"Trollsang"
no. title composer(s) time 1 Solbønn trad.; Music: Blodig 5:27   This prayer for good weather could well have fitted nicely into Odin’s collection of troll songs. I wrote the music the day after a late-night session with my friend and colleague Vicky who introduced me to her favourite dm9add4 chord in this tuning. 2 Jutulen og stolt Øli trad.; arr. Blodig 4:05   This is a big exception in medieval ballads, and quite a humorous one, too. Usually the girl is taken into the mountain never to come back again. In this case the young woman Øli makes use of the fact that the mountain giant (the Jutul) is as thick as two short planks, and uses what people thought to be a remedy against trollpower – bread and sulphur. The poor cheesed-off Jutul runs back into his mountain home to his mum, who is then outing herself as a former Christian by saying, that the Jutul‘s dad had been much cleverer, when he lured her into his mountain years ago. 3 Trollferd/The Journey of the Trolls Kerstin Blodig 3:12   In the northern hemispheres you’ll find a whole collection of hidden creatures – the “underjordiske” (“those under the ground”) – be they mountain trolls, water sprites, or other wild and wonderful creatures living in the woods and in the mounds. They’re all rather fascinated by human beings – in fact some scientists say, that they’re the subconscious dark side of the human soul – but wasn’t there a rustling behind that tree? –, and their ambition is often to lure people into their realm. You would never meet a troll in broad daylight – they only appear after dusk – because they hate the sun! A ray of the morning sun can easily turn a troll into stone. Shortly before sunrise they need to retire to their dark hiding places – to the hills, the woods or the lakes. So with this piece, imagine the morning mood with the first streaks of sunlight coming over the horizon in the east – and the rush hour of the trolls! 4 Liti Kjersti og Elvekongjen trad.; arr. Blodig 6:29   This is one of the many ballads about Kjersti. It’s one of the shorter more condensed versions (the extended version to be found in M. B. Landstads “Norske folkeviser” can have up to 30 verses!). Liti Kjersti has been lured by the king of the elves’ presents and has given birth to a few children already, until one day her mother discovers her secret. Kjersti calls for the elf king, and they flee into his mountain home where she is welcomed by her own children. She has not completely become one of the trolls yet, so the elf king gives her some of his magic wine, which brainwashes her, so that she completely forgets about her former life as a christian. Many people sing this as a gruesome horror story, but I tried to musically point out the romantic/erotic side of this eerie ballad. 5 Mariavise words: Hans Tomissøn, music: trad., arr. K. Blodig 3:47   This album deals with a lot of contrasts: darkness and light, good and evil, song material from the middle ages and modern groovy rhythms ... and the power of belief – in God or in more natural-based deities or phenomena. This old psalm has fascinated me, not only because of its beautiful folk melody, but also because of the author’s strong belief. I felt it needed something very archaic in sound, so I used a bow on my lower guitar strings as a drone, and played the bodhrán for the constant heartbeat. 6 Slåttestev trad.; arr. Blodig 1:15   A traditional “Slåttestev”, a sung dance tune from Telemark learned from the group “Tiriltunga”. A slåttestev is usually a four-line spontaneously improvised rhythmic poem sung on a fiddle melody. Sometimes very “cheek in tongue” as here, probably talking about the boys in the village ... 7 Bergtatt/Spellbound Kerstin Blodig 3:22   Here’s another guitar instrumental. Literally “bergtatt” means “taken into the mountain” (usually by a troll), and has become a common word for being fascinated or being spellbound. This one is for Don. 8 Heiemo Og Nykkjen trad.; arr. Blodig 7:39   A song I learned from the singing of Kirsten Bråten Berg. The young woman Heiemo has the gift of singing beautifully, so the water spirit (the Nøkk or Nykkjen) falls in love with her and tries to kidnap her. She decides she hasn’t got time for yet another love affair – not even a one-night stand (maybe she has a studio job the next day?), so she refuses the offer. The Nøkk is one of those guys who doesn’t usually take ”no” for an answer and starts becoming a nuisance. Knowing that steel is a remedy against trolls, she decides to stab him with her knife. 9 Snåle mi jente trad. after Gunnhild E. Sundli arr. K. Blodig 2:08   A traditional song learnt from the singing of mother and daughter Sundli. 10 Vänner Och Fränder trad., arr. K. Blodig" 5:56   An incredibly romantic medieval ballad from Sweden, which, performed by the group “Folk och Rackare”, became a “classic folk hit” in the seventies. 11 Huldrehalling Kerstin Blodig 4:03   A Norwegian dance tune I wrote for my band Valivann. “Huldra” (the Wood Nymph) is quite a famous supernatural being, which keeps to forests and mountains. She appears as a very beautiful woman, but if she turns her back on you, you’ll see her cow’s tail – and beware! She is usually very fond of handsome young men and tries to lure them to their doom! 12 Jygri trad.; arr. Blodig 1:50   The troll giantess (Gygra or Jygri) is sitting on her mountain calling her little ones home.     Total 49:46     recorded at A-Trane Studio, Berlin, Germany engineer: Jörg Surrey additional recordings at Neverland Studio, Odense, Denmark and Canto del Mondo Studio by Urs Fuchs programmed, edited, mixed and mastered at Surrealis Sounds by Jörg Surrey