Tim Rice of "Jesus Christ Superstar" and
    "Evita" fame.  They wrote the score with the help of conductor Anders
    Eljas as neither Bjorn nor Benny can write notes themselves.

    Benny, who played the accordiaon at age 6 in a trio with his father and 
    grandfather, has also searched for his musical roots and made a couple
    of  albums with other accordionists.  He is also producing a new
    Swedish popstar called Josefin.

    Anni-frid who nowadays goes under the name of Frida is married to
    German-Swedish prince Russo Reuss and lives in Switzerland.  She still
    performs for environmental causes and recently at the December gala
    celebrating Queen  Silvia's 50th birthday.  She sang "Dancing Queen"
    which Abba performed 17 years ago when the king and queen were married.

    Asked if she had a musical dream a few years ago Frida replied, "yes,
    it would be fun to make a record with Abba again.  As we have been
    away from each other for so long and we have each had so many new
    experiences, the result could be exciting.  It is actually a dream."

    And a dream it will probably remain although Abba fans will continue to 
    enjoy this Abba revival and many more to come.  For diehard Abba fans
    there is the official Agnetha Benny Bjorn Frida Fan Club (c/o Corina
    Notenboom, Kortendijksestrat 55, 4706 CB Roosendal, Holland, membership
    $19/year), the official USA fan club (c/o Fitzsimmons, 3908 E Lupine
    Ave., Scottsdale, AZ 85260) and the still unofficial fan club (c/o
    Terry Burne, 300 West Hill St., #325, Chicago, IL 60610).
 
    -- 

   Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
   From: [email protected] (Yli-Kuha Kari)
   Subject: George de Godzinsky
   Sender: [email protected] (#Kotilo NEWS system )
   Organization: Tampere University of Technology
   Date: Tue, 24 May 1994 06:33:08 GMT
 
    George de Godzinsky, the grand old man of the Finnish popular music,
    died today at the age of 79.
 
    De Godzinsky was born in St Petersburg. During his career George de
    Godzinsky worked as an orchestral conductor, composer and pianist in
    several orchesters, among those the entertainment orchester of the
    Finnish broadcasting company  (Yleisradion viihdeorkesteri). He also
    composed music to 11 musicals and  64 films.
 
    Rest in peace

   --
   /Kari0

             COPENHAGEN, Denmark (Reuter) - Opera music proved fatally
    stressful for a cud-chewing mammal from the forests of central
    Africa. The okapi threw a fit, collapsed and died in Copenhagen
    Zoo as arias filled the air from a concert by the Royal Danish
    Orchestra.
             A zoo spokesman said the five-year-old okapi was overwhelmed
    by last Saturday night's singing and music at an adjoining park.
             ``Unusual sounds give wild animals stress and the okapi
    started to pant violently from shock when the opera music began.
    It threw a fit and dropped dead in its compound,'' he said.
             The okapi's mate and six-month-old calf were untroubled, but
    the orchestra offered to change the venue for future open-air
    concerts or erect sound-insulation devices if its music is
    deemed a threat to the lives of zoo animals.
    

    Re: .11 & .13:
    
    To: International Swedish Interest discussion list 
    From: Roberth Andersson <[email protected]>
    Subj:   Eurovision Song Contest
    
    Eurovision Song Contest was Saturday, half of the europe (maybe more ?)
    was sitting and looked at this spectacle... The first ten positions:
    
    1. NORWAY, "Nocturne", Secret Garden, 148 points
    2. SPAIN, "Vuelve conmigo", Anabel Conde, 119 points
    3. SWEDEN, "Se pa' mig", Jan Johansen, 100 points
    4. FRANCE, "Il me donne rendez-vous", Nathalie Santamarie, 94 points
    5. DENMARK, "Fra Mols til Skagen", Aud Wilken, 92 points
    6. CROATIA, "Nostalgija", Magazin & Lidija, 91 points
    7. SLOVENIA, "Priluhni mi", Darja Svajger, 84 points
    8. ISRAEL, "Amen", Liora, 81 points
    9. CYPRUS, "Sti fotia", Alex Panayi, 79 points
    10. ENGLAND, "Love city groove", Love city groove, 77 points (?)
    
    As you all can see, Norway got the prize and Sweden ended up at 3rd
    place, The swedish A'sa Jinder, played with the Norweigan group,  Not
    bad for Swedish presence. The Swedish Jan Johansen who was topranked
    before the show, promised to give his half prize to Norway if he won -
    he has norwegian ancestry...
    
    /Roberth Andersson