Alban Faust is a

luthier A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be ...

and player of traditional Swedish music, designated a Swedish

Riksspelman The title of (, ''National Spelman'') is a generally recognized badge of mastery for Swedish folk musicians. It is an honor bestowed upon bearers of the silver or gold Zorn Badge, awarded annually by the Zorn Jury, a panel of experts under t ...

("musician of the realm") in 2009. Born in Germany, Faust later moved to

Dalsland Dalsland () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, ...

Mellerud Mellerud is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Mellerud Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 3,750 inhabitants in 2010. Sports * Melleruds IF, Swedish football club * Åsebro IF, Swedish football club Reference ...

, Sweden. Since 1990 Faust has owned his own business, "Borduninstrument Alban Faust" (Alban Faust Drone Instruments), at which he produces säckpipa (

Swedish bagpipes Swedish bagpipes (säckpipa, , or ''dråmba'', ''koppe'', ''posu'', or ''bälgpipa'') are a variety of bagpipes from Sweden. The term itself generically translates to "bagpipes" in Swedish, but is used in English to describe the specifically Swed ...

), as well as other types of French and German bagpipes. Faust is also a musician, and chairman of the folk music organisation Dalslands Spelmansförbund.

Appointment as Riksspelman

In summer, 2009, Faust played before a Swedish jury on the

nyckelharpa ''Nyckelharpa'' (, roughly "keyed fiddle" in Swedish language, Swedish, , plural: ) is a "keyed" Bowed string instrument, bowed chordophone, primarily originating from Sweden in its modern form, but with its historical roots scattered across med ...

and traditional mouthblown säckpipa, as well as demonstrating a bellows-blown säckpipa of his own invention, which he had invented to eliminate the effects of mouth-blown moisture on the pipe reeds, and allow the player to sing or speak while piping. The jury approved of his efforts, and Faust was awarded the silver Zorn Badge designating him a

.Helena Ingman
Alban Faust har utsetts till riksspelman
. Nwt.se, 27 July 2009

External links

Official site
* https://web.archive.org/web/20190109120006/http://www.vildsintrecords.se/ * http://www.dalspel.se/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faust, Alban Bagpipe makers Säckpipa players Nyckelharpa players Living people 1960 births 20th-century Swedish folk musicians 21st-century Swedish folk musicians