Misc. links to psalmodikon articles in Denmark, Sweden, Maine and southeastern Minnesota

1. 2. Kirsten Ostenfeld. "Psalmodikon - et dansk musikpædagogisk eksperiment." http://dvm.nu/files/musik_forskning/1978/mf1978_03.pdf.
ca. 30 pages. Published in 1978.

2. Hans Lundgren. "Östervålapräst grundade församling i USA" Upsala Nya Tidning Jan. 8, 2009. Article on 200th anniversary of Lars Esbjorn's birth in Swedish newspaper. Excerpts:

Esbjörn tog psalmodikon med sig till USA, ett slags folklig föregångare till gitarren. Johan Dillner hade uppfunnit ett siffernotsystem så att vem som helst kunde spela på instrumentet. L.P Esbjörn transkriberade också noter för psalmodikon. Musiken förbättrade sången och spred psalmerna.
Håkan Nilsson, dagens kyrkoherde i Östervåla, fascineras av den dådkraftige Esbjörn:
- Han förtjänar verkligen att lyftas fram. När han kom tillbaka till Sverige år 1863 var han en stor man också inom kyrkan. Han hade tänkt sig återvända till Dellenbygdens blå berg, men dåvarande kyrkoherden i Östervåla, just Johan Dillner, dog och Esbjörn ersatte honom.
* * *
I Östervåla har för övrigt gator uppkallats efter de två samt kyrkoherden Forssell.
200-årsfirandet av Esbjörns födelse har redan inletts i Östervåla. På hans grav på gamla kyrkogården brinner ljus varje dag och under sommaren skall där finnas färska blommor hela tiden. Officiellt startar firandet söndagen den 6 april med en kontraktshögmässa till hans minne.
- Intresserade inbjuds det veckoslutet bygga sitt psalmodikon med en expert som kursledare, säger Håkan Nilsson.
I sommar besöker ett 70-tal studenter från Augustanasynodens collegekör Sverige. De kommer till Östervåla kyrka och Uppsala domkyrka i början på juni. I början på juli besöker biskopen Ragnar Persenius Östervåla.

3. Matthew Shippee, contractor, Maine Arts Commission, Traditional Arts Division, "Report On Discovery Research Fieldwork in the Swedish Colony" June 2001. Cultural Directory, Maine Swedish Colony. http://www.geocities.com/mscguide/shippee/">http://www.geocities.com/mscguide/shippee/ Excerpt quotes Alma Huddleston, who plays piano or keyboard to accompany singing in Covenant church:

Alma's regular repertoire consists of some Swedish hymns which have become so popular in other Christian churches that most people don't know them as "Swedish" hymns. These include: "How Great Thou Art," "Day by Day," and "Children of the Heavenly Father." These and most hymns sung at the church are in English. Alma says that, in contrast with even 10-20 years ago, now she only plays other "really traditional Swedish hymns" two or three times per month. She speculates that the reason for this is lack of familiarity with the language and music. "If people at church can't sing the songs we don't want to play them," she says. And, she adds, "Even at Midsommar, when we sing both the American and Swedish Anthems, the Swedish one gets quieter and quieter every year because fewer people know it."

It is a telling sign of the times to hear Alma lament that, "I play the old Swedish hymns at funerals more than any place else now. A lot of the old people and their families want that music."

Still, Alma feels that Swedish music will continue to have some presence in the church. She says she finds the rewards for playing it are great, even in the face of a fading tradition: "When we do sing those old hymns in church I love it. I really love to hear the older people sing them because you can tell how meaningful it is to them."

A psalmodikon is on dispaly in the New Sweden Museum. "It is roughly 40 inches long and has markings indicating finger positions. It most closely resembles a dulcimer, but with only one string."

4. On a website maintained by the "Friends of Wasioja," a local historical society in southeastern Minnesota, an account of an "old-fashioned Christmas service at "the historical Baptist Church" in Wasioja, Minn., preserved and maintained by the Dodge County Historical Society. Cite as from Don Green, "Christmas at the Wasioja Baptist Church," Dec. 19, 2008. Unheated building with 10 inches of fresh snow on the ground. Greene writes:

Marlyn Schroeder from Mantorville brought her grandfather's psalmodikon and did a solo, Jeg Er Sa Glad. It was very unique, and she shared the history of this instrument. It is a single-stringed musical instrument. It was developed in Scandinavia for simplifying music in churches and schools. Beginning in the early 1800s, it was adopted by many rural churches in Scandinavia; later, immigrants brought the instrument to the United States. At the time, many congregations could not afford organs. Dance instruments were considered inappropriate for sacred settings, so violins were not allowed. The psalmodikon, on the other hand, was inexpensive to build, was not used for dancing, took up little space, and could be played by people with little musical training. Its slow, melodic quality worked well with the hymns of the period. Examples of older printed music from these churches often have numbers written over the words. These corresponded to numbers painted on the fret board of the psalmodikon. This allowed players who could not read standard musical notation to accompany hymns. As churches saved money for organs, psalmodikons became less common. By the late 20th century, they were rarely seen outside of museums. Marlyn also brought her violin and was accompaniment for the carols, and also played a violin solo, Ashokon, a Civil War melody.

Not a bad summary. Nice color.