When you get to know the two Swedish veterans Mats Edén, who this evening treated viola and Harding fiddle, and flutist Jonas Simonson, you quickly notice that the combination works excellently.
Terje Isungset
And when they also bring with them the extremely original Norwegian drummer and percussionist Terje Isungset, you have the original and fine musical expression of Groupa.
In recent years, Groupa has released five albums in the series Kind of Folk. One with music based in Sweden, one from Norway, one from Iceland and one from the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal).
Last year the fifth release in the series came out – this time with music based in Poland. salt peanuts* reviewed the album after it was released, and we could conclude with a brilliant release.
For the Polish edition they had invited three Polish musicians plus the Swedish bassist Anders Jormin. And for Voss they brought the incredibly talented vocalist and violinist Marta Matuszna.
Mats Edén
But before Groupa could enter Osasalen, which this time had been transformed into the perfect club, we were able to attend a short prelude (or vorspiel in internationalized Norwegian Bokmål).
Here, fiddler Steinar Rygg played for the first time in public on a brand new Hardanger fiddle made in Voss by Naomi Soni / Wiebke Lüders / Lukas Pawelka. It is not something that a new Hardanger fiddle is created every day, and certainly not on an assembly line.
So this event was so special that the Hardanger fiddle will now be exhibited internationally, first in Milan and then in Copenhagen.
Jonas Simonson
Steinar Rygg gave a short lecture about “recording” a new Hardanger fiddle, before we were treated to a couple of tunes, perfectly performed for an almost full hall.
People from Sweden, Norway and southern parts of the Polish mountains
Then the stage was set for Groupa in her Polish costume. The last time I heard the trio was actually in Copenhagen, when they took over the stage for a corona-stricken Rhiannon Giddens at short notice.
This Swedish/Norwegian trio was clearly not difficult to please at the time, and it was clear that they were looking forward to playing in Voss again, after having played at the Osa Festival earlier.
Marta Matuszna
We got a lot of material from the band’s “Polish” release, but also older material from the trio. And it is clear that the two Swedish members of the trio know each other very well. They have played together in Groupa for over 40 years, while Isungset is the “youth” in the trio. The interaction between fiddles and flutes is almost magical.
They play close like Siamese twins, and react spontaneously if one of them “cuts out” in one direction or another. And with Isungset’s “loose” and almost freely improvised drum and percussion playing, which often functions as a contrast to the two Swedes, the soundscape becomes extremely original and exciting.
And when Isungset picks up the mouth harp, and combines it with a kind of “beat boxing”, we get a crazy groove and an incredible drive.
Groupa & Marta Matuszna
But it is when Marta Matuszna comes in with her incredible voice that this peaks. It is almost incredible how many good and original singers (or vocalists) come from Eastern Europe. In several of the Baltic countries, choral singing is almost a folk movement that lies deep in the traditions.
The same applies to a certain extent in Poland. But if we go further south, we meet vocalists such as the Czech Iva Bittová, whom we have heard among other things within avant-garde jazz and more folk music-related things, and the Bulgarian Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares and Angelite, who a few years ago sang their way into the hearts of large parts of the audience at “all” jazz festivals around Europe.
And in the same tradition we find Marta Matuszna. There is something completely unique about her voice, intonation and expression that makes a big impression every time she sets the tone.
And in collaboration with Groupa they made music from her homeland in the mountains of southern Poland, much of which was taken from the album they had made together, but where she also got some sequences where she sang solo.
And these sequences were, in my opinion, the absolute highlights of the evening
The Osa Festival, which is held in the fall, does a great job of arranging concerts throughout the year, to the great joy of us who live in this somewhat strange village. And by bringing such band compositions as we had the pleasure of hearing tonight to the village, we will be well on our way to Vossa Jazz, which will be held in just over a week.
Steinar Rygg demonstrates the world’s newest Hardanger fiddle
