ABCD 536 – FOLKCEMBALO (Folk Harpsichord)

Description

Tea Polso’s album FOLKCEMBALO (Folk Harpsichord) weaves together the most archaic folk tunes of Ostrobothnia and Sweden with the Italian and English grounds and clavier dances of the early Baroque, sharing the same harmonic and rhythmic soil. The album was born out of Polso’s childhood interest in the rhythms and harmonic similarities between Baroque and folk music. She has noticed how these two seemingly different styles intertwine into an organic whole.

The album alternates between, among other things, the profound processional music of pavanas and gånglåtis and the parallel galliardas and polskas – not forgetting the chordal cycles common to Baroque and folk music, such as the folia. The album makes extensive use of “grounds”, or repeated chordal cycles, which were the basis of improvisation and composition in both the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

The album features dance pairs such as pavane – galliard and gånglåt – polska. Early Italian Baroque music is contrasted with Ostrobothnian folk songs, while William Byrd’s works are mainly combined with Swedish folk tunes, especially those from the Dalarna region.

The album includes several well-known pieces, such as:
Giovanni Picchi’s Saltarello del Pass’e mezzo and Girolamo Frescobaldi’s Partita sopra l’aria di Follia, which are combined with Finnish polskas
William Byrd’s Monsieurs Alman paired with Karlebynejdens brudmarsch
Swedish Gånglåt efter Finn arranged by Hans Timo Alakotila and William Byrd’s Galliarda in c
John Dowland’s Lachrimae Antiquae and Hjort Anders’ Gråtlåten
Frescobald’s Balletto & Ciaccona and also Härmäläinen riemupolska and Rintalan Heikin polska
William Byrd’s Pavana The Earl of Salisbury and Galliarda in a together with Gånglåt från Mora
Samuel Rinda-Nickola’s Polska no.38 and Bernardo Pasquini’s Bergamasca combined with Purppurin polskat of Kaustinen
William Byrd’s Hughe Ashtons Grounde and Hjort Anders’ Min levnads afton
Lampaanpolska and Bernardo Pasquini’s Partita diverse di Follia.
Although the harpsichord is not a traditional folk instrument, and most of the pieces on the album were originally played on violin, Polso justifies the harpsichord’s use through its rich upper register and “rhythm instrument” character, which give it the soul of a folk instrument.

The collection reflects Polso’s personal “landscape of the soul” and explores the common roots of Baroque and more archaic folk music, such as modality and chordal cycles across Europe.