Annbjørg Lien
Encyclopedia
Annbjørg Lien is a Norwegian
musician. She plays the hardingfele
(Hardanger fiddle), violin
, and nyckelharpa
.
She first came to national prominence in 1986. Shortly afterwards got a recording deal with the Heilo label and released her first album on that label in 1988. She has received numerous awards, both in Norway and the Nordic countries, including Gammleng Prize in classical folk music in 2004 and Hilmar Prize in 2006.
In her work, Lien often combines traditional Norwegian music
with jazz
and rock music
. She has traveled to Africa
, Asia
, Australia
, Argentina
, Bhutan
, Greenland
, Iceland
, Sri Lanka
, North America
, and other parts of Europe
, and worked with musicians from many countries. In 2006 she performed on Loreena McKennitt's
album An Ancient Muse
playing nyckelharpa
and played Hardanger fiddle on Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh
's album Imeall
in 2008.
Her 2008 project Waltz With Me brought together American fiddler, guitarist and singer Bruce Molsky
, Swedish violist Mikael Marin and Canadian cellist Christine Hanson for a concert commissioned by the Telemark Festival. The project included a CD of the same name. With Arve Moen Bergset
and Steinar Ofsdal, she is a member of the folk music group Bukkene Bruse
.
Lien is part of the fiddle ensemble, String Sisters
, which formed in 2000 and consists of six string players from six different countries, who released their début album Live in 2007.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
musician. She plays the hardingfele
Hardingfele
A Hardanger fiddle is a traditional stringed instrument used originally to play the music of Norway. In modern designs, the instruments are very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings and thinner wood...
(Hardanger fiddle), violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, and nyckelharpa
Nyckelharpa
A nyckelharpa , sometimes called a keyed fiddle, is a traditional Swedish musical instrument. It is a string instrument or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when a key is depressed, serve as frets to change the pitch of the string.The nyckelharpa is similar in appearance to a...
.
She first came to national prominence in 1986. Shortly afterwards got a recording deal with the Heilo label and released her first album on that label in 1988. She has received numerous awards, both in Norway and the Nordic countries, including Gammleng Prize in classical folk music in 2004 and Hilmar Prize in 2006.
In her work, Lien often combines traditional Norwegian music
Music of Norway
Music based on traditional Norwegian form usually includes minor or modal scales , making a sober and haunting sound. Pure major key dance music forms also exist. Prior to the 18th century, there is scant written record of what kind of music was played in Norway, but there is a large aural tradition...
with jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
. She has traveled to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and other parts of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and worked with musicians from many countries. In 2006 she performed on Loreena McKennitt's
Loreena McKennitt
Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, CM, OM, is a Canadian singer, composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. McKennitt is known for her refined, clear soprano vocals...
album An Ancient Muse
An Ancient Muse
An Ancient Muse is the seventh full-length studio album of the Canadian singer, songwriter, accordionist, harpist, and pianist, Loreena McKennitt. It was released on November 20, 2006 internationally, and November 21, 2006 in the United States and Canada. It was her first studio album after a...
playing nyckelharpa
Nyckelharpa
A nyckelharpa , sometimes called a keyed fiddle, is a traditional Swedish musical instrument. It is a string instrument or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when a key is depressed, serve as frets to change the pitch of the string.The nyckelharpa is similar in appearance to a...
and played Hardanger fiddle on Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh
Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh
Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh is an Irish fiddler and the lead vocalist for the Irish traditional band Altan.-Biography:Ní Mhaonaigh grew up in Gweedore , County Donegal, on the northwest coast of Ireland....
's album Imeall
Imeall
- Personnel :*Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh - vocals, Irish fiddle, Hardanger fiddle*Manus Lunny - bouzouki, programming, vocals, guitar*Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill - piano*Dónal Lunny - bodhrán*Michael McGoldrick - flute, uileann Pipes*Jim Higgins - percussion, bodhrán...
in 2008.
Her 2008 project Waltz With Me brought together American fiddler, guitarist and singer Bruce Molsky
Bruce Molsky
Bruce C. Molsky is an American fiddler, banjo player, guitarist, and singer. He primarily performs old-time music of the Appalachian region.Molsky was born in 1955 at New York Infirmary in Manhattan, and grew up in The Bronx...
, Swedish violist Mikael Marin and Canadian cellist Christine Hanson for a concert commissioned by the Telemark Festival. The project included a CD of the same name. With Arve Moen Bergset
Arve Moen Bergset
Arve Moen Bergset is a folk music performer from Norway. He was born in the Telemark region of that country in 1972. He released two albums of folk and traditional religious music as a boy singer in 1986 and 1987...
and Steinar Ofsdal, she is a member of the folk music group Bukkene Bruse
Bukkene Bruse
Bukkene Bruse is a Norwegian musical group, focusing on a varied repertoire of traditional and folk-style Norwegian songs, but also including many new compositions based on various Norwegian musical traditions...
.
Lien is part of the fiddle ensemble, String Sisters
String Sisters
String Sisters are a Grammy long-listed folk supergroup made up six of the world's leading female fiddlers.-Formation:...
, which formed in 2000 and consists of six string players from six different countries, who released their début album Live in 2007.
Discography
- 1983 - Eg er liten eg / I am just little me
- 1987 - I Seierstakt / Celebration
- 1988 - Kjellstadslåttar / Tunes from Kjellstad
- 1989 - Annbjørg
- 1993 - Bukkene Bruse - Bukkene Bruse
- 1994 - Felefeber / Fiddlefantasia
- 1995 - Bukkene Bruse - Åre
- 1996 - Prisme / Prism
- 1998 - Bukkene Bruse - Steinstolen / The Stone Chair
- 1999 - Baba Yaga
- 2001 - Bukkene Bruse - Den Fagraste Rosa
- 2002 - Aliens Alive
- 2004 - Bukkene Bruse - Spel
- 2007 - String Sisters Live
- 2008 - Waltz with me
- 2009 - Annbjørg Lien / Bjørn Ole Rasch - Come home
- 2010 - Annbjørg Lien / Sondre Bratland - Alle vegne