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The impact of Norwegian folk music on Norwegian jazz, 1945-1995

My research explores the interrelationship between Norwegian folk music and Norwegian jazz from 1945 to 1995 (with updates to 2002) and assesses the extent to which the results can now be considered as constituting an indigenous art form. A short historical overview of Norwegian geography and history contextualises the development of Norwegian folk music and, in particular, its musical characteristics. It is argued that the geographical remoteness of many Norwegian communities isolated the local culture from the rest of the land's population, a situation which continued until collectors such as Lindeman and Sandvik began their tours of the landlying districts from about 1830 and 1900 respectively, collecting material and comparing it with what was discovered elsewhere. The end of World War II heralded the start of an important phase of development in Swedish jazz, which began to cultivate a Scandinavian style of performance and a Scandinavian repertoire. In Norway, some years later, jazz musicians were influenced by indigenous folk music and the principal folk music types that provided inspiration are scrutinised. I then concentrate on defining a Scandinavian jazz style and a recognisable Norwegian variant. The importance of the Lydian mode in Norwegian music is discussed, and the theories of Geirr Tveitt and George Russell receive critical evaluation in relation to Norwegian jazz. Jan Garbarek's composition Molde Canticle is analysed, as is one of its successors, the album Uncharted Land. The contributions of ECM and Manfred Eicher are evaluated, and I conclude with a survey of the contributions of other central figures in the combined field of Norwegian folk music and jazz.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:523967
Date January 2003
CreatorsDickenson, James W.
PublisherUniversity of Salford
Source SetsEthos UK
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Sourcehttp://usir.salford.ac.uk/2051/

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