Sjofn (album)

Sjofn
Studio album by Gjallarhorn
Released 2000
Genre Folk music
Label Vindauga
Producer Gjallarhorn
Gjallarhorn chronology
Ranarop
(1997)		 Sjofn
(2000)		 Grimborg
(2003)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

Sjofn is an album by Gjallarhorn.[2] It was the band's second studio album, and was released in 2000. It combines striking singing by vocalist Jenny Wilhelms with vigorous Swedish folk-style accompaniment, but with a didgeridoo as an updated drone.

The album was brought out with the help of Finlands Svenska Folkmusikinstitut [3] (Finland's Swedish Folk Music Institute) and Svenska Kulturfonden [4] (The Swedish Culture Fund).

Contents

Reception

Steven McDonald, writing on AllMusic, described Sjofn as "a thoroughly Pagan delight of an album", explaining that it is "essentially dedicated to the goddess" Sjofn.[1] He felt that the album was supported "quite well" by the two videos supplied on the 'enhanced' CD, specially liking the 'Suvetar' video[5] which seems to show a fertility rite, though he also admired the 'Dejelill Och Lagerman' video which has "the local equivalent of" horned god Cernunnos/Herne watching Gjallarhorn playing in an urban environment. The CD, McDonald concludes, is "great stuff, and very, very highly recommended."[1]

Track listing

  1. "Suvetar (Goddess of Spring)" – 5:14
  2. "Tova och Konungen (Tova and the King)" - 4:20
  3. "Dejelill Och Lagerman" - 3:23
  4. "Minuer from Jeppo (Polska)" - 1:05
  5. "Minuer from Jeppo (Polska)" - 3:12
  6. "Kom Helge Ande (Come, Holy Spirit)"
  7. "Näcken och Jungfrun (The Water-Sprite and the Maiden)" - 3:15
  8. "Su Ru Ruskadirej" - 3:55
  9. "Berhfäst (Mountain Haunted)" 7:41
  10. "Oravais Minuet" - 3:33
  11. "Lille Dansa (Dance a Little)" - 2:46
  12. "Hjaðningaríma (Heathen Song)" - 2:26
  13. "Sinivatsa (Dolphin Calling)" - 7:37
  • Recorded at Martin Kantola Audio, Karpero, Finland between June and August, 1999

Personnel

References

  1. ^ a b c AllMusic Review, Sjofn [Enhanced], by Steven McDonald, http://www.allmusic.com/album/r505545
  2. ^ Gjallarhorn (band's website) - Innovative Nordic Sounds, http://www.gjallarhorn.com/main.html
  3. ^ Finlands Svenska Folkmusikinstitut (Finland's Swedish Folk Music Institute) supported by Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland (The Swedish Literature Society in Finland), http://www.sls.fi/folkmusik/
  4. ^ Svenska Kulturfonden (The Swedish Culture Fund), http://www.kulturfonden.fi/start/
  5. ^ "LinkTV". World Music: Gjallarhorn, Suvetar (Goddess of Spring). linktv.org. http://www.linktv.org/video/4894/world-music-gjallarhorn-suvetar-goddess-of-spring. Retrieved November 23, 2011. 

External links