poesifele: fiddle poetry

IMG_6147Premiere:    Darian Andreas, hardanger fiddle. Pittsburgh, PA, 2009.

Duration:    12:00

Difficulty:    Intermediate

Instrumentation:    Hardanger fiddle or scordatura violin

      I. varme dans (fire dance)
      II. tungsinn (melancholy)
      III. stote (stomp)
      IV. lengsel (longing)
      V. virvle (whirling)


Program Notes: poesifele is a suite of five short pieces exploring many aspects of the folk music of Norway and using a traditional folk instrument, the hardanger fiddle. The hardanger utilizes a variety of tunings and has five resonant strings under the fingerboard, creating an edgier sound than a standard violin. Each instrument is hand-made, and the playing style involves much ornamentation and double stops. Hardanger music is generally used to accompany dancing; poesifele casts many of these traditional folk elements in a new light. Fire Dance explores modal tendencies found in much Norwegian music. Melancholy utilizes a common dance rhythm (a telespringar), with beats of differing lengths (short-long-long). Stomp is in an asymmetrical meter, often emphasized by the player(s) stomping the beat pattern during performance. Longing contains strong dissonances found in folk music through the use of double stops. Whirling combines elements of the earlier movements in a heavily rhythmic closing section.

Scores are available for $12. Purchase here.

Recording performed by Darian Andreas.