Wintersongs: Winter Holiday in Sweden

• Artist: Triakel
• Rating:
• Release Date: October 09, 2001
• Type: Christmas, Lyrics are included with the album
• Genre: World

Review

While Triakel's eponymous debut had many dark moments, Wintersongs definitely moves toward the light. It's a celebration both of winter and Christmas, a mix of traditional folk songs, lullabies, and Christmas carols, with one new piece, "Innan Gryningen," co-written by former ABBA man Benny Andersson, who also guests on accordion. Overall the mood is graceful, concentrating on songs rather than dance pieces, which means that upbeat material like "Julgranspolska" and "Staffanvisa From Orust" stand out for their relatively lively tempos. The beauty is in the way the harmonium, fiddle, and voice complement each other, as on the lovely "Torspar-Julaftas-Vaggvisa," where harmonium arpeggios set the tone, Härdelin's wonderfully clear voice sings the melody, and the fiddle weaves soft strands around it all, leaving the whole much more than the sum of its parts. There are a number of similarities between the pieces here and English folk music -- "God Morgan Här, Kär, Fader Var" could have come from across the North Sea with its cadences -- that emphasize the connections of folk, the real music of the people. For what's essentially a side project, as members of the group have real jobs in Garmarna and Hoven Droven, Triakel has a fully established identity perfectly suited to a themed album like this, with ideas turning into crystalline reality. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Julvisa Från Älvdalen [Christmas Carol from Älvdalen]		Triakel	(3:03)
Berglagsjul [Christmas in the Mining District]		Triakel	(2:17)
Er Framtid Blive Lyckelig [Good Fortune and Joy]		Triakel	(3:23)
Staffansvisa Från Orust [St. Stephen's Day Carol from Orust]	Traditional	Triakel	(1:50)
Innan Gryningen [The Silence of The Dawn]	Benny Andersson	Triakel	(3:32)
Torspar-Julaftas-Våggvisa [The Crofter's Christman Eve Lullaby]		Triakel	(4:16)
God Morgon Här, Kär Fader Vår [Good Morning to You, Master Dear]		Triakel	(2:22)
Det Blir en Julhelg Glad [A Joyful Christmas It Will Be]	Charlotta	Triakel	(3:36)
Julvisa I Finnmarken [Christmas in the Finnmark]	Thorstein Bergman	Triakel	(3:40)
Staffanvisa Från Jäntland [St. Stephen's Day Carol from Jäntland]		Triakel	(2:43)
Adventspsalm [Advent Hymn]		Triakel	(3:21)
Mormor Julstjärna [Grandma's Christmans Star]		Triakel	(2:38)
Knalle Juls Vals [The Christmas Tree Seller's Waltz]	Evert Taube	Triakel	(2:35)
Julgranspolska [The Christmas Tree Polska]		Triakel	(2:18)
Tackvisan [Thankyou Song]		Triakel	(4:17)

Credits

Benny Andersson (Accordion), Gustav Hylen (Producer), Triakel (Producer), Fred Lane (Translation), Gustav Hylen (Engineer), Gunnar Smoliansky (Photography), Kjell-Erik Eriksson (Fiddle), Janne Strömstedt (Harmonium), Rune Soderqvist (Graphic Design), Bernard Löhr (Producer), Emma Härdelin (Vocals)