Jew’s harp traditions in Norway

By Lars Willadsen, copy writer & Jew’s harpist, Denmark

Comments and corrections in italics are by Bernhard Folkestad, editor of the quarterly newsletter «Munnharpa» (Jew's harp) Updated 11/2012

I am not Norwegian – but Danish – nor am I attempting to be an expert on this subject, but I have read a fair bit about the Norwegian Jew’s harp traditions, and also take inspiration from it in the music that I play myself. Also, I understand that there is not much information available on the Norwegian/Scandinavian Jew’s harp traditions in USA. So it might be interesting for others to read a bit about Norwegian harping, the traditions, the instruments, the musicians, and the harp makers.

A long tradition and an important role

As in many other countries, Jew’s harps have a long tradition in Norway. For sure Jew’s harp playing can be tracked back to medieval times. But the really interesting part comes in the mid-19th century, where a religious awakening swept through the mountains and valleys of Norway. Much of the traditional music was played either on fiddle or on the special Norwegian variety called the "Harding-fele" (Harding fiddle). In this new religious context the fiddle was considered a "Devil’s instrument" and fiddling was looked upon as being sinful. This, however, was not the case with the Jew’s harp. So as the fiddlers burnt their fiddles and turned to God and the churches, the Jew’s harpists just kept on plucking. And they actually maintained and preserved quite a few of the old fiddle tunes, which would otherwise have been forgotten and lost. With the folk music revival of the 70's came a new interest in reviving the old fiddle tunes, and the new generation of fiddlers turned to the jew’s harpists to learn some of the old tunes. In this way the little instrument has played an enormous role in preserving an important part of Norwegian traditional music. There is a body of tunes shared by fiddle, munnharpe and langeleik (Norwegian dulcimer).

Most Norwegian folk music is performed solo, and band playing is rarely seen. This is the case with the fiddle as it is with the jew’s harp. The Jew’s harp is used for accompanying dance and for religious tunes as well, but practically always as a solo instrument.

During the 60's and 70's the Jew’s harp became very popular among young urbans in Norway. Odd, that they picked on the cheap and mass manufactured Austrian harps and not the traditional handcrafted Norwegian harps. But that could be due to price and availability. Good hand crafted Norwegian harps are hard to come by – at least there is a long waiting time for most of them.

The Norwegian instruments

The Norwegian Jew’s harps are, with only few exceptions, of the medieval type, where the frame takes the least space of the instrument’s total length and the arms takes the most space. The frame can have difference shapes, but a round or tulip-like shape is the most common.

The Norwegian Jew’s harp makers

With the profound Jew’s harp tradition of Norway, the country also has several great harp makers. In the following I’ll try to give a short description in alphabetical order:

Folke Nesland

Folke only makes harps as a hobby, so his production is limited to 20-30 harps per year. The waiting time is 1-6 months and he doesn’t make harps in the summer. Anyway I have an A-harp from Folke, and it’s a great little instrument with a lot of sound. The spring is very flexible and gives good opportunities with breath control. His standard price is app. NOK 700-800,- excluding box. Should you consider a Folke-harp, then contact:

Folke Nesland, 
N-4754 Bykle, Norway
Tel: +47 37 93 81 84.

(Bernhard Folkestad: I am afraid Folke has stopped selling munnharpes to overseas customers – too much bother, he says.)

Bjoergulv Straume

Bjoergulv is mostly known as a true virtuoso on the Jew’s harp, but he learned harp making from Folke Nesland, and now produces very nice instruments. He tunes his munnharpes to any key note between C and c. I have a G-harp myself, which I am happy about. The tongue though is a bit stiff and rigid, as the spring material is quite thick. This limits the breath control possibilities, but gives a strong and loud sound on the other hand. You can reach Bjoergulv Straume here: http://home.no/bstraume / Price: around NOK 700,-

Knut Tveit

I don’t know a lot about Knut Tveit, other than he is making harps of an excellent quality. Whether he is still producing I don’t know – I’m trying to locate him somewhere in Norway to actually buy one of his harps. What I do know is, that he made one of Bjoergulv Straumes first harps from machine parts from a B-17 flying fortress, that was shot down over Norway during W.W.II. Bjorgulv composed a tune called "Luftslaget" (the air battle) as a tribute to the British airmen, who died. I’ll come back with further information on Knut Tveit, when and if I locate him. Knut Tveit has stopped making munnharpes for sale, but is trying to make his son take over the business.

Other makers can be found at www.munnharpe.no Please remember that buying a munnharpe is a very personal thing – best thing is to try it out for yourself.

CDs with the Scandinavian Jew’s harp as lead instrument

Should anyone be interested in getting acquainted with the Norwegian and Scandinavian Jew’s harp music, I can recommend the following two titles:

Bjoergulv Straume, Norway: "Fra aett til aett" (from generation to generation).

A mixture of Norwegian tunes, "Stev" (little songs) and poetry recital. http://home.no/bstraume/ A great way to get to know the real Norwegian solo Jew’s harp tradition from one of the leading Jew’s harpists from Norway.

Another good source is http://www.etniskmusikklubb.no/ (write to them in English and ask) Among other good munnharpe CDs you can also buy «Fille-Vern», a double CD with traditional Norwegian munnharpe music, absolutely a must. Accompanying booklet contains a wealth of information (in English).

Tapanis Varis (Finland): Munniharppuuna (The Jew’s Harp).

A blend of traditional and new tunes, some composed by Tapanis himself, along with traditional Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian tunes. This is great music. Available from GO Music in Denmark: www.folkmusic.dk/GO2/index .

To update yourself on Norwegian Jew's harp music / makers / players / events, please refer to www.munnharpe.no (click on the British flag) – the website of the Norwegian Jew's Harp Forum.