Røta
On this brilliant album, violinist Ragnhild Hemsing takes us on a tour of her native Norway. Here, she plays both the violin and the Hardanger fiddle, the country’s traditional bowed instrument. Folk music joins art music in a clever programme that finds Norwegian composers Ole Bull, Edvard Grieg, Johan Svendsen and Johan Halvorsen rubbing shoulders with traditional folk melodies. Halvorsen’s popular “Passacaglia after Handel” sounds terrific on the Hardanger fiddle, and the Grieg Lyric Suite has real magic. There are fine collaborators here, but the show is all Hemsing’s—and she shines.
J. Halvorsen: Norwegian Dance No. 2
J. Halvorsen: The Song of Veslemøy (Arr. for Hardanger Fiddle and Piano)
Grieg: Ved Mannjevningen, Op. 22
The Wedding March of Myllarguten (Traditional Tune from Telemark)
Bjøllelåtten (Traditional Dancing Tune from Valdres)
Kjeringe I Snødreve (Traditional Tune from Valdres)
Gamal Bonde (Dancing Tune from Valdres)
J. Halvorsen: Sarabande con Variazoni