Oddly enough, there were clear skies for the Östebybruk spelmansstämma…harpa-players often speak of “Österby-weather”, meaning scattered showers that prevent many of the outdoor activities.
Things were pretty different this year from previous years. First, there was the Uppland Schottis dance competition. Dancers perform at four different venues throughout the day and are judged on execution and styling. Folk-costumes required! Although there were a couple of last-minute entries just before Stage Three:
The highlight of the day was the handing-out of the awards for everyone who had “played up” for Riksspelman (Fiddler of the Realm) The silver medal is a huge honor…you have to pull off three or four tunes with correct, location-specific, traditional styling in front of a jury made up of some of the country’s best players. 15 players managed the feat this year. As the medals (Zorn-märken) are given out, someone reads off the reasoning behind the award. “For danceable and tradition-rich playing on (instrument)”. “For exceptional tone-quality and personality of tunes from (district)”. And so forth. Then each one played a tune.
We don’t know all their names, but the guy with the accordion comes from about as far north as you can get in Sweden…Pajala (PIE-a-la). He flew down to “play up” last weekend, flew home, played a couple of gigs (one last night), flew down again this morning, got his medal, played two tunes, and headed back to the airport…he has a dance to play for tonight.
TWO Zorn medals in gold (a sort of lifetime-achievement award), to Nisse Nordström and Olov Johansson.
And Sheila’s e-friend lydia ievins, from Boston, got a bronze, which is really good for your first time “playing up”!
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