| The tunes
The music on this CD is in its original form from the Rödö area in Jämtland. The tunes have all turned up one by one during the last few summers. Exactly where they all come from is, never the less, somewhat uncertain. During the long summer evenings they have, phrase for phrase, repeat for repeat, developed until finally they have taken the form in which they are here presented for you. At the start they were presented by our spelmanslaget as tunes by the little known and perhaps even mythical fiddler from Vike, Ol Persa. It is said that an old book of music and notes had been found. The truth is that in recent times Ol Persa tunes have given rise to much speculation regarding, mainly the obscurity of the circumstances of his life. There is very little bibliographical information to be found. Those who perhaps know something are keeping very quiet about it. The main line of questioning now, is to whether Ol Persa was a real person or just a myth. It is rumoured that he immigrated to America towards the end of the last century. This is why our spelmanslaget plan a trip to the USA to retrace Ol Persas footsteps. Apart from this, we can point out that these tunes were tempered to their present form in an ancient cultural environment close to Tidbrandsholmen which was the sight of an early fortress dating from the Middle-ages and where many burial mounds from the Iron-age can still be seen. Here in this pre–historic setting, with all the historical and cultural influence of bygone times is Rickards cottage. The tunes have certainly been inspired by the conditions of the old times; the drudgery, the labours, the sorrows and the manifestations of joy. The question of whether or not the tunes can academically be classified as folk music, i.e. "music that has no known originator" we leave unanswered and we, without a second thought welcome them to the already rich treasury of Jämtlandic music. I would like to say a big thank you to my fellow musicians for tailoring
and clothing these tunes that were, when we started working with them,
so shamefully naked and shy.
Östersunds Spelmanslag In 1993 the spelmanslag was first formed after studying Jämtlandic
tunes at a study-circle lead by Rickard Näslin . After only
a year there were over 40 members. Men and Women musicians from Östersund
and the surrounding districts. During the 5 years that have passed we have
given many performances, mostly locally but also in connection with the
annual "Great Lake celebrations", Music-weeks and the Kluk festivals.
The last three years we have gained first degree honours for teams at the
Gregoriekappleik. In 1997 we not only gave a concert but also played at
the dance during the Falu Folk Music Festival. We have produced two music
cassettes. Ense stråk and Ömse drag and a CD-record that was
very well received by both the critics and the public.
Nils Ohlsson from Krokom, when only a boy took part in accordion
competitions where he distinguished himself for his phenomenal speed of
playing. Is a many-faceted musician
Peter Roos from Hackås has played music since he was a child and is one of the regions most promising young spelmen. He was awarded the title of Riksspelman in Delsbo in 1991. During his teens he concentrated on an education in classical music but later devoted more time to folk music and teaching. Between the years of 96-98 he became, in Stockholm, under the leadership of Ole Hjort, as a qualified teacher of violin, specialising in folk music. He is also a well-known winner of the Näcken competition 97-98. Since the autumn of 98 he has worked as violin teacher in Östersund and has also taken over the leadership of Östersunds spelmanslag. On top of this he freelances in the Irish group Tajt where he plays together with Nils Ohlsson. Recorded in December –98 at Thomas Ljungqvists Studio and at Nya
Caféet, Jamtli.
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