Peter Puma Hedlund is considered Sweden’s leading traditional player
of the modern chromatic nyckelharpa, having won the title World
Champion twice, in 1992 and again in 2000. He earned the coveted
designation Riksspelman (Fiddler of the Realm) while still in his
teens. Peter and his nyckelharpa are a commanding presence whilst in
the act of bringing forth music. Pure magic. When he has gone as far
as technique can take him, Peter probes deeper to complement
technique with powerful personal interpretation. His tones remind
one of older sounds, and rightly so, as he has studied and played
with many of the bygone masters. Strong musical traditions nurtured
him as he grew up in the province of Uppland, just north of
Stockholm. He plays nyckelharpa for fun and states this repeatedly
when asked questions about his style and interpretation. Peter’s
technique is unsurpassed. His exceedingly precise playing is
characterized by deep murmuring tones, liquid cascades of ornaments
and flourishes and gives the uncanny perception that there is more
than one of him playing at once.
Justly proud of his position in the realm of Swedish traditional
music, Peter is gradually expanding the horizons of nyckelharpa
expression. In his frequent role as an instructor, he takes the
opportunity to influence and nurture the growth and development of
the next generation of nyckelharpa players. He also “makes” tunes
which are quickly gaining favor among today’s players. Peter’s
musical career spans roughly 30 years. He has been actively
performing, recording and teaching nonstop just about his entire
adult life. Home base is Iste, Hälsingland (a four hour drive north
of Stockholm), with Karin, also a musician, and their two sons Jonas
and Mathias.
The modern chromatic nyckelharpa, neglected and almost forgotten in
the 1940s and 50s, is blossoming as never before both in Sweden and
elsewhere, especially the USA.
"Vägen" (2002), his critically acclaimed solo album, was followed
in 2003 by "Another Way" where he invited eight friends to join him
in a masterful elaboration of his music.
—Kim Harten, issue 24 at www.blissaquamarine.net, summer 2004:
"I am a HUGE fan of Scandinavian folk music so was delighted to have
been sent these CDs by nyckelharpa player Peter Puma Hedlund. For the
uninitiated, a nyckelharpa is a Swedish instrument rather like a
fiddle, but with keys, and strapped around the player like a guitar
instead of being played under the chin.
Vägen ("The Way" or "The Road" in Swedish) is a recording of solo
nyckelharpa. In the sleeve notes Peter states the nyckelharpa is
usually played as part of a group nowadays, and whilst he thinks this
is good, there are aspects of its sound which go unnoticed when
played with other instruments, and he wanted to make this CD to show
how beautiful a single nyckelharpa can sound. He has certainly
achieved that, with this collection of mostly traditional tunes and a
handful of new compositions in the traditional style. Various types
of traditional tunes are represented here - polska, schottis, vals
(waltz), gånglåt (walking tune), marsch (march), all played with
astounding virtuosity. If you're one of those who dismisses folk
music as raw and amateurish, I suggest you listen to Peter Puma
Hedlund, who plays with the skill of a classical musician (this is
not uncommon for folk musicians in the Nordic countries, I have
found. Many of them are classically trained. Not sure about Peter
Puma Hedlund, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was). The tunes
themselves often hint at classical melodies, for example Polska Mot
Trötthet (I translated this as "Polska Against Tiredness"; "Polska
for Exhaustion" it says on the inside cover so I wasn't far wrong),
but despite this, it is still undoubtedly folk music. One of the
tracks here is Slängpolska efter Byss-Calle, but not the more well
known one as performed by Väsen, JPP and even Eliza Carthy. The
latter played it as part of a medley on the Rice album, except she
didn't call it by its real name, just referred to it as "Swedish". I
have a lot of respect for Eliza Carthy and think it's excellent that
she recorded that piece, but just wish she'd have credited it with
its correct title!
The sleeve notes of Another Way state that prior to Vägen there had
never been a major CD featuring solo nyckelharpa, but now that this
has been done, it's time to "take another road, choose another way".
This other way involved getting a whole band together to accompany
the nyckelharpa; Mats Andersson (keyboard, clarinet, pump organ),
Karin Hedlund (recorder), Marit Blomqvist (cello), Olle Bohm
(percussion), Bosse Nordenfelt (double bass, electric bass) and Sven
Fredriksson (guitar, accordion), as well as the two Irish musicians
Frankie Lane and Leo Rickard, on dobro and uillean pipes
respectively. There are only a handful of traditional tunes on here
but the new material is written in the traditional style. The
arrangements are a mixture of traditional and modern, with additions
such as country-ish and bluesy influences and modern drumming. None
of this spoils the music though (although purists might think so).
Whilst there are Irish musicians in the band, there isn't a real
discernible Irish influence on the music, and the uillean pipes often
sound more like the Swedish bagpipe. A Scottish influence is
detectable in Älgmarschen, with the style of drumming which is like
that of Scots military bands."
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