Monday, September 30, 2013

Lars Esbjorn's psalmodikon at Jenny Lind Chapel

John E. Norton. “Ecclesia Plantanda”: Emigrant Preacher Lars-Paul Esbjörn and The Beginnings of the Augustana Synod. Paper presented to the Augustana Heritage Association, Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas, June 19-22, 2008. http://www.augustanaheritage.org/AHA_Ecclesia_Plantanda_2008.pdf ... has a good summary of Lars Esbjorn's early life and musical training:
...He was born at Delsbo in Hälsingland, Sweden on 16 October 1808, and was orphaned at the age of seven. He was taken in by a 59-year-old domestic, Christina Enman, who had been a neighbor of his parents in Ede. She saw to his education, first in Hudiksvall, then at the liberal Gävle Gymnasium, and finally in Uppsala, where he was ordained in 1832. While still an Uppsala student, he became a teacher at Oslättfors, then accepted a call in 1832 to Östervåla in nearby Uppland. He soon returned to Oslättfors Mill in 1835 as chaplain and teacher at the new Hille elementary school.

During his time in Hille, he was also the school’s and congregation’s music teacher, and became deeply interested in four part music. In 1843 he was working with dean Johan Dillner at Östervåla on a new edition of Syréen”s ”Christeliga sångbok,” for the single-stringed psalmodikon. It was published in 1849, as Esbjörn and his party of 140 others left Gävle for America. His musical experience was the beginning of a rich musical tradition within the Augustana Synod and its schools.

Also some extended quotations in the footnotes from ms. sources ...

The psalmodikon on display at Jenny Lind looks like it was strung with one melody string and eight drones. Cf. instrument at Bishop Hill. Appears to be more or less the standard size, altho' I didn't measure it.

Directory of AHA essays at http://augustanaheritage.org/essays.php

Also: Miscellaneous links I've posted to Hogfiddle ...

Norton. “Ecclesia Plantanda” p. 5, n. 2

Rev. C.O. Hultgren, a seminary student at the time, delivered a delightful description of Esbjörn ́s early years in Andover, Robert Lincoln ́s mean-spirited pranks, and faculty tensions at Springfield, in notes to C.M. Esbjörn around 1907, now filed in the Augustana College Special Collections. He writes: “...In June 1854 Esbjörn and I went to Moline. My father had a pair of good horses, and I drove them. Esbjörn was happy, and in good humor. We soon came to a deep slough. The bridge was down, and the horses had to go on the side in soft mud. They came frightened and started to jump. Esbjörn was afraid, and jumped in(to) the slough, and sank up to his knees. We arrived safely on the other side. Esbjörn did not lose his patience. He said “we must thank God that no limbs were broken. The mire on my clothes will soon dry.” The heavens became cloudy and there was a heavy mist. I had never been in Moline, so Esbjörn had to show me the road...just the prairie. Three o ́clock and no Rock River. Esbjörn said “we are din God ́s hands. Halt and let the horses graze for a while.” We sat on the grass. He started to sing Psalm 33. I sang too. He said I had a better voice than he. He said mine was natural. He said he could not sing until (after) he became a minister. In Norrland, the students went from estate to estate and sang for money, etc. “I hired a student and went with him. He sang many songs. He sang one over and over a good many times in those eight years, but I could not learn it. After my first sermon, my hostess asked me why I didnt sing the Mass. I said to her “I cannot sing.” She said I should buy me a “mellodium” (psalmodikon?). I got a few pieces of wood and made one. I learned to sing and play. I also taught music. Now, in God ́s Name, we shall continue our journey.” The fog was very thick, could not see two rods in front of you. Thee was not the sign of a house. I asked him where to go. He pointed that way, and said “the Lord, as in Israel ́s time, will show us the way.” As it was getting dark, we saw the Rock River. The long grass waived over the horse ́s head. Ten o ́clock that evening, (we) crossed the Rock River into Moline. Mr. Peterson, the ferryman, asked us to stay that night, whch we did. No services that night as was announced in Moline. We came to Moline on Saturday. ... [Parentheses in the original.]

The note goes on with recollections of the Lutheran college in Springfield, where Hultgren was a student in 1859 and 1860, including a description of Robert Lincoln, the president's son, as a troublemaker.

Psalm 33 (Wallin?) -- Jag lyfter mina händer -- http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jag_lyfter_mina_händer This almost has to be Wallin's Psalm 33 (a paraphrase of Ps. 121 by by Jacob Arrhenius in 1694) because it fits the context so well:

I lift my hands Up to the mountain of God and the house, From them he sends aid And send out their light. I the Lord always leads, As earth and sky done; He hears me when I pray, And protects me everything fast. (Trans. Google)
Wikisource http://sv.wikisource.org/wiki/Jag_lyfter_mina_händer

Melodium an alternate spelling of melodeon. ... The Exhibitions and Fairs of Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, Volumes 1-5. Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association (Google eBook> describes "melodium" along with Seraphine as "imperfect, and must be greatly improved, bdefore they can take high rank among Musical Instruments." -- a reed organ operated by bellows -- "The low price, however, at which they are sold, and their applicability to the purposes of simple and Sacred Music, in the parlor or the vestry-meeting, will secure them a very considerable sale." keywords melodium = instrument

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Clayville Fall Festival / upcoming events / John Stinson's No. 2 in DAD-for-dulcimer / some thoughts on community

Hi everybody --

One of the best things we do in the dulcimer community in this part of Illinois is coming up next weekend. It's the Clayville Fall Festival, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, at Clayville Historic Site on Ill. 125 at Pleasant Plains. We hope to have people there both days playing and spreading the word about the Prairieland Strings and the Clayville Pioneer Academy of Music jam sessions. If you can come, please let me know, and I'll try to coordinate a rough schedule. Or just come on out and plop down under a tree whenever you find us!

In addition to music, the festival will feature artisans, craftspeople and artists, re-enactors, kids' activities, and brats, burgers and sodas sold by civic groups in Pleasant Plains. It's a nice village festival, and it's getting more and more like the old festivals at Clayville during Sandman State University days. More details at ...

http://clayville.org/clayville_fall_festival_2013

A couple of other things coming up:

-- Our "third Thursday" session of the Prairieland Strings is from 7 to 9 p.m. this coming Thursday, Sept. 19, at Atonement Lutheran Church, 2800 West Jefferson in Springfield. I'll send out more details directly.

-- Deanna and Pete Langheim will play for the mature mob show called "Road Show USA" Sept. 20, at 6 p.m., Sept. 21, at 1 p.m., and Sept. 22 at 1:00 p.m. At the Sacred Heart Griffin Theater, 1200 W. Washington St., Springfield. Admission is $15, and proceeds go to the Senior Center of Illinois.

-- No firm dates yet, but my presentation "Swing Low: Dwight Moody, an Original Crossover Music Artist" has been accepted for the 2013-2014 roster of the Illinois Humanities Council's Road Scholars speakers bureau. It's about spirituals, folk hymns and the beginnings of gospel music. Details at ...

http://www.prairie.org/bios/road-scholars/pete-ellertsen

JAM TUNES FOR CLAYVILLE

With an eye to the autumn fair and festival season now upon us, we've made an effort to get more fun, lively tunes that are easy to pick up at jam sessions into our repertory (or nudge them back into it if we haven't been playing them much lately). Here's a couple you can find sheet music for on line at ...

-- "Walking in the Parlor". -- trad. Appalachian -- http://www.terrylewisdulcimer.com/walking%20in%20the%20parlor.pdf

-- "Nutfactory Shuffle". -- by Gil Anderson -- http://www.suecarpenter.net/free-tab/nutfactory/nutfactory-shuffle.pdf

-- "John Stinson's No. 2". -- trad. Irish, reinvented as a mountain dulcimer jam tune in DAD! -- http://www.hsvmda.com/sites/default/files/tabs/JohnStinson2.pdf

I'll copy this email message to my blog Hogfiddle at http://hogfiddle.blogspot.com and put in hypertext links to background.

DULCIMER 'COMMUNITY'

Like other people who write and do public relations for a living, I've been known to throw around words like "community" without giving it much thought. But now and then comes a reminder there *is* a community of people who choose to make their own music on folk instruments hardly anybody else has ever heard of, and it's a nationwide community, no less.

The other day I got an email message from Nancy G. of Flat Mountain Dulcimers in eastern North Carolina, who said she was "shocked and honored" I had linked their version of "John Stinson's No. 2" to Hogfiddle a couple of years ago. Then she added, "I scrolled to the bottom of the blog to see who had written it. When I saw [the byline] 'Pete', I realized that I know who you are from attending workshops at WCU [Wesstern Carolina University]."

Which got me to thinking ...

I first heard "John Stinson's" in a jam session at Western Carolina, where I learned it from members of a dulcimer club out of Georgia -- either Macon or the North Georgia foothills, I forget which -- and some of my very best moments playing the dulcimer have been in jam sessions at Western, the annual "Dulcimerville" workshops in Black Mountain, the Indiana Dulcimer Festival, Gateway and Mike Anderson's winter weekend in Chillicothe, Ill. I even sat in once with a dulcimer club from Crossville, Tenn., when I pulled off at a rest area on Interstate 40 between Knoxville and Nashville on the Fourth of July weekend.

If that's not being part of a far-flung community, I don't know what it is!

So here's a link to the the Flat Mountain Dulcimers of Kinston, N.C., playing "John Stinson's No. 2" ...

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

"Gubben Noak" at Augie, 1870s / ** UPDATED x2 ** w/ link to sheet music in Wikimedia Common and Fredmans Sång N:o 35 / and lyrics to "Björnen sover" / guitar tab in Norwegian -- in D! and SAB in F

Oscar Fritiof Ander. T.N. Hasselquist: The Career and Influence of a Swedish-American Clergyman, Journalist and Educator. Augustana Library Publications No. 14. Rock Island: Augustana Library Publications, 1931.
The larger percentage of the Swedish population in the United States was agricultural, and it was not easy to convince farmers of the necessity of educating their children beyond the reading and writing stage. Many argued that education was detrimental, and that their children would become lazy and consider themselves too good for farm work. The Swedish=American youth did not always desire an education, declaring that they did not need to go to college to learn to plow. As for the girls, if they could cook, sew, sing in a choir, and play "Gubben Noak" (a simple piece played with one finger), they were considered accomplished by their neighbors. (70) [Parentheses in original.]
"Gubben Noak" [old man Noah] -- Fredmans Sång 35 -- by Carl Michael Bellmann is biblical parody that has become a favorite Swedish folk song and has been covered by generations of musicians from heavy metal bands to folk music troupes, performers of classical art song and student choirs. It is well known throughout Scandinavia, and I remember my Norwegian-American father whistling it after I came home from summer school in Oslo. Music at http://www.bellman.net/texter/sang.php?nr=35 on the Carl Michael Bellman Hemsida (homepage) website. It dates from the 1700s, and Noah's name is spelled variously. First verse below.

Fred Åkerström Gubben Noack.

Wikipedia at http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gubben_Noak -- first verse, as translated by Google, from

Old man Noach, Noach old man
Be a gentleman,: | |:
When he went out of the ark
Plant him on the ground
Great wine, great wine yes, yes
This he did.

Old Man Noah, baby Noah
was a gentleman
When he would eat
drop he potäta.
Old Man Noah, baby Noah
was a man of honor.

Bellman, an 18th-century poet of Stockholm who later wrote two cycles of drinking songs and whose work was well received in the court of King Gustav III at century's end, began in the 1760s by writing biblical parodies, including "Gubben Noak." The gist of the song is that Noah planted vinyards and got drunk when the biblical flood receded and the ark landed. The state church of Sweden was not amused. Says Wikipedia (again in Google's translation), "In 1768, the reactions were severe in the cathedral chapter in Lund and in a letter to diocesan priests tried to collect all copies of the old man Noach and similar biblical parodies of Bellman to have them destroyed." In spite of those efforts, and perhaps partly because of them, the song immediately soared to popularity and has remained popular ever since.

Music (in F) …

Björnen sover

Björnen sover, björnen sover
i sitt lugna bo. Han är inte farlig,
bara man är varlig, men man kan dock,
men man kan dock honom aldrig tro.

The bear is sleeping, the bear sleeping
in its tranquil stay. He is not dangerous,
only one is serious, but the fact is,
but the fact is he never believe.

Translation (such as it is) by Google

A couple of other versions:

"Life of Bellman" in Ulriksdals slottspark. A snippet from a play based on the life of Bellman, dramatizing -- and parodying -- the reaction of the state church of Sweden to Bellman and his poetry, Albin Flinkas, Janne Åström, Andreas Andersson, Johanna Cervin.

Gubben Noak med flickkören clavinova. Girls' choir in Betlehemskyrkan in Karlstad, 22 maj 2013.


http://nortabs.net/tab/3652/ -- guitar tab in D

http://vårakoret.no/download/Sanger/$Noter/Gubben%20Noah.pdf SAB (på norsk) in F

Saturday, September 07, 2013

Pioneer Swedish-American reminiscences / Käre Jesus, vi är här / Hit, o Jesu, samloms vi

When I first posted this in September I didn't make the distinction between two similar chorales, and wasn't able to get them straightened out in my mind till May 2014. See my post May 30, 2014, at:

http://hogfiddle.blogspot.com/2014/05/add-liebster-jesu-swedish-psalmbook.html

The two chorales are:

Both hymns, the first words of which are practically identical, most commonly use Ahle's tune LIEBSTER JESU. But Clausnitzer's gathering hymn was also set to a minor-key variant by Carl Wolfgang Briegel (1687) and got into the 1819 psalmbook with that tune.

I am not going to try to rewrite this post -- the information I got from the sources I consulted at the time was correct as far as it went, and the post stands as written -- but it is not the complete story. I am repeating this disclaimer here in order to (hopefully) minimize confusion.

,p.

C.J. Snodgren, "A Brief History of the Augustana Synod." The Augustana Synod : a brief review of its history, 1860-1910 (Rock Island: Augustana Book Concern, 1910). 25-27. Internet Archive. 2007.

http://archive.org/details/augustanasynodbr00augu.

... Of another congregation its minister wrote : "After a few months they began to pay attention to the sermon." Of another it is related : "The people were beside themselves with joy (i. e. over the visit of a minister). Services were announced for the following day (a Saturday) in the school-house, and all who could crawl or walk assembled. Many of them had lived there five and six years and during all that time had never heard a sermon. When they began the service by singing psalm 328 : 'Blessed Jesus, at Thy Word we are gathered all to hear Thee' (Hit, o Jcsu, samloms vi att ditt helga ord fa bora) [26] the singing was smothered by sobs and only after some minutes were they able to continue. -- -- ... [27] We have room for only two more samples : In a certain other congregation the service was carried out by one of the members. When they were through and on the way home, he called out: "Hold on, boys; I forgot to read the benedic- tion," to which they shouted back : "Save it till next time !" But in yet another a few settlers gathered in a private house to celebrate Christmas. They had procured a tree, and candles were placed in the windows. No minister was present, but a leader read the Christ- mas story in Luke 2, spoke a few heartfelt words and led in earnest prayer; and the simple service made such a profound impression on those present that all embraced each other and wept like little children. the memories and emotions that must have swept over that little gathering of pilgrims in a strange land! [Parentheses in the original.]


The melody is apparently a variant of the LIEBSTER JESU, WER SIND HIER by Johann Rudolf Ahle that's in LBW (No. 248) and other contemporary Lutheran hymnals [although, as so often happens, I can't quite hear the resemblance and don't want to push it too far]. The Augustana hymnal (1925) has Tobias Clausnitzer's words with a melody LIEBSTER JESU (No. 302) in D minor it attributes to Carl Wolfgang Briegel (1687). Same melody, in Em, in my copy of Johan Henrik Thomander Svenska Psalm-Boken Af År 1819 (No. 328).

Andreas Holmberg's blog Nätkoralboken at http://koralboken.blogspot.com/2012/10/kare-jesus-vi-ar-har-alt-koral.html has Psalm 328 in C minor and MIDI file under the heading Käre Jesus, vi är här (alt. koral) [dear Jesus, we are here (alt. chorale)] in a new translation that seems closer to the German:

Text: Tobias Clausnitzer 1663 (45 år) "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier", övers. Petrus Lagerlöf 1694 (46 år) "Hit, o Jesu, samloms vi", bearb./nyövers. Olle Nivenius 1984
Musik: Johann Rudolph Ahle 1664 (39 år)
Lyssna till J. S. Bachs version av koralen (BWV 633)
alt. koral Johann Crüger 1653 enligt 1939 års koralbok (i bearb. av J C F Haeffner)


Hymnary.org has this on the text:

Essentially a prayer asking for illumination by the Holy Spirit as the Christian community gathers around the Lord's Word, "Blessed Jesus" is a pre-sermon hymn by Tobias Clausnitzer (b. Thum, Saxony, Germany, 1619; d. Weiden, Upper Palatine, Germany, 1684). It was first published in the Altdorffisches Gesang-Buchlein (1663) and first attributed to Clausnitzer in the Nüremberg, Germany, Gesangbuch (1676). Catherine Winkworth (PHH 194) translated the text and published it in English in her Lyra Germanica (2nd series, 1858).

Clausnitzer graduated from the University of Leipzig and became a chaplain in the Swedish army. He preached two sermons at memorable occasions: when Queen Christina ascended the Swedish throne in 1645 and when the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years War, was celebrated in 1648. Clausnitzer became a pastor in Weiden in 1648, where he remained until his death. In addition to "Blessed Jesus, at Your Word," his creedal hymn, “We Believe in One True God,” is found in many modern hymnals.

And this on the tune ...
LlEBSTER JESU is a rather serene German chorale that is ideally sung in three long lines and in parts with light organ accompaniment. In rounded bar form (AABA') LIEBSTER JESU (also called DESSAU and NURENBERG) was originally one of Johann R. Able's “sacred arias,” first published with Franz J. Burmeister's Advent hymn text “Ja, er ist's, das Heil der Welt" in the Mühlhausen, Germany, Neue geistliche auf die Sonntage . . . Andachten (1664). The tune was later modified and published in the Darmstadt, Germany, Das grosse Cantional (1687) as a setting for a baptism hymn by Benjamin Schmolck that had the same first line as Clausnitzer's text: "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier." Because several sources say that LIEBSTER JESU was first associated with Clausnitzer's hymn in the 1671 Altdoifer Gesangbuch, it seems probable that the tune name derives from that hymn text.
http://www.hymnary.org/hymn/PsH/280

Notes by Jeffrey Sly on Bach prelude Leibster Jesu, 9th Sunday after Pentecost, 21 July 2013, Music @ St. Mary's Episcopal, Phoenix. http://stmarysphoenixmusic.wordpress.com/tag/liebster-jesu/:

Opening Voluntary: Chorale Prelude on Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier (BWV 731) – J. S. Bach (1685-1750)

Today’s opening voluntary is a chorale prelude on the hymn tune, Liebster Jesu, sung today as our offertory hymn, “Blessed Jesus, at thy word” (#440, Hymnal 1982). The original version of the tune was a composition of Johann Rudolph Ahle (1625-1673) and first appeared in 1664 paired with the text of an advent hymn. Ahle was born in Mülhausen, Thuringia and studied theology at the University of Erfurt from 1645-1649. He became the cantor of The Church of St. Andrew in Erfurt in 1646 and was later appointed organist of the Church of St. Blasius in Mülhausen in 1654. Ahle’s original tune, a somewhat florid and soloistic work, was later altered to a form more appropriate for congregational singing and was paired with the present text of Tobias Clausnitzer (1619-1684), Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier. It was republished in that revised form in 1687 with Clausnitzer’s previously-published text of 1663. It entered into English hymnody in the 19th century through the translations of Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878) and was first published in her work, Lyra Germanica of 1861. It was later included in The Chorale Book for England in 1863 along with its associated melody.


Wikipedia in Germany http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobias_Clausnitzerhas: "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier, dich und dein Wort anzuhören im Evangelischen Gesangbuch (EG) Nr. 161 (Melodie: Johann Rudolph Ahle, 1664, erschienen bei Wolfgang Carl Briegel, 1687)."

Swedish Wikipedia http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A4re_Jesus,_vi_%C3%A4r_h%C3%A4r says: "Enligt 1697 års koralbok användes inte den dåvarande melodin till någon annan psalm, men borde vara Ahles tonsättning med tanke på årtalet för kompositionen." [Babylon: According to 1697 year koralbok was not the former melody to any other psalm, but should be Ahles music' with a view to the year for the composition.]

Google translation of http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Käre_Jesus,_vi_är_här : "Dear Jesus, we are here is a hymn in three verses, with lyrics by Tobias Claus Nitzer from 1663 (Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier). In the year 1695 hymnal of Peter Lagerlof 1694 under the title "Hit, O Jesus, samloms we", a title which was unchanged in both the 1819 Act and the 1937 hymnals. For the 1986 hymnal was processed and partially nyöversattes hymn by Olle Nivenius 1984."


A Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1900) edited by George Grove. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Dictionary_of_Music_and_Musicians/Briegel,_Wolfgang

Briegel, Wolfgang by Carl Ferdinand Pohl

BRIEGEL, Wolfgang Karl, church composer, born 1626, originally organist at Stettin, and afterwards (see the title-page of his then published works) Music-Director to Prince Friedenstein in Gotha, and in 1660 Kapellmeister to the Duke of Saxe Gotha. In 1670 he was called to Darmstadt as Kapellmeister to the Landgrave of Darmstadt, where he remained till his death in 1710. Among the remains of Emanuel Bach was a portrait of Briegel, engraved by Nessenthaler; it represents a man of about sixty-five, of healthy and jovial aspect, and with no trace of the labour involved in so many serious compositions. Schneider (das Musik. Lied, iii. 155) says, that 'perceiving the fashion of solo songs like those of Ad. Krieger and the two Ahles to be on the wane, he returned to the composition of songs for several voices; he wrote, in fact, incessantly in all sorts of styles with much fluency but no originality, and with no adequate return for his labours.' His principal compositions consisted of sacred songs for several voices, mostly to his own words. One of his works alone, for 3 and 4 instruments (Erfurt, 1652), contains 10 Paduaner, 10 Gagliarden, 10 Ballette, and 10 Couranten. His one secular work, 'Musikalisches Tafel-Confect' (Frankfort, 1672), consists, according to its quaint title, of 'pleasant Conversations and Concertos.' His Hymn-book for Darmstadt appeared in 1687. His published works, twenty-five in number, begin with 'Geistliche Arien und Concerte' (Erfurt, 1672), and end with 'Letzter Schwanen-Gesang,' consisting of twenty Trauergesänge for four or five voices (Giessen, 1709).


Bach Cantatas website, in entry "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works Es ist genung, so nimm, Herr, meinen Geist," [http://www.bach-cantatas.com/CM/Es-ist-genug.htm] ment. "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier (1664) (EGK 127, 151) with slight modifications by Wolfgang Karl Briegel (1687) and texts either by Tobias Clausnizer (1618-1684) or Benjamin Schmolck (1672-1737). Settings by Bach: BWV 373, BWV 633, BWV 634, BWV 706, BWV 730 and BWV 731."

The Organ Music of J.S. Bach: Works based on chorales (BWV 599-771 etc.) By Peter F. Williams Google eBooks

Amazon.com lists: Blessed Jesus, at Thy Word. Chorale motet for full chorus of mixed voices a cappella. [Words by] Tobias Clausnitzer, English version by Catherine Winkworth. ... [or rather, Wolfgang Carl] Briegel, 1687 Unknown Binding – Import, January 1, 1938 by Wolfgang Carl Briegel (Author) Be the first to review this item


Bach’s Chorals. Part III: The Hymns and Hymn Melodies of the Organ Works, by Charles Sanford Terry (Cambridge University Press, 1915-1921). 3 vols. Vol. 3. http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=2057&chapter=197674&layout=html&Itemid=27.

Thursday, September 05, 2013

Songs of Sweden ed. Gustaf Hägg (1909) -- audio and PDF files of sheet music

UR Research > Eastman School of Music - Sibley Music Library > Musical Scores >

https://urresearch.rochester.edu/institutionalPublicationPublicView.action;jsessionid=1742903573A0D3B19A5929A3022A1418?institutionalItemVersionId=24179

Songs of Sweden : eighty-seven Swedish folk- and popular songs / collected and edited by Gustaf Hägg ; the English translations by Henry Grafton Chapman. New York: G. Schirmer, 1909.

links to PDF file I downloaded tonight


Audio Archive > Community Audio > Swedish songbook

http://archive.org/details/SwedishSongbook

SONGS OF SWEDEN
87 folk and popular songs
English translations by Henry Grafton Chapman

Tracks 01-29 various artists
Tracks 01-25 Swedish
Tracks 26-28 English
Tracks 29-29 instrumental

TITLES
Fågelns visa (The bird's song)
När jag blef sjutton år (When I was seventeen)

NOTES
All but one of the songs are from the 1909 book "Songs of Sweden".

The "Swedish Nightingale" Jenny Lind (1820-1887) toured the United States from 1850 through 1852. "Songs of Sweden" has a number of songs from her repertoire. "Jenny Lind mania" — from another source — is a music hall number from 1850 that makes light of her emergence as the world's first modern celebrity.

The recordings of “The bird's song” and “When I was seventeen” feature the lyrics of Henry Grafton Chapman. An article in the January 26, 1913 edition of the New York Times noted his death while praising the quality of his translations.

"Ack Värmeland du sköna" (O Vermeland thou lovely) is a Swedish folk song, best known in the English-speaking world as the instrumental jazz standard "Dear old Stockholm". The song, first published in 1822, was given additional lyrics by F. A. Dahlgren and included in his 1846 play "Värmlänningarna".

VÄRMLÄNNINGARNA

Swedish-American audiences were mainly interested in theatrical productions dealing with Swedish country life such as the popular musical "Värmlänningarna" (The People of Värmland). The libretto for "Värmlänningarna" was written by F. A. Dahlgren. The music was composed by Andreas Randel or adapted from traditional sources. This six-act melodrama, written in 1846 and set in the province of Värmland, was a love story about a young peasant couple who, with considerable difficulty, overcome hostile parents and local convention. Audiences identified closely with the hero and heroine, seeing in the plot the sorts of difficulties familiar in their own lives.

The Swedish title of the play has a variety of spellings.

SONGS FROM VÄRMLÄNNINGARNA Ack Värmeland du sköna (O Vermeland thou lovely) I villande skogen (All in the dim forest) Jag sjunger och dansar (I sing and I dance) F. A. DAHLGREN SONG
Å jänta å ja' (The maiden and I)

"Värmlänningarna" was frequently performed in Minneapolis and St. Paul during the 1910s and 1920s. The Pence Auditorium at 10th and Hennepin was located in the former home of Hennepin Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church.

contents viii

9 Jag går i tusen tankar (142 A thousand things I ponder)

Jag sjunger och dansar 180


University of Michigan > Music Library Scores Collection

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/s/scores/5260591.0001.001/5?q1=132&view=image&size=100

Title: Songs of Sweden : eighty-seven Swedish folk- and popular songs / collected and edited by Gustaf Hägg ; the English translations by Henry Grafton Chapman.

Collection: Music Library Scores Collection

Hosianna, psalm for Advent / miscellaneous Swedish pioneer reminiscences

Emory Lindquist. "A Swedish Immigrant Woman Views Her Home in Kansas, 1870-1881: The Letters and Diary of Ida Nibeius Lindgren." Swedish Pioneer Historical Society 16.1 (January 1965) 3-17.

http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/npu_sahq&CISOPTR=3083&CISOBOX=1&REC=14

However, there were times of joy for Ida Lindgren admist the austerity of life. The first CHristmas in Kansas was spent in the hoe of Ida's brother, Magnus Nibelius, and his wife, Johanna. They sang familiar Swedish psalms and the well mown Christmas anthem, Hosianna. Ida was surprised and pleased to receive a rocking chair from her husband. Included among her other gifts were two vegetable dishes, three dozen clothes pins, a pair of gloves, a knitting bag, and some cloth to cover a small sofa belonging to the children. Ida gave her hosts a soft pillow and two pictures of Gustaf Vasa which had been brought from Sweden. (7)

Hosianna, Davids son. Psalmen Hosianna, Davids son (sjungen på advent och palmsöndagen)(Sv Ps 105) sjungs mäktigt vid Oasrörelsens sommarmöte i Borås 21 juli 2009.

Wikipedia at http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosianna,_Davids_son says [in Google translation]: "Hosanna to the Son of David is an advent song and hymn originally composed for four-part mixed choir and organ around 1795 by Abbé Vogler for Swedish text. [1] It is one of the most sung Advent songs and the first hymn in the Finnish and Finland-Swedish hymnal 1986. / The song was part of a work on the Passion story, as Abbé Vogler built in St. Clara Church in Stockholm, March 20 1796. "

C.J. Snodgren, "A Brief History of the Augustana Synod." The Augustana Synod : a brief review of its history, 1860-1910 (Rock Island: Augustana Book Concern, 1910). 25-27. Internet Archive. 2007.

http://archive.org/details/augustanasynodbr00augu.

Of another congregation its minister wrote : "After a few months they began to pay attention to the sermon." Of another it is related : "The people were beside themselves with joy (i. e. over the visit of a minister). Services were announced for the following day (a Saturday) in the school-house, and all who could crawl or walk assembled. Many of them had lived there five and six years and during all that time had never heard a sermon. When they began the service by singing psalm 328 : 'Blessed Jesus, at Thy Word we are gathered all to hear Thee' (Hit, o Jcsu, samloms vi att ditt helga ord fa bora) [26] the singing was smothered by sobs and only after some minutes were they able to continue. -- -- At another place, when a visiting minister arrived and introduced himself to one of the members, the latter replied : "Oh, that's d--d fine now we can have communion." At another the members invited all the strangers to share their frugal meals, showed a cordial interest in each other, associated as members of a single, happy family and shared their temporal and spiritual experiences with one another. The spirit resting over the little flock was that of the early church at Jerusalem. At another place, when the minister returned to his quarters after service, the host and a few of his confreres had placed a pan of whisky on the stove and set fire to the ingredient to prepare a hot drink "after church." The minister affected alarm, grasped the burning pan, rushed to the open window and launched the whole thing into space, calmly remarking: "A good thing I came, otherwise the house might have caught fire." [27] The disappointed "thirsty souls" looked hard at the floor and said nothing. In a letter from still another congregation we read in part as follows : "Lord, Thou Physician of Israel, Thou that art able to do far more exceedingly than we can pray or think, send us a shepherd according to Thy heart ! Lord God, do not permit Thy church to remain empty of both preacher and hearers, but be gracious unto us and hear the sighing of our hearts. Man does not live of bread alone, but of each word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord. Send us Thy word and Spirit; yea, send us what can save our souls. - When the watchman is absent, the deceitful tempter is not discovered so readily. Help us ere we perish !" We have room for only two more samples : In a certain other congregation the service was carried out by one of the members. When they were through and on the way home, he called out: "Hold on, boys; I forgot to read the benedic- tion," to which they shouted back : "Save it till next time !" But in yet another a few settlers gathered in a private house to celebrate Christmas. They had procured a tree, and candles were placed in the windows. No minister was present, but a leader read the Christ- mas story in Luke 2, spoke a few heartfelt words and led in earnest prayer; and the simple service made such a profound impression on those present that all embraced each other and wept like little children. the memories and emotions that must have swept over that little gathering of pilgrims in a strange land!


Dag Blanck. The Creation of an Ethnic Community: Being Swedish American in the Augustana Synod, 1860-1917. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 2006. 116.

"Lars Furuland has noted that [Pehr] Thomasson was probably the most widely read author of Swedish fiction before Strindberg (453,000 copies of his Kung Oskar och skogvaktaren were printed in numerous editions), and in 1866 a Swedish magazine commented that emigrating peasants in Gothenburg would buy a Bible, a hymnal, and works by Thomasson before boarding the ship."

Thomasson, 1818-1883, was a former farmhand who became a successful poet and novelist. Promoted Swedish peasantry and national history.


Also, from "Swedish Lutheran pioneer missionaries" by C.J. Petri. The Augustana Synod : a brief review of its history, 1860-1910 (Rock Island: ABC, 1910). on page 12:

We should fail to state the whole truth were we to limit our thoughts and considerations to these early pioneer ministers. In the various settlements there were many laymen who, burning with a zeal for the Lord and his cause, labored faithfully for the upbuilding and the extension of the Church. They were not men with any theological training, but they knew their Bibles, loved the Catechism and ad- mired the hymns and songs of the Lutheran Zion, and, filled with the Holy Spirit, they practiced their faith, prayed to their God and preachedaboutthewonderfulrichesofgraceinChristJesus. They laid a good foundation for the future upbuilding and development of the Swedish Lutheran Church in America. The past history of the Augustana Synod has verified the wisdom and nobility of their labors. WetheirchildrenwillbythegraceofGodhonortheirmem- ories and faithfully maintain their godly life, their spiritual power, and loyally serve Christ and his Church.

Monday, September 02, 2013

"Nutfactory Shuffle," a cool jam tune to inspire us for Prairieland Strings and the New Salem trad music festival

Blast email sent to Prairieland Strings and Clayville Pioneer Academy of Music lists a couple of minutes ago ...

Hi everybody --

A reminder -- we have two events this week: Our regular "first Tuesday" session of the Prairieland Strings dulcimer club and the Traditional Music Festival all day Saturday in the historic village at New Salem. Instead of holding our Clayville Pioneer Academy of Music teaching-and-learning jam Saturday in the barn at Clayville, we're encouraging all our Clayville folks to join us at New Salem. Here are the 4-W's on both:

-- Tuesday, Sept. 3, 7-9 p.m. at Atonement Lutheran Church, 2800 West Jefferson, Springfield. Prairieland Strings "First Tuesday." We'll look at more Christmas music, and easy, fun tunes we can play at New Salem.

-- Saturday, Sept. 7, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site, off Ill. 97, Petersburg. Traditional music festival.

And Deanna and Pete Langheim will play in a benefit show for the Senior Center of Illinois at Sacred Heart Griffin at the end of the month. Details below.

PRAIRIELAND STRINGS

At Tuesday's meeting, I plan to bring an old-fashioned boom box and play Jean Ritchie's "Aunt Rhodie R.I.P.," a sort of a virtuoso requiem for a gray goose that incorporates a little bit of everything from "Jesus Loves Me" to the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, to inspire us all. And we'll choose a Christmas ensemble from Steve Eulberg's collection "Deck the Halls" for our annual Advent performance. So check out Steve's website at

http://owlmountainmusic.com/shop/deck-the-halls/

But mostly we'll focus on getting ready for New Salem by identifying fun tunes that are easy to play. To help us get in the mood, I'm sending around a link to a video clip of one we haven't played too much lately. It's "Nutfactory Shuffle" by Gil Anderson, and we don't want it do drop out of our repertory! Here's the video, uploaded by YouTube user Dustin Mathieu ...

http://youtu.be/Y9Waqm-YnwU

"Nutfactory Shuffle" dates from the early 1980s, and it's become a great favorite at dulcimer jams all over. Sue Carpenter tells the story on her website at

http://www.suecarpenter.net/free-tab/nutfactory/nutfactory-and-gil-story-2.pdf

"Gil built dulcimers and sold his instruments at craft fairs. At one of those fairs at a mall, Gil’s booth was in front of the Nut Factory. Few people paid him much attention, being more concerned with designer labels than with traditional instruments, so he took out his dulcimer, and as he played, he came up with this piece. Not sure just what to call it, he had a stroke of genius as he watched people shuffling out of the Nut Factory across the way, popping peanuts and cashews in their mouths; he decided to dedicate it to all those shoppers who rush about their business with no heed for the pleasures and beauty of dulcimer music."

Get her tab, listen to a MIDI file, download a instruction sheet with "Tips for Playing and Smoothing Out Your Strums" or do all three from Carpenter's directory at

http://www.suecarpenter.net/tab-nutfactory.htm

NEW SALEM

Since our first-Saturday monthly learning jam session at Clayville conflicts with the New Salem Traditional Music Festival this year on Saturday, Sept. 7, we're especially inviting the Clayville folks to join the Prairieland Strings at New Salem. It lasts from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and we'll gather somewhere at the lower end of the historic village between the Lukas-Ferguson house and Dr. Allen's. Here's the Illinois Times blurb on the festival (which also includes a Friday night concert):

http://www.illinoistimes.com/Springfield/event-10370-traditional-music-festival.html

SENIOR CENTER BENEFIT

Deanna Langheim announces she and Pete will play the song "Illinois" for the mature mob show called "Road Show USA" Sept. 20, at 6 p.m., Sept. 21, at 1 p.m., and Sept. 22 at 1:00 p.m. At the Sacred Heart Griffin Theater, 1200 W. Washington St. Admission is $15.00 at door and proceeds go to the Senior Center of Illinois.

Sunday, September 01, 2013

Carl Michael Bellman - Fredmans Sång 21 [Så lunka vi småningom / Away We Trot] in Swedish and English

One of Bellman's best and, I think, most accessible to modern listeners. Learnable. Playable [in D for dulcimer no less]. And lyrics available translated into English!

Bellmann by Thord Lindè - Fredmans sång Nr.21.MP4. Från fantastiskt Bellman-konsert på vackra Nyckelviksdagen 4.September 2011 med Thord Lindé och Bacci Blåsare, uppfört i Billardhuset.på Stora Nyckelvikens herrgård. Text för sången kan efterläst i Bellman-sidan:

http://www.bellman.net/texter/sang.php?nr=21

... där också finns information om Thord Lindé. [Wild mike and mannered performance but nice ambience.]

Fredmans Sång 21 (Så lunka vi Småningom). Very nice duet in Swedish:

http://youtu.be/omzlyixC-yo

Martin Best - Away We Trot, Song 21 Bellman in English. Martin Best sings the "Away We Trot" in English (Songs of Fredman no 21 (original title: "Fredmans sång No 21" written by the Swedish poet and composer Carl Michael Bellman(1740-1795)

In comments:

Forcystus85 3 months ago
I want the lyrics for this!!

Gunvor Gördel 3 months ago
Away we trot, soon, ev'ryone from this our noisy bacchanal, when death calls out: "Good neighbour, come, this hour-glass, friend, is full!" Old fellow, let thy crutches be, thou youngster, too, my law obey, the sweetest nymph who smiles on thee, shall take thine arm today! Is the grave too deep? Then take a sip! Raise the brimming goblet to thy lip! Yet a sip! Ditto one, ditto two, ditto three... then die contentedly!
Reply · in reply to Forcystus85

[adds three more verses]

Forcystus85 3 months ago
Excellent! Many thanks!
Reply · in reply to Gunvor Gördel