The Jorn Hilme Music Festival exclusively features folk music in a two week extravaganza. The name Jorn Hilme was actually derived from a popular fiddle among folk musicians in Norway, especially those with a heritage in the Valdres traditions. Since 1960, every last two weeks of July have seen the town of Fagernes come alive with concerts, dances and classes of a rare genre of music. Fagernes is in the district of Valdres, only about three hours from Oslo, to the North, by car. This year (July 19-26, 2009), during the festival’s 49^th anniversary, it was bigger than any of the preceding events, bringing together hundreds of folk singers and dancers with their traditional instruments.

The festival incorporates two phases, each lasting one week. The first week is dedicated to a Strunkeveko, the local version of a boot camp. It is in the second week that the festival itself starts, where folk music reigns in numerous concerts, music classes, dance parties, camping sessions, bush dances and competitions. There is a competition for folk musicians, folk music singers and for folk music dancers all along the week.

The words ‘Stemnet’ featured in the festival’s name, Jorn Hilme-Stemnet Festival, refers to any festival that is purely focused on folk music whether in concerts, dances, classes or competitions.

The music classes are facilitated by Norway’s best instructors who are experts in the Valdres tradition and folk lore. The Jorn Hilme-Stemnet Festival has a bias for local music, giving talented young folk musicians an opportunity to showcase that talent and entertain a massive audience from the country and the larger North Europe region as well as tourists from all over the globe. The invited musicians in Jorn Hilme festival participate to entertain the audiences and compete. They are mainly dancers, referred locally as bygdedans, and traditional music maestros, locally called gamaldans.

Norway has three national music competitions every year, the National Folk Dance Music Festival, the National Contest for Traditional Music, and the Jorn Hilme festival. In these events, the gammeldans, bygdedans and other folk musicians fiddle, dance and sing traditional music with flair and mastery comparable to none. What makes it so authentic is the heavy instrumentation of legendary folk music instruments. Other major attractions in Norway include the Forde Folk Music Festival, and Telemark International Folk Music Festival held in Bo. But none of these can compare to the attendance and entertainment of the Jorn Hilme Festival.

It is only Jorn Hilme that registers a star lineup for competition and concerts with such prominent names in Norway’s list of folk musicians like violinist Susanne Lundeng, and Hardanger fiddlers Annbjorg Lien, Knut Buen and Hallvard T. Bjorgum. Added to this is a host of world popular vocalists such as Agnes Buen Garnas, Oyonn Groven Myhren, Kirsten Braten Berg and Odd Nordstoga. The traditional music groups featured in most Jorn Hilme festivals include such legendary names like Majorstuen, Utla, Kvarts, Tindra and Dvergmal. National dance troops and solo dancers are also in attendance, as are the most prolific gamaldans bands.

Musicians in Jorn Hilme Festival play the springar and the gamaldans with exceptional expertise, especially those who have been raised in the southern regions of Norway where the music instruments are a staple of their music repertoire. The singing is also accompanied by the jaw harp, the langeleik and melodious flutes. All across the second week, during the evenings, guests are tutored for free on how to play the gamaldans. Guests are given an opportunity to learn these instruments alongside the attending musicians, with most participants receiving an invitation to join various dance groups once the competitions are done with.

The Jorn Hilme Festival is a major tourist attraction not only because it is held in the amazing Norwegian mountain areas but also, or even more importantly, because it features the greatest of all the Norwegian folk music and dance arenas, with over 15 concerts in a single edition, four music classes, a grand competition and a series of four evenings parading rhythmical dances on eight dance floors of the Valdres Folk Museum. As the bygdedans and gamaldans play their hearts out during the evenings, audiences are called into any of the six massive dance floors to feel the bliss and enjoy the tranquil of Norway’s finest traditions.

On the last two days, Saturday and Sunday, there is a very entertaining traditional competition among the musicians and willing audiences, locally called kappleik. The kappleik is actually among the largest competitive events in Norway, featuring different categories, classifications and levels. For instance, one category is the open class, where people with new compositions of non-traditional folk music compete. Other classifications include those of drumming, even cow calling, blowing the lur (a very large horn) or the bukkehorn (an animal horn). The awards are categorized as class A for first prize winners in national music competitions, Class B for anybody else aged between 18 and 60, Class C for performers aged between 12 and 18, Class D for those aged above 60, and then the Recruiting Class for those under 12 years of age.

Tags: Hilme musicians, Arts and Entertainment, Hilme Festival, fiddlers annbjorg lien, Valdres Folk Museum