Hardingkvintett

Istem is a composition by Vegar Vårdal for three Hardanger fiddles, a Hardanger viola and a Hardanger cello. Five instruments with sympathetic strings that provide extra resonance and create a completely unique soundscape.

In addition to Vegar himself on the Hardanger fiddle, the quartet consists of Johanne Løkensgard Mjøs (Hardanger fiddle), Nora Taksdal (Hardanger viola) and Johannes Martens (Hardanger cello). Instrument maker Ottar Kåsa is both with the quartet as a soloist and the man behind the Hardanger viola and Hardanger cello. The Hardanger fiddle is a Norwegian instrument known from the 17th century. It looks like a richly decorated violin, with strings that lie beneath the fingerboard and resonate and provide an extra dimension to the sound when played. When Ottar created both a viola and a cello with sympathetic strings, Vegar saw the possibility to make music for a full string quartet, combining solo Hardanger fiddle tradition with classical chamber music.

What kind of music has folk musician Vegar composed for this strange combination? Is it baroque-inspired chamber music, danceable folk pop in a string ensemble, is it a chamber-like fiddle band or folk string quartet? The producer Anne Hytta gives the answer:

“It is none of these, but something of everything. Vegar has made music from everything he has encountered as a playing and listening musician over the years. This is how I hear it. “Vegar-like”, strongly coloured by the personal contributions of the other musicians and by the personalities of Ottar’s sympathetic strings instruments. It sounds orchestral – broad and full – at one moment, like a flowing river of tradition the next, porous and open in quiet moments.”