Nordic Traditional Folk Melody (Ack Värmeland, du sköna)

Ack Värmeland, Du Sköna is a Swedish traditional folk melody, written by Anders Fryxell och Fredrik August Dahlgren in 1822.

This melody has always been part of my Swedish heritage, but it wasn't until I heard Jussi Björling do an interpretation that I almost fell off my chair. Even though both Miles Davis and John Coltrane also played it as "Dear Old Stockholm". This song is one of my favorites and Jussi's take on it is a force of nature, just as the song itself.

Here I play the saxophone with a technique and register that can be compared to the traditional Swedish singing technique Kulning. Kulning was traditionally sung to bring back the livestock, It's an ancient Swedish herding call.

This video is recorded 100kilometers above the polar circle in northern Sweden.

Martin "Bear Garden" Wirén - Saxophone

Vivi Laakko - Photo