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REVIEW FROM www.livingtradition.co.uk

 


 

 

 
KVIVEN DUO - Kvakksalvar-Guri 

KVIVEN DUO - Kvakksalvar-Guri 
Private Label KVI01 

Kviven is a mountain in Norway that used to separate the communities of Nordfjord and Sunnmøre, right up until a tunnel was built to connect them up. Not only did the mountain link people, it gave two of them an inspiration for their name. Kviven Duo comprises Britt Pernille Frøholm and Jorun Marie Kvernberg, and they both play fiddle and Hardanger fiddle, that uniquely Norwegian contraption with the sympathetic strings

Both are experienced musicians with a great history of both solo and orchestral work, and here they draw on the inspiration of the folk tales and legends of their region. It’s not just the tunes, but the people who composed them (and popularised them) that are commemorated here. Indeed, the album’s title recalls a travelling quack medicine woman who was also a noted feisty fiddler. There are other intriguing glimpses into the past, such as the wedding fiddler Myre-Mons who was knocked out by the flying thumb of a rifleman who was saluting the bridal couple!

There is a range of material here, from springer to marches; reinlander to waltzes, and much more. The playing is note-perfect throughout, with each player feeding off the other to produce a sound in which the tunes ring out as clearly as the beams of the midnight sun. This is music played as it was intended, clearly representative of its homeland, both music for dances and for listening to. Norwegian music maybe doesn’t have as high a profile as that of some other countries, but this release will surely encourage a lot of people to find out more about it.

Bra gjort og tusen takk for dette!

www.kvivenduo.no

Gordon Potter

 

This review appeared in Issue 136 of The Living Tradition magazine