The title of riksspelman (, ''National
Spelman'') is a generally recognized
badge
A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fi ...
of mastery for
Swedish folk music Swedish folk music is a musical genre, genre of music based largely on folkloristics, folkloric collection work that began in the early 19th century in Sweden. The primary musical instrument, instrument of Swedish folk music is the fiddle. Another ...
ians. It is an honor bestowed upon bearers of the
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
or
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
Zorn Badge, awarded annually by the
Zorn Jury, a panel of experts under the auspices of
Svenska Folkdansringen Svenska Folkdansringen (The Swedish Folk Dance Ring), usually just called "Folkdansringen," is Sweden's largest amateur folk culture organization. Its primary focus is folk dance, but all aspects of Swedish folk culture fall under its purview, inc ...
. The
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
Zorn Badge is the highest award attainable for musicians who play before the
Zorn Jury in their annual
Zorn Trials. (Other possible awards include a certificate,
bronze Zorn Badge, and post-bronze certificate.) The
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
Zorn Badge cannot be sought, but is reserved for one or two master musicians pre-selected by the
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment.
Juries developed in England du ...
.
Since the creation of the riksspelman title in 1933, it has been awarded to an average of ten people per year. Sweden today has approximately 300 living riksspelmän. Since 2013 Denmark has a corresponding title of "rigsspillemand", which has been bestowed on 23 musicians who play
Danish traditional music.
Etymology
In 1910, a national folk musicians' gathering (''riksspelmansstämma'') was called at
Skansen
Skansen (; "the Sconce") is the oldest open-air museum and zoo in Sweden located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was opened on 11 October 1891 by Artur Hazelius (1833–1901) to show the way of life in the different parts ...
,
Stockholm's
open-air museum
An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum.
Definition
Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...
of Swedish
folk culture
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging from ...
.
[Ramsten (1985):193.] A number of musicians were invited to play; the 65 who heeded the call were all awarded a
silver badge
The International Gliding Commission (IGC) is the international governing body for the sport of gliding. It is governed by meetings of delegates from national gliding associations.
It is one of several Air Sport Commissions (ASC) of the Fédérati ...
designed and financed by the painter
Anders Zorn.
Later, in 1933,
Svenska Ungdomsringen för bygdekultur (The Swedish Youth Ring for Village Culture) created a system by which
folk musicians could play music before a
jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment.
Juries developed in England du ...
of experts.
Various awards for the participants of these
Trials
In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...
would be handed out at an annual "National Folk Musicians' Gathering," a name taken from that original event in 1910.
The highest award for participants in the
Trials
In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...
would be that same
silver badge
The International Gliding Commission (IGC) is the international governing body for the sport of gliding. It is governed by meetings of delegates from national gliding associations.
It is one of several Air Sport Commissions (ASC) of the Fédérati ...
designed by
Anders Zorn. Those who received this highest honor would be known as "National Folk Musicians" (riksspelmän).
In other words, while the name of the event was taken from that initial gathering in 1910, the meaning was changed in 1933. In 1910, the national folk musicians' gathering was a National Gathering of Folk Musicians. In 1933, it became a Gathering of National Folk Musicians (''riksspelmän'').
The Zorn Jury
The Zorn Jury (''Zornjuryn'') is made up of nine members. When a member retires, the Jury selects a new member, subject to the approval of
Svenska Folkdansringen Svenska Folkdansringen (The Swedish Folk Dance Ring), usually just called "Folkdansringen," is Sweden's largest amateur folk culture organization. Its primary focus is folk dance, but all aspects of Swedish folk culture fall under its purview, inc ...
. Generally, the Jury is made up of folk musicians with a great deal of experience and knowledge, most of whom are also
riksspelmän. One position on the Jury may also be held by a scholar, whose primary credentials are academic. As of 2016, the current jury members are:
Jan Burman
Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to:
Acronyms
* Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN
* Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code
* Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group
* Japanese Article Numb ...
,
Verf-Lena Egardt,
Christina Frohm,
Wille Grindsäter,
Pers Nils Johansson Pers may refer to:
* Pers, Cantal, France, a commune near Aurillac
* Pers, Deux-Sèvres, France, a commune near Poitiers
* '' Pers.'', taxonomic author abbreviation for mycologist Christiaan Hendrik Persoon
* Persian language
PERS may refer to:
...
,
Krister Malm,
Cajsa Ekstav
Anna Christina Warg (23March 17035February 1769), better known as Cajsa (or Kajsa) Warg, was a Swedish cookbook author and one of the best-known cooks in Swedish history.
Early life
Warg was born in Örebro, the younger of two daughters, to a ...
,
Peter Pedersen, and
Tony Wrethling
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
.
The Zorn Trials
In any given year, three members of the
Zorn Jury are selected to
adjudicate the week-long Zorn Trials (''Zornmärkesuppspelningarna''). The Trials are always held during the summer months, each year in a different location in Sweden.
[Kaminsky (2007):28).] A local representative is appointed as a fourth
adjudicator
An adjudicator is someone who presides, judges, and arbitrates during a formal dispute or competition. They have numerous purposes, including preliminary legal judgments, to determine applicant eligibility, or to assess contenders' performance ...
.
Each participant in the Trials is given a fifteen-minute time slot, and asked to play three to five
tunes
Tunes may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions
* Tunes (Silves), a parish in Portugal
* Tunes, Norway, a village in Norway
* Tunes, Tunisia, now Tunis, eponymous capital city of Tunisia
** Tunes (see), a suppressed Latin Catholic titular bishopri ...
for
the Jury. The Trials are closed to the public, but are recorded by
Svenskt Visarkiv (The Centre for
Swedish Folk Music Swedish folk music is a musical genre, genre of music based largely on folkloristics, folkloric collection work that began in the early 19th century in Sweden. The primary musical instrument, instrument of Swedish folk music is the fiddle. Another ...
and
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
Research) for posterity. The results are posted at the end of each Trial day, and the awards are distributed at the National Folk Musicians' Gathering (''riksspelmansstämman'') at the end of the week.
Criteria
The
adjudicator
An adjudicator is someone who presides, judges, and arbitrates during a formal dispute or competition. They have numerous purposes, including preliminary legal judgments, to determine applicant eligibility, or to assess contenders' performance ...
s judge participants on four criteria:
rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed ...
,
technique,
intonation, and "qualities as a
folk musician
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...
" (''egenskaper som spelman''). The fourth criterion relates to stylistic authenticity in musical expression, and is weighted more heavily than the other three. Also of import is that participants in the
Trials
In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...
demonstrate mastery over a single regional tradition. Attempting to play
tunes
Tunes may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions
* Tunes (Silves), a parish in Portugal
* Tunes, Norway, a village in Norway
* Tunes, Tunisia, now Tunis, eponymous capital city of Tunisia
** Tunes (see), a suppressed Latin Catholic titular bishopri ...
from multiple different regions never results in a
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
badge
A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fi ...
.
[Kaminsky (2007):45.]
Eligibility
The
Zorn Trials are open to musicians aged sixteen and older. Few receive the
silver badge
The International Gliding Commission (IGC) is the international governing body for the sport of gliding. It is governed by meetings of delegates from national gliding associations.
It is one of several Air Sport Commissions (ASC) of the Fédérati ...
on their first try, however. Notable exceptions include Marie Stensby (1975),
Åsa Jinder (1979), and Jeanette Eriksson (2002), all of whom became riksspelmän at age sixteen.
Only players of instruments regarded as "traditional" may play for the
Zorn Jury. There is no official list of
traditional instruments, however.
Musicians who apply for a time slot before
the Jury are simply rejected if they list an instrument that the adjudicators regard as non-traditional.
Instruments that have been accepted in the past include:
fiddle,
chromatic nyckelharpa,
silverbasharpa,
kontrabasharpa,
clarinet,
durspel,
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...
,
kulning
Kulning or herding calls is a domestic Scandinavian music form, often used to call livestock (cows, goats, etc.) down from high mountain pastures where they have been grazing during the day. It is possible that the sound also serves to scare away ...
,
spilåpipa,
härjedalspipa,
träskofiol,
travers,
hummel
Hummel may refer to:
People
* Hummel (surname), origin and list of people with the surname Hummel
Companies
* Hummel International, a Denmark-based sporting goods and apparel company
* Hummel figurines
* Hummel Aviation, American aircraft man ...
,
näverlapp,
cow horn,
näverlur, and
Swedish bagpipes
Swedish bagpipes (säckpipa, sv, svensk 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 t ...
.
[List of recipients of the Zorn Badge in silver, 1997-2006.](_blank)
/ref> It is permissible to play multiple instruments for the Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment.
Juries developed in England du ...
.
There are no restrictions with regard to nationality. Currently, four non-Swedes hold the title: Kristian Daugaard Madsen (Denmark, 1982), Oline Bakkom-Härdelin (Norway, 1996), Emma Reid (England, 2006), and David Kaminsky (United States, 2007).
Musicians who are already riksspelmän are not eligible to participate in the Zorn Trials.
Common Misunderstandings
Folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...
ians are occasionally credited with being riksspelmän erroneously. In some cases, these are musicians who have been granted lesser awards by the Zorn jury (a certificate or bronze Zorn Badge). In other cases, they are well-known folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...
ians who people simply assume are riksspelmän. The main reason behind these misunderstandings is that the title of riksspelman is far better known than are the official mechanisms and processes that grant it.
Controversy
The authority and expertise of the Zorn Jury, which awards the Zorn Badge, is generally accepted within the Swedish folk music Swedish folk music is a musical genre, genre of music based largely on folkloristics, folkloric collection work that began in the early 19th century in Sweden. The primary musical instrument, instrument of Swedish folk music is the fiddle. Another ...
community. The controversy associated with the system generally relates to the question of which instruments are regarded as traditional
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays ...
, and thus approved for judgment by the Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment.
Juries developed in England du ...
. Many argue that no such limitations should exist, the argument being that "it's not what you play, but how you play." Others push for the acceptance of certain specific instruments. The best-known case in which such a movement succeeded resulted in the Jury's allowance of the diatonic button accordion ( durspel) for the first time in 1979. Currently (as of 2008), a similar movement is pushing for the acceptance of ''trall'', or vocable singing, as a traditional instrument.
Another controversy regards the word " spelman" (literally "play-man") itself, given the growing number of female " spelmän" and riksspelmän in Sweden.[Olsson (2007):21, Ramsten (1985): 195-196.]
See also
* Zorn Badge
*Spelman (music)
A spelman () is a player of Swedish folk music. The term has also the same meaning for Norwegian folk music, and corresponds directly to the term ''spillemand'' in Danish traditional music. Less often spelman may be folk musicians from other Nor ...
*Swedish folk music Swedish folk music is a musical genre, genre of music based largely on folkloristics, folkloric collection work that began in the early 19th century in Sweden. The primary musical instrument, instrument of Swedish folk music is the fiddle. Another ...
* Spelmanslag
Notes
References
Hallhagen, Erika. 2007.
"Gästerna gör festen på stämman"
''Svenska Dagbladet'', May 23, 2007. Accessed April 11, 2008.
Kaminsky, David. 2005. "Hidden Traditions: Conceptualizing Swedish Folk Music in the Twenty-First Century." Ph.D. Dissertation, Harvard University.
Kaminsky, David. 2007. "The Zorn Trials and the Jante Law: On Shining Musically in the Land of Moderation." In '' Yearbook for Traditional Music'' 39:27-49.
Olsson, Thorbjörn. 2007. "Spelman - ett förlegat begrepp pelman - An Obsolete Term" in ''Spelmannen'' 2007(4):21.
Ramsten, Märta. 1985. "The New Fiddlers: trends and revivalism in the folk music of the seventies." In ''The Folk Music Vogue,'' Lena Roth, ed. 193-200.
Svenska Folkdansringen. n.d.
"SÃ¥ blir man riksspelman"
Svenska Folkdansringen homepage. Accessed April 14, 2008.
External links
Zornmärkesnämnden
(the Zorn Badge committee in Svenska Folkdansringen)
Riksspelmän 1936-2018
{{Swedish folk music
Swedish folk music
Swedish folk musicians
Swedish music awards