Hardanger

An ardent nationalist, Geirr Tveitt found inspiration in the folk melodies of the Hardanger fjord and promoted this little-known material in his songs and orchestral works. Tveitt's music is tinged with nostalgia and Norwegian brooding, communicated in a familiar neo-Romantic style that was considered reactionary by critics, but was easily accepted by audiences. The Piano Concerto No. 5, premiered by Tveitt in 1954, is in three movements. The piece is agreeably melodic with modal inflections, yet it has enough muscularity and harmonic bite in places to suggest the influence of Ravel and Prokofiev. Nils Mortensen executes the piano part with hard-edged brilliance, and the orchestral accompaniment is strong without overwhelming the soloist. The Variations on a Folksong from Hardanger is, loosely, a concerto for two pianos and orchestra. Less coherent than the Piano Concerto No. 5, the Variations tend to ramble, and Tveitt's self-indulgence and impulsiveness may have contributed to this piece's episodic construction. Mortensen and fellow pianist Sveinung Bjelland are a solid pair, always synchronized and audible above the orchestra. The Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ole Kristian Ruud, plays with sufficient vigor and color, though this moody music affords them few opportunities to shine. The sound is fairly soft in places, so volume adjustments may be necessary.

The Hardanger fiddle resembles its ancestor the viola d'amore in that it has a course of resonating strings under the fingerboard, and this gives the otherwise thin-toned instrument a certain huskiness that sounds oddly compelling. Of course, it helps that Geirr Tveitt composed two terrific concertos for this folk fiddle. The first, dating from 1955, is quite a substantial piece (nearly half an hour long), and as might be expected the music takes traditional Norwegian melodies as its starting point–but like Bartók Tveitt integrates the idiom into a contemporary musical language. It's a lovely work, one that consistently engages the ear and skillfully contrasts solo episodes with evocative and powerful passages for full orchestra. The second concerto, from a decade later, has three movements named for three famous fjords. Tveitt marks the slow movement "Danza determinata e lenta", and "determined" is the quality that comes most readily to mind in this compact (less than 20 minutes), tuneful, and purposeful piece. Soloist Arve Moen Bergset plays both concertos with the necessary verve and gutsy enthusiasm, and Ole Ruud supports him confidently.

Anniversaires, baptêmes, mariages, fêtes des mères… Les grandes occasions et les petits événements ne manquent pas pour broder et faire plaisir à vos proches ou tout simplement décorer votre intérieur d'une touche de romantisme. Petits ou grands, blancs ou en couleurs, simples pour les débutantes ou plus compliqués pour les expertes… vous trouverez une multitude de cœurs à réaliser en Hardanger pour offrir, ou tout simplement se faire plaisir. Ce livre vous propose une multitude de projets classiques ou plus originaux qui mêlent au Hardanger, le point de croix, le patchwork et même la broderie au ruban… À vous de personnaliser vos créations, de vous amuser en utilisant ces grilles comme sources d'inspirations, et de passer un bon moment grâce à cette technique simple et si facile à broder… Avec 38 photographies en couleurs de Sébastien CHAMPEAUX et 44 grilles.

La broderie Hardanger, ou norvégienne, est une broderie ajourée à fils comptés. Les motifs s'exécutent en comptant les fils de tissu et se construisent de façon strictement géométrique. Le dessin du motif n'est pas reporté sur le tissu, il est réalisé d'après un diagramme que l'on suit tout en brodant, comme pour le point de croix. Dans cet ouvrage, nous vous proposons des nappes, chemins de table, napperons, rideaux, dessus de lits, traversins, taies d'oreillers… soit 35 modèles originaux accompagnés de leur diagramme et de leur photographie en couleurs.