@ts2101 "Fanitullen", or "The Devils Tune" was heard for the first time during a wedding in a valley in Norway in 1724. When the toastmaster went down to the cellar to get more beer. In the cellar the toastmaster saw a man sitting on the barrell of beer playing this tune on a fiddle held the wrong way around, pressing the neck of the fiddle against his chest and stomping the beat on the barrell with a horse hoof. The fiddler was the devil.
This is the most beautiful version of fanitullen I have ever heard. He captured the depth, the revolt, the playfulness of this tune. Most people play it politely without the danger, without the edge.
I love the smile and the song is played flawlessly. I watch this video every couple of months just to put a smile on my face. Superb. I love this song and his rendition is perfect.
George Millet solaas is over three hundred years old. Not many people know this. His people's kind go back a thousand years and are the spawn of Bragi.
In the slow twilight of the bare mountain plains, not sure if you're hearing a fiddle from afar or if it's just the wind gently pulling the mist up the hillside. It's actually this guy, inside the mountain, playing Fanitullen as trolls, goblins, necks and beautiful maidens with long bovine tails stomp around in circles. Go the other way.
I love this! My family came from Hardanger in Norway, where music like this was played a lot. Although I think some people won't like the shrieking sounds that sometimes come from the fiddle, those sounds make me love the melody even more. This is music that I really can relate to, although I'm only a 21 year old girl. I guess this kind of music makes me think of my family. :) Wonderful version of Fanitullen!! :)
I live in Hardanger. My family (Isak Botnen Skaar) invented the Hardingfele. Not exactly sure how it would pan out, but he's either my great-great-great-etc. grandfather, or the brother of my great-great-great-etc.... Small world.
The problem with sheet music (as with Old Time Appalachian music) there just isn't the notation to cover everything that is going on. This is the kind of music that you have to learn by listening and copying. Sheet music played to modern orchestral values gets the notes but loses the soul.
It’s actually customary and tradition to learn by ear with the Hardanger Fiddle! But lots of sheet music exists too. Many tunes can be found at HFAA.org
The origin of this type of Norwegian folk music is very old and it dates back to antiquity - to the world of the Phoenicians. It was preserved deep in the heartland of Norwegian culture - in the remote valleys that didn't saw much contact with other cultures. Way back in time before the waves of Christian Lutheran Puritism swept over the country - Norway was very much a hedonistic country - with heavy drinking and everything that follows in that path. Especially at weddings, that usually lasted for days, jealousy and pride and old unsettled scores would often end in fights - sometimes with the use of weapons such as knives. It sometimes ended really tragically. The instrument of choice was the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle as it was loud and rhythmic - so you could dance to it. The hypnotic feel to this intricate kind of melody and rhythm would sometimes send the virotouse into a trance where the instrument itself seemed to take over the control of the musician - and the melodies would go on and on without ending. Those strange vibes could fire up the people involved and with consumption of alcohol in addition, things could get out of hand and have a tragic ending. The Hardanger fiddle music and the fiddle itself - was by many God-fearing Christians regarded as the instrument and the music of the devil himself - since it had these hypnotic qualities. It's been told that sometimes the players could not stop by themselves - and had to be forced to lay down their instruments and brutualy waken up to come out of this hypnotic trance. And now this special tune itself is connected to these devilish myths surrounding this type of music. The story goes that at one such ongoing fight at a wedding were two men were being tied together with a belt - each one holding a knife trying to outdo the other - this melody first occurred. As this fight went on upstairs, one other man went down in the cellar to fetch more beer. As he came down he said he saw the devil himself playing this very tune on a fiddle while sitting on a barrel of beer and holding the fiddle the wrong way while beating the rhythm with his hoofs on the barrel. This melody came to be known as "Fanitullen" - meaning "the tune of Fanden" - "the tune of the Devil. " Myths, or stories like these did not help the culture of this type of folk music. It was very often suppressed and forbidden by puritan Christians and by the Lutheran State Church. This music came close to extinction and had a long way back to being generally accepted and loved. Nowadays it is being regarded as our genuine cultural heritage - even though not many are able to fully understand it - because of it's intricate nature. This more modern version of "Fanitullen" is one of the most accessible of these tunes for foreigners - as it has a relatively clear melody and a steady pattern of rhythm. That is because a fiddler called Odd Bakkerud reworked this tune for a competition: "Landskappleiken" in 1968 - and made a more modern, and not so weird version. And this modern version is what we hear here. In 1972, a folk group called "Christiana Fusel & Blaagress" made a pop-version of this traditional tune much in the same way as British groups like "Steeleye Span" and "Fairport Convention" took British folk music and gave them a modern makeover in the 70's. In 1993 another Norwegian folk music group called "Bukkene Bruse" did a similar modern recording of the tune.
The origin of this type of Golden RU-vid Commentary is very old and it dates back to the nineties - to the world of the forums. It was preserved deep in the heartland of 4chan culture - in the remote topics that didn't saw much contact with other posters. Way back in time before the waves of SJW's swept over the internet - The internet was very much a informative place - with heavy debates and everything that follows in that path. Especially on forum discussions, that usually lasted for days, controversies and butthurtedness and un-based shadow-banning would often end in lawsuits - sometimes with the use of legal aid such as lawyers. It sometimes ended really tragically. The un-vetted access to information and the internet itself - was by many Zuckerberg-fearing SJW's regarded as the propaganda-machine of Hitler himself - since it had these red-pilling qualities. It's been told that sometimes the debatters could not be censored by Zuckerberg - and had to be forced to lay down their keyboards by algorythms.
I heard this years ago and got interested in such instruments, found the Viola D'amore (a very similar instrument) and now, I've finally got one and love it! I think this was the first place I saw such an interesting 'Sympathetic string Violin' and so thanks!
There was a Norwegian viritouso called Ole Bull that got quite world famous in the 17th century. I believe he was the very first to bring foreigners attention to the Norwegian folk music. People thought that he had an extra violinist hidden behind the curtain when he performed because of these extra sympathetic strings on the Hardanger fiddle.
I love these so much that I feature a Hardanger fiddle in one of my novels, The Great Restoration. He's a traveling tent musician who kept a diary in the late 1800s to early 1900s. (Wish I could have found a great HF photo to use for the cover!)
@QuantumVenger Story is from a wedding in Norway in 1724. It's said the womenfolk used to bring shrouds to parties n those days. Ådne Sindrol and Levord Haga got into an argument. They were tied together with a belt and given a knife each. As they were fighting the master of drink went to fetch more ale. In the cellar he saw someone sitting on the keg. This person was playing a fiddle,backwards, holding the pointy end to his chin..and playing fanitullen, while tapping his hoof against the keg.
It is a violin - but with 4 extra "sympathetic strings" that are not actually being played - but they works as drones that are automatically being activated when playing the violin. It's a type of violin that is only being found in Norway - and it's called : "Hardanger fele."
@@kitkatfu1908 Violin and fiddle are synonyms. A Hardanger fiddle/violin is different from a normal fiddle/violin but I think it's reasonable to say it's a type of violin.
In addition to the comments by 'worlock93', note that the bridge is much flatter than the "ordinary" fiddle, allowing bowing of 2 or even 3 strings at once. It's especially noticeable after the 2:18 mark, where you hear a lower-pitch "drone" while the higher-pitch part moves.
The vibrations of the principal (bowed) strings causes the bottom strings vibrate and sound in sympathy. The simplest example is the tuning fork. If you take a tuning fork tuned for the note "A" strike it and hold it against a stringed instrument the strings also tuned to "A" will begin to vibrate in harmony. There is also some other complicated stuff going on with harmonics and overtones, but that's the basic explanation ;)
Eric Sutherland - what she tries to say is that the sound of the Hardanger fiddle is very loud - as it has 4 underlying strings working as drones - in addition to the ordinary 4 strings that plays the melody. When the famous Norwegian violinist - Ole Bull - introduced this instrument to a wider internasjonal audience that hadn't heard of it before - it was very often considered a fraud. Many thought that it was two players in action - one man upfront that was standing on the scene playing while another was hiding behind the curtain.
As an old norwegian black metaller, I'll just say it - this was the first black metal tune to come out of Norway. It's literally called the dance of Faen/Satan/the Devil, ffs.... And for at least 150-200 years, the use of Harding fiddle was banned in norwegian churches, as the sound of it was thought at the time to promote dance, drink, promiscuity and violence. All hail the metal fiddlers!
> hypnotic Be very careful-- translated, the name of the piece is "The Devil's Tune" -- don't allow the devil to seduce you away. Always check that the fiddler has feet, not hooves! :-)
For any one who thought this sounds funny, check out Valkyrien Allstars, a band of three playing hardingfele on anything from old tunes to new selfinvented material. Start with typing "å gjev du batt meg" in the search field, the top result is a good recording of it :)
Well... ...now THAT was different. I had to see and hear one being played for reason that I just read the David Lindley plays the thing in addition to the 2 or 3 dozen other stringed musical instruments that he, allegedly has mastered and, plays. Now I get to also look up the following: The cittern, bağlama, gumbus, charango, cümbüş, oud, and the weissenborn, Lindley also plays bouzouki ztiher, guitar, bass and bass guitar, lap steel guitar,, banjo, fiddle/violin and the mandolin
