NORDIC ODE

I thought that it would be nice to tap into some Nordic culture a little bit being that this is Minnesota and my last name is Nelson.  Even though I don't want to spend my whole life here in Minnesota, I think it's high time to give it and its heritage praise.  Before getting to the praise, here's a little background of Nordic heritage in Minnesota.

Scandinavia: Europe's giant pee pee.

First of all, Minnesota's Northern European heritage is considered Scandinavian--specifically Swedish and Norwegian (not Nordic), but I'd rather include all of the countries so let's stick with Nordic.  What's the difference between Scandinavian and Nordic?  Ask someone from Sweden and Finland and you'll probably start a polite fight.  Sorry ahead of time for using both "Nordic" and "Scandinavian".


The ubiquitous surname "Nelson" is indirectly Nordic.  Most people think it comes directly from Scandinavia--that's what I thought, too--, but in fact it came directly to England (and subsequently the Americas) from Gaelic Irish.  Ireland, what?  The Norsemen settled in Northern Ireland around the 10th century bringing with them their culture and of course family names.  More Nordic influence came from the conquests around the 11th century when the Normans brought with them their Nordic heritage (the Normans had Viking, Gallo-Roman heritage so it's interesting to note that they also are responsible for English having so many Latin-based words from the French heritage of the Normans).  The Norse and Normans brought personal names and family names such as "Njall" and "Nihel".  Over time these names were adopted by the Irish, English, Scottish and turned into "Nell" and "Nial" and then turned into the "Son of Nell/Nial" which turned into "Nelson/Nellson/Nelsson/Nielson/Nilson"/etc.  That's a rough history of "Nelson" (you can also use this history for the other common Scandinavian/Nordic surnames such as "Johnson", "Anderson", etc.).


Minnesota is considered the epicenter of Scandinavian-American culture in the US.  We can't ignore our other heritage though: German, Native American and in recent history, Hispanic, Asian and various European ethnicities, but when it comes to what Minnesota is about, most people will think of Scandinavia. Some popular MN Scandinavian stuff: the movie "Fargo"; Rose Nylund and the fictitious village of St. Olaf; "Uff da!"; Ole and Lena jokes; Lutefisk; "You betcha!"...  When I spent a summer in Georgia many years ago, there were kids that thought that there was snow year-round in Minnesota and we ate seal fat to stay alive.  Another interesting cultural thing in Minnesota is that we eat ice cream year-round.  Who cares if it's -30F outside, give me some ice cream!  Do you eat ice cream in January?  If so, then you belong here.


Moving on...some Nordic music!


Nordic music is known for its dark, crystal-like sounds; dynamic textures ranging from thin and bright to lush and dark; sentiment without sentimentality; intelligence without flamboyance or arrogance.  The one piece of music that I think of right away that really paints a Nordic landscape is the opening to the Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor.

If you listen to any part of this, listen to the opening.  You know that sound when it is snowing really heavily and the trees, ground and everything around you has a thick coating of snow?  Everything is muffled as if you're inside of a soundproof box.  You can hear the snow itself falling and maybe a hint of wind, but all other sounds are muted or non-existent and absorbed by the fluffy snow...  know what I'm talking about?  It's very peaceful.  The opening strings in this have that effect.  When the solo violin comes in, well, it's just f-ing awesome.  The shimmering, accompanying slow tremolo strings swell and ease with the phrasing of the solo violin.  After that, it's still awesome but the landscape changes.  Here's the score with the opening for the music nerds out there.  

There is another composer that took Sibelius' Violin Concerto theme and placed it into one of his creationgs.  Yann Tiersen is a French minimalist/pop musician (composer for the movie "Amelie") and his song "La Vie Quotidienne" has an underlay of the Sibelius theme in the middle.  I don't remember where and when I heard this but when I did I was mesmorized!  Take a listen.  You'll find the specific part in the middle section starting at 3:07... listen from that point (or the whole thing) and you'll hear Sibelius' theme.

Before I tackle some more classical Nordic music, here's some great Nordic pop music.  


Most of the popular music that came out of the Nordic countries (esp the Scandinavian countries) is, well, strange!  By strange I mean that it's markedly different from most other pop music.  It's as if the music was influenced by IKEA furniture.  A lot of music from the north is eclectic, electric, cold and ethereal. 


Here's The Knife and my favorite song of theirs, "Marble House".  Not totally strange, but the lyrics are a little out there.

One of my favorite bands, Sigur Ros, has what I think is a solid Nordic sound.  Here are a couple songs from them:


"Svefn-g-englar":

"Saeglopur":

If you don't instantly fall in love with this song, there might be something wrong with you.


While we're in Iceland, let's have a stop at Bjork's place and listen to some favorites!


"Pagan Poetry":

"Isobel"

"Aurora"

***a Nordic side note***  Did you know that many consider the Icelandic population to be the most attractive in the world?   


Meanwhile, in Sweden, let's not forget about the best group to ever come from the north:
ABBAABBAABBAABBAABBAABBAABBAABBA!


One of my favorite ABBA songs, "Under Attack":

I can't not post "Dancing Queen"!

French and Saunders (if you dig the show "Absolutley Fabulous" you'll know French and Saunders) created a hilarious ABBA music video spoof.  It's spot-on!  I actually kind of like the song. 

See ya, Sweden.  In the 80s (and even today), Norway gave us the shitty rock group A-Ha.  By shitty I mean AWESOME!  Anyone remember this video?

That's enough from Norway, now back to Sweden a little further into the 80s.  Roxette.  My favorite, "Spending My Time":

And finally into the 90s, from Sweden again, comes Ace of Bass giving us one of the worst songs ever, "The Sign".  Enjoy(?):

Here are a couple more classical pieces from the region and then we'll move on to food.


Edvard Grieg, "Death of Aase" from Peer Gynt.

Here's another piece that really paints a landscape...in this case a landscape of the sun in Carl Nielsen's Helios Overture.

I consider Nielsen to be almost like an Impressionist composer (like that of Ravel, Debussy...) but instead of French Impressionism, it's Scandinavian Impressionism.


Minnesota is known for its Scandinavian Lutheran choral tradition.  Minnesota is home to many nationally renowned and world renowned choirs.  There are renowned college choirs such as the St. Olaf choir and the Concordia choir; there are many renowned private ensembles such as (now disbanded) Dale Warland Singers, Kantorei and Vocal Essence; and there are many other choirs serving different functions such as the Grammy-nominated Minnesota Chorale.


The St. Olaf choir:

Concordia College, Morehead:

My high school alma mater, Stillwater and its chamber choir, "Vagabonds".  The director, Erik Christiansen is the great grandson of F. Melius Christiansen and son of Paul Christiansen, both of whom shaped Minnesota's choral music tradition. 

OK, I'm getting bored writing this so here are the two most famous Scandinavian foods in Minnesota:

Lutefisk

White fish is soaked in lye for several days during which time the fish loses a lot of its protein and nutrition content and takes on a repulsive Jello-like texture.  Lye is used in drain decloggers, soaps, oven cleaners and biodiesel mixtures…yum?  If you prepare Lutefisk, you have to soak the fish in water for several days to remove most of the lye.  If you don't, you'll probably die due to the lye's strong acidic properties (re: drain opener).  Even if you do soak the fish and remove the lye, you'll probably still die from the horrible smell and taste of the fish.  Don't ever be fooled by people trying to make you eat this stuff.  If they say "it's great with a lot of white sauce or butter", they're lying.  It is not good with a lot of white sauce or butter.  It is not good alone or with anything.  If you are gutsy enough to try it, be sure to have some akvavit or vodka wash it down.

Lutefisk may have come from Norway, Sweden or even the Netherlands.  Madison, Minnesota is apparently the Lutefisk capital of the world.

Lefse

Delicious flat bread that is made with potato.  It's a lot like a giant tortilla but with a rich, tender texture and a potato taste.  The best thing to do with Lefse is to heat it on a skillet and smear salty butter, sugar and cinnamon on it!  You could be more traditional and put salted fish and sour cream on it.

Lefse comes from Norway.  The largest Lefse maker in the US is in Minnesota and the town of Starbuck, MN has the world's largest lefse (70lbs!).

 There's so much more stuff to write, but I'm exhausted.  Hopefully my next blog will be more entertaining.  I leave you with the Finnish group, Rajaton, singing ABBA's "Head Over Heels".

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