Woodworks & Last Leaf

Details

Sam Nelson full profile / Violin, Violin, Viola and Cello / 4 musicians

Other players: Mia Nardi-Huffman, Samuel Nelson, Kat Lawhead, Paul Swenson

Full program notes

Selections from Woodworks and Last Leaf by Danish String Quartet

Historical context

This evening we will be playing arrangements of traditional Danish folk Music arranged by the legendary Danish String Quartet.

Danish traditional music (Danish: spillemandsmusik) is the music genre that has its roots in pre-modern Denmark. In this period it was common for towns to have one or more town musicians (Danish: spillemand) who played at dances, processions and certain rituals. In the 17th and 18th centuries, professional music performances were monopolized by town musicians, who also traveled into the neighboring rural areas to perform. Urban music and dance styles, often from other parts of Europe, penetrated the countryside and almost eradicated earlier styles. This period also saw the introduction of the fiddle as the most important instrument and the abandonment of earlier chain dances in favor of pair dances. Until around 1900, traditional music was the common musical culture of Denmark, but with increasing urbanization and the spread of classical music it became marginalized to rural areas.