| In Norway a great deal of attention has been directed towards the division of the country into two musical traditions, connected with the two fiddle types. Naturally the hardingfele has inspired the greatest interest, giving to both the instrument and its music a status as a national symbol almost on a par with that of the stave churches and Viking ships. It is important, therefore, to remember that the hardingfele is a variant of the violin and must be the younger of the two in Norway. This does not preclude the possibility that medieval bowed instruments may have existed in parts of Norway, and may have contributed both musical material and bowing techniques to the violin and hardingfele during their formative period (Blom 1985; Sevåg 1975).
The hardingfele became decorated and fitted with an additional set of sympathetic strings. Produced only in Norway, and then mainly in the rural areas, it soon became a distinct artifact of decorative Norwegian folk art. The early and rapid establishment of a comparatively stable area for this instrument, tells of old cultural borders and communication links.
The violin, which remained in, or captured, the rest of the country, was generally called fele in continuation of a medieval tradition which was both European and Norwegian (fi¶la, feyle etc.). In parts of Trøndelag and Northern Norway fiol was much used. This was the predominant term in written DanishNorwegian of the 17th and 18th century, and often applied on fiddle makers signature labels in old home made instruments of both kinds, also in Southern Norway. Harding-fele (harding-, hardang-, hardeng-) is documented only from 1840 (Myhren 1988). This term owes to the need for a demarcation against the violin. For the same reason the violin was often called tysk-fele, dusin-fele, or flat-fele (German-, dozen-, flat-fiddle), particularly in border areas, but also more commonly within the hardingfele area. The first term points towards the area of origin for the majority of imported violins. The second may owe to the fact that cheap violins were imported by the dozen. The third comes from the form of the body whose bottom and belly were flatter than those of the old hardingfeler. For folk music use, there may have been as many violins made in Norway as hardingfeler, and with as many degrees of amateurism or expertise in their construction as are found with the latter. However, the need for expert violin makers was smaller due to the possibility of purchasing imported violins; therefore no distinct center for folk fiddle making developed.
Characterization of Norwegian fiddle traditions generally assumes the existence of a major musical border line between the two fiddle areas. This gives the impression that the-character of the music is strongly influenced by the respective instruments. And many may have experienced the music that way. Possibly, however, the hardingfele districts would have shared a similarly distinct music even without the sympathetic strings of the fiddle.
The musical difference between the two areas is often expressed as the opposition between flat fiddle tunes of a fairly regular form, dominated by repeated eight measure motives, and hardingfele tunes characterized by short motives which are varied and repeated. Furthermore the single line melody of the flat fiddle is contrasted to the drone-like two part structure of the hardingfele tunes. This is real enough with appropriate reservations, one being that the majority of marches in both areas have a comparatively regular form and an extensive use of triadic melody motifs. The other extreme is found with the halling tunes of both
areas; they have remained largely uninfluenced by eight measure motives and triad melody, and within the measure each beat has the same weight. It is in the springar-pols genre that we find the greatest differentiation of structure, both in melody, rhythm, and form. It is apparent that many of the differences derive from the fact that great parts of the flat fiddle area have absorbed and retained stylistic influences other than those typical of the hardingfele area, for example the regular form structure. That does not preclude that the type of springar considered to be oldest, is best documented on both sides of the old border between the hardingfele and flat fiddle areas on the west coast, namely in Sunnfjord by the name Jølstring, and in Nordflord by the name Gamalt. The tunes may be in double or triple time or alternating between both. As in the halling tunes, each beat of the measure has the same weight, but the tempo of the springar is much faster. There is every reason to believe that this springar type is older than the old border between the two fiddle areas, established sometime in the 18th century. Important structural elements of this springar type survive in several local variants of today's springar in western Norway (see also Blom 1981, pp. 301 and Bakka 1985, pp. 77).
A great number of different fiddle tunings are also old features that were shared by the two fiddle areas. Their musical function would be difficult to understand if the two-part melody line was not also shared. The development towards single line melody which has gone furthest in the fiddle area, appear as tendencies also within the hardingfele tradition.
Finally it is worth noting that the particular tonal feature called neutral intervals, can be documented in all types of older Norwegian folk music (Sevåg 1974). A normalizing process has been going on over a long period, and it may have reached approximately the same stage within both fiddle traditions. To find strong examples of the old tonality today, one must search for specific performers. Recordings of such fiddlers are found in both fiddle traditions, and many are represented in the two Oppland volumes of this edition. |
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