Hans Fredrik Jacobsen – Svadilja (Heilo, 2022)
Distinguished Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Hans Fredrik Jacobsen focuses on the delightful sounds of the willow flute on his fifth album, Svadilja. Indeed, Jacobsen was attracted to this instrument at an early age, and he has become an expert player as well as a skilled flute maker. In fact, he made a video that shows you how to make a willow flute that you watch here.
Although “Svadilja” is a solo willow flute recording, it is a captivating album, full of charming melodies made with seven unique willow flutes, with different lengths, using diverse keys to generate variations. Moreover, Jacobsen recorded this album in a forest, surrounded by musical friends from the natural world. As a result, Jacobsen’s sound engineer captured the lovely songs of a wide range of birds that you can hear on the album.
To create the appropriate atmosphere, the recordings were made at Krokskogen (eastern Norway), during a couple of pleasant, calm sunshine days in the transition between May and June in 2021, with Audun Strype soundproofing the entire project.
The material selected includes traditional willow flute pieces, together with Jacobsen’s very own compositions and adaptations of traditional material. All the songs were recorded with a fresh willow flute, made by Jacobsen, accompanied by the birds, insects and the forest environment.
Hans Fredrik Jacobsen says about the experience: “The silence during recording made the birds and insects come through together with the flutes. It was wonderful to play alongside them! Although they were not active all the time, I got a clear and warm feeling that they responded to my music, which in turn was inspiring and touching. And I responded as good as could when they sang to me! One of Norway’s foremost bird experts, Helge Kvam, listened through the record to try to identify the birds present. He found 21 different species. They were all a part of making the experience at Krokskogen strong and unforgettable.”
The physical format of this album, released on CD, is highly recommended. It includes a thick booklet with information about the songs, willow flutes and details about the birds.
Track listing:
- I skogen 1:34
- Skrømt 2:46
- Nøkken danser (trad e. Marius Nytrøen) 1:22
- Vidde 3:16
- Kom mai / Vil du koma til Rinden (W.A. Mozart / trad e. Eivind Groven) 1:18
- Gull i munn 1:40
- Gammal krok 1:59
- Grom 2:38
- Isterviepipa (trad e. Marius Nytrøen) 1:25
- Intro Svadilja 1:13
- Svadilja (trad e. Ingeborg Hansen) 1:27
- Outro Svadilja 1:56
- Kyrja (trad e. Marit Holmen) 2:22
- Kvivlemøyane (trad e. Eivind Groven) 2:41
- På tvers 4:07
- Intro Molldur 1:09
- Molldur 1:02
- Outro Molldur 0:59
- Intro Kuvisa 1:13
- Kuvisa (trad e. Berit Vang Moen / Tone Hulbækmo) 2:18
You can buy the limited edition CD at Bandcamp. More about Hans Fredrik Jacobsen
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
so so so beautiful!