My Norwegian Musical Adventure
Lower School Music Teacher Patty Clark traveled to Norway in the summer of 2023. This article is based on a presentation she gave at All School Meeting on May 17, 2024.
INSPIRATION
Perhaps you are familiar with “In the Hall of the Mountain King” from Peer Gynt by Norwegian composer, Edvard Grieg? This piece inspired me to take a musical journey to Norway, the land of my ancestors, and immerse myself in the land, culture, and musical inspirations of Edvard Grieg. I had traveled to Norway numerous times through the years, but never before with musical goals in mind! I was fortunate to link up with Sarah Nagell, a Norwegian-American singer and fiddler who helped me plan my trip and accompany me on my musical adventure.
TUDDAL SCHOOL
After flying to Oslo, my first stop was Sollia (a mountain village in Telemark, south of Oslo), where I visited Sara’s music classes. Her young students taught me Norwegian children’s songs and I taught them some of my favorite American children’s songs and games. After months of late night Norwegian study and a smattering of Norwegian through the years, I was able to understand a bit of the conversation and translate some of the lyrics, but whenever I was stumped, a cute little 7-year old boy translated Norwegian into English for me!
PIPE ORGANS
Some folks travel to Europe to see grand cathedrals, but while in Norway, I enjoyed visiting small, country churches, and I had the privilege of playing some of their pipe organs. In addition to attending a service in a traditional wooden Stavkirke in Lom and an outdoor mountainside chapel outside of Lillehammer, I played small, sweet pipe organs in two quaint village churches in Tuddal and Sollia. I also visited a tiny chapel that welcomes in “St. Olav’s Veg” pilgrims for meditation and respite as they hiked through the mountains.
ZOOMING TO SWAMPSCOTT
An exciting and surprising event was zooming in from Sollia, Norway, to Swampscott, MA, to perform live for a First Church in Swampscott worship service. Joined by her daughter, Freya, Sarah sang and fiddled with her folk singer mother-in-law Ellen, while I played organ. (I later was told that moments before I arrived, a mouse had come running out of the organ, and I’m certain that had I known ahead of time, there would have been no musical broadcast, just shrieks from me!) It was incredible to share music at such a distance and we were amazed that it was actually possible to achieve this meaningful international music connection.
GOAT FARM
The next several rainy days were spent with singer and goatherder, Ellen, at her mountainside goat farm in Sollia. After the herd was moved up to their summer farm, or “seter”, a short distance away, we visited their new home, helped milk the goats and accompanied them as they were led out to graze. What’s this have to do with music, you may ask? Much of the traditional Norwegian folk music repertoire is based on music from these summer farms, and indeed, much of classical Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg’s music was inspired by the traditional music of goat, cow, and sheep herders!
LANDSKAPPLEIK
This brings me to the most exciting leg of my journey: the Landskappleik Norwegian national folk music competition for singers, dancers, and instrumentalists in Lom. While in Sollia, Sarah, Ellen, and I had prepared music to perform at this festive celebration of Norwegian culture and spirit, and I had previously joined the Norwegian Folk Musicians’ Union, which allowed us to enter the competition. Our trio was called “Seterjentens Kammermusiklag” (a very rough translation is goat herder girls from the summer farm chamber music group). Ironically, as I prepared for this trip, I delved deeper into my family history to discover that my great-grandmother had been a “Seterjenta” from Lom before emigrating to Iowa to join her accordion playing husband also from the Lom area!
CHOCOLATE COMPETITION
We heard and saw many wonderful performances in Lom, but one of my favorites was the “Chocolate Competition,” held in a small, outdoor amphitheater, featuring kids (under 16) who got up on stage as little fiddlers, miniature accordion players, lively child dancers, and marvelous young singers, one of whom was Sarah’s daughter. All performed eagerly for the promise of a gigantic chocolate bar!
RECOGNIZE ANYONE?
At the competition, I saw numerous fiddling and dancing performances. One of the fiddlers bore a striking resemblance to one of our favorite teachers here at GUS (look for the fiddler the third from the right). Apparently, Mr. E. has some hidden talents!
NIGHT MUSIC
While in Lom, we rented an old traditional Norwegian farm house that was perched on a mountainside. We would stay up late into the night, sharing meals, practicing, and singing songs, adults and kids alike. Norway is sometimes called “The Land of the Midnight Sun,” because in the summer it’s light all day and all night, so staying up late makes a lot of sense! What fun! There was a huge, large screen tv in the farmhouse, but thankfully, it was on for exactly 10 minutes at the start of our visit, and then was never seen again! Between the view and the music-making, we were set!
PERFORMANCE + SPEECH
At the Landskappleik, we combined traditional folk melodies with improvised accompaniments, and composed music by Grieg, interspersed with Ellen’s goat calls, Sarah’s fiddle and reed flute, and my piano, to create a one of a kind musical arrangement. It was nerve-wracking to perform but absolutely exciting and exhilarating! One of my proudest moments was introducing the group with a prepared speech in Norwegian that I wrote myself!
GOODBYE TO NORWAY + MORNING MOOD
After saying goodbye to my musical companions, I spent my last night in Norway alone in our very beautiful, yet very remote mountain farmhouse. The next morning I awoke to a view of an expansive valley and distant mountains that took my breath away, and I was reminded of another piece by Grieg, “Morning Mood,” also from Peer Gynt, a perfect ending to my Norwegian musical adventure.