Aslak Brekke (October 6, 1901 – February 13, 1978) was a prominent

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

of one of the

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n poetic genres that is referred to as

stev Stev is a form of Norwegian folk song consisting of four line lyric stanzas. The English version of the word is stave, meaning the stressed syllable in a metric verse. Various types There are various types of ''stev'': ''Gamlestev'' * gamlest ...

. He was also well known as a

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

singer.

Early life

He was born in

Vinje Vinje is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vest-Telemark which is part of Øvre Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Åmot. Other villages in the muni ...

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

. One way to describe his style of singing, might be to use his own words, that he recited the songs, to a greater degree, rather than straightforwardly singing them. Often he would follow the pulse of the song, with foot-tapping. Aslak lived as a

postman A mail carrier, also referred to as a mailman, mailwoman, mailperson, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, postperson, person of post, letter carrier (in American English), or colloquially postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Unite ...

in his early years. It is said that he could be heard far off, as he was singing all the way while treading his bicycle. Eivind Groven was a childhood friend of him, and Eivind's wife Ragna recalled how he came to Groven farm in the late 1920s. Then he sang from the moment he arrived and all through the evening. His repertoire was almost incredible, Ragna recalled.

Career

Musical/poetic career highlights include : * he was the first folksinger to perform on a nationwide radio-broadcast, in Norway. * his performance at the significant concert that was held 1945, in the ceremonial hall (the "Aula") at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

. * a unique recording of the song

Ståle Storli Ståle Storli, also spelled Staale Storlid, is the title of a Norwegian folk song and a novel by John Lie, published in 1880. ''Ståle Storli'' is a folk song concerning love towards a cotter's daughter, which is not reciprocated. A recording wa ...

, together with

Eivind Groven Eivind Groven (8 October 1901 – 8 February 1977) was a Norwegian composer and music-theorist. He was from the traditional region of Vest-Telemark and had a background in the folk music of the area. Biography Groven was born in the village ...

(

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

). When Aslak Brekke was first broadcast on national radio, the more urban public reacted with scorn. They were not used to his way of singing, finding it crude and unlearned. Eivind Groven noted that the public might not be trained in the "old Norwegian tonal ways" as he put it. His voice and singing could be compared to

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

in his younger years. Aslak Brekke and Eivind Groven met each other for the last time in the summer of 1976. Groven died the next winter, Brekke in 1978. Groven, ill from Parkinson's disease, approached, and Aslak exclaimed: "Eivind, are you still counted among the living?" The two of them sat down and sang old ditties and songs all evening, to the delight of all involved. The Norwegian/English edition of ''Aslak Brekke og visune hans'', was released in 1983.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brekke, Aslak 1901 births 1978 deaths People from Vinje 20th-century Norwegian folk musicians