# No less than a world premiere: Musicians from Sweden, Norway and southern parts of the Polish mountains: Photos

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2026/03/21/no-less-than-a-world-premiere-musicians-from-sweden-norway-and-southern-parts-of-the-polish-mountains-photos/
- Published: 2026-03-21T22:06:48+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**Far from any Polish parliament. When you spend some time listening to Nordic folk
music, even a layman like me notices relatively large differences.**One of the things
you often encounter in Swedish folk music, but which is not as common in Norway,
and certainly not in Finland and Denmark, is the use of flutes and fiddle in combination.

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.

![](https://i0.wp.com/salt-peanuts.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/groupa-voss-terje-
og-floyte.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)

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**

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