Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis slender volume is a probing, elegantly written assessment of a more tightly circumscribed topic than the author advertises with the book’s title. . . .Kaminsky, a fine flutist and respected performer of Swedish folk melodies, is well equipped to discuss music as sound and practice. * Journal of American Folklore *
This slender volume is a probing, elegantly written assessment of a more tightly circumscribed topic than the author advertises with the book’s title. . . .Kaminsky, a fine flutist and respected performer of Swedish folk melodies, is well equipped to discuss music as sound and practice. * Journal of American Folklore *
Kaminsky’s book is a valuable work, not least because it both clarifies and problematises many current issues . . . He has managed to both capture the many nuances and to present the study in a manageable structure, where some basic questions continually generate new approaches and expressions. . . .Swedish Folk Music in the Twenty-first Century could serve as a model for ethnomusicological studies in other fields and genres. Kaminsky’s analysis of the concept of folk music and of practical music-making, combined with an historical overview, bring new and important insights into the understanding of Swedish folk music. * Ethnomusicology Forum *
This is an excellent study by an outsider-insider of what folk music means today and how it is used in contemporary Sweden. It gives a sound discussion of the four elements – Tradition, Nation, Folk, Nature – that in a complicated way interrelate, and traditionally have answered, now as before, to practitioners’ and listeners’ different motives and needs. Kaminsky leaves few stones unturned; almost every possible angle on this subject is dealt with in lucid overviews, explaining longer trends, as well as detailed discussions. I consider myself to be an informed Swedish musician and musicologist, but I really learned a lot. This ethnomusicological book is an impressive and fresh undertaking, wide-ranging and written in plain language. -- Olle Edström, University of Gothenburg
Being both an outsider and an insider, Kaminsky presents a multifaceted account of the contemporary Swedish folk music scene and its historical background. -- Krister Malm
Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments Chapter One: Toward an Insiders' Definition of Folk Music Chapter Two: Reinventing Tradition Chapter Three: Geographical Boundaries (and their Limits) Chapter Four: Folk Music and the Public Eye Chapter Five: A Natural Art Chapter Six: Three Definitions of Folk Music Chapter Seven: Two Public Performances Postscript: Return of the Nationalist Right Appendix A: List of Interviews Appendix B: Glossary of Terms Bibliography Discography and Videography Index About the Author
