Øyonn Groven Myhren has a distinctive and captivating voice. She is a folk singer with a long track record, a rich repertoire and several first prizes from the Landskappleiken. She is particularly known for exploring ballads. In “Haugtussa – a story in songs”, together with the musicians Rasmus Kjorstad and Tomas Nilsson, she has set Arne Garborg’s poem about Haugtussa from 1895 to music. In the opening song “Til deg, du hei” a vibraphone rings throughout the track. The ringing, metallic sound of the vibraphone gives one a somewhat sacred and floating feeling that fits very well with the supersensual world that Haugtussa lives in. A repetitive phrase is played in different keys, which helps to free the music from a tonal center and open up the up. Above the vibraphone, a willow flute whistles with so much air in the tone that it sounds as if the sound is coming from a great distance. A deeper fiddle gradually comes in and becomes a clear counterweight to the bright willow flute. In the first minute, the musicians have established a musical, magical microcosm. The listener is invited into an atmospheric world that is full of mystery, and it is basically this mystery that we cling to throughout the eleven tracks on the album. CONTRIBUTOR: Rasmus Kjorstad plays several of the instruments heard on the disc: langeleik, harding fiddle, fiddle, octave fiddle and harmonica, which he plays in this photo… Photo: Knut Utler while Tomas Nilsson plays dulcimer, glockenspiel, vibraphone and “blue pile instrument”. Photo: Knut Utler Psychic budeie In the poem, we hear about Veslemøy, a young girl who grows up on Jæren, and who has psychic abilities that mean she can see the inner powers of people. She gets visions of the future in the form of dreams and hallucinations, and has insight into a world inhabited by supernatural creatures. Arne Garborg writes that she can see both goblins and gnomes, ghosts and trolls, and “the stranger with long hair”. Her ability to see clearly makes other people skeptical and fear her. Since she is a tenant in a heather field between three mounds, she is nicknamed Haugtussa. The story depicts what it is like to be an outsider and how it can be experienced to be at odds with one’s own inner feelings. Blåhauginstrument The tone setting does not contain any outrageous drama, but instead goes through the narrative with open sounds, wonder and mystery. I feel that I am forced to slow down in order to be present in the music, and I think it is a positive feature of the music that he makes me stop and breathe more slowly. Langeleik, lyre, harmonica, glockenspiel, various fiddles, and what the musicians call the “blue heap instrument”, chime in the album and transport the listener into a strange and magical sound universe. Blåhaugen is, in Arne Garborg’s poem, the abode of the underground creatures. AWARD-WINNER: Øyunn Groven Myhren won the Spellemannpris in the Folk Music category during the 2003 awards together with Odd Nordstoga. Photo: Morten Rakke / SCANPIX Unbelievable text Myhren sang richly decorated melodies, a flood of frills and ornamental notes, something that keeps my attention as a listener. The downside to the intricate melody lines is that they tend to sabotage the lyrics. It simply becomes difficult to hear what is being said. Words slide into each other, and the accentuation can sometimes sound strange and foreign. Since the album is a setting of Garborg’s poems, the lyrics have a central place. Then it was experienced as somewhat frustrating that I am unable to grasp the textual content without having the poem opened in front of me. If I don’t use all my energy to listen to the lyrics, but rather listen meditatively, I still manage to be led into the dreamy and enigmatic sound universe that Haugtussa lives in. news reports Illustration: Rune Mortensen / Grappa Title: “Haugtussa” Artist : Øyonn Groven Myhren. Grappa Published: 2023 Hello! I am a freelancer and folk music critic for news. Do you have any tips for something I should have heard, or feedback on something I’ve written? Feel free to send me an email!
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“Haugtussa” by Øyonn Groven Myhren – Reviews and recommendations
