Outline of Nordic folk music culture
Text: mmr｜Theme: A long study that deciphers the dark side of the myths and folk beliefs engraved in Scandinavian folk music from history and folklore.
北欧フォークと呼ばれる音楽文化は、ノルウェー、スウェーデン、フィンランド、デンマーク、アイスランドといった地域に伝わる民謡、舞曲、吟唱の総体を指す。これらは近代的なジャンル名が与えられる以前から、生活・信仰・労働・死と密接に結びついた音楽として存在してきた。
The melodies are often based on a minor key, are repetitive, and have a musical time that contains tension and silence rather than ““brightness’’ in the modern sense. The lyrics often deal with themes such as the dead, ghosts, spirits, curses, and betrayal, as well as stories of heroism and love.
This characteristic is not a coincidence, but is deeply related to the very structure of the mythological system and folk beliefs in the Nordic world.
北欧フォークは娯楽音楽ではなく、神話的世界観を音として保存する装置だった。
The worldview underlying Norse mythology
In order to understand the darkness of Norse folk, it is necessary to confirm the basic nature of Norse mythology. Norse mythology is one of the few myth systems that systematizes the story from creation to end, and the end is always the destruction of the world called Ragnarok.
Gods are not immortal, but face old age, betrayal, and death. Odin sacrifices his eyes to gain knowledge, and while Loki is a god, he becomes a destroyer and brings about the end of the world.
What is important about this mythological system is that there is no assumption that order will last forever. A worldview that is predicated on perdition makes musical expressions more strongly reflect fate than hope.
Norse mythology contains the idea of accepting an inevitable end rather than salvation.
Folk beliefs and dark beings
In Northern Europe, folk beliefs survived for a long time even after Christianity. It was believed that spirits resided in forests, lakes, mountains, and swamps, and these spirits were both blessings and harm to humans.
Female forest spirits such as Sweden”s Skogsloh, Norway”s Huldra, and Finland’s Metsan Vaki are said to be beautiful and inviting, but are said to be destructive to those who get too close.
Folk song lyrics repeatedly tell stories of encounters with these beings resulting in death or madness. These were not fables, but served as practical warnings for coexisting with nature.
The darkness of Scandinavian folk was not a horror production, but wisdom for survival.
Violence and death in ballads
Many of the ballads that have been sung throughout Scandinavia since the Middle Ages are extremely violent in modern terms. Murders between siblings, betrayal by lovers, infanticide by mothers, and dead people returning as ghosts are all told in a matter-of-fact manner.
These ballads often proceed like a list of facts, without emotional excitement. The melody is also restrained, with a structure that leaves interpretation to the listener.
There is no intention to glorify violence, and death is depicted as an extension of everyday life rather than a special incident. There is a calmness and darkness characteristic of Scandinavian folk.
Talking about death was not unusual in Norse folk.
Shadows created by instruments and acoustics
The instruments used in Nordic folk also strongly support its mythical nature. Hardingfehre, Nickelharpa, and kantele use a lot of resonant strings and open strings, and have a structure that naturally produces sustained notes and dissonance.
Although these instruments have a single melody, they are accompanied by rich overtones, always leaving a shadow-like echo behind the melody. In particular, drone sounds have the effect of emphasizing the stagnation of time and ritualistic nature.
The very structure of the instrument forms a sonic world that avoids clear resolution.
The darkness of Scandinavian folk is built into the sonic structure before the melody.
Christianization and transformation of dark mythology
Even after the Nordic world became Christian, old myths and animism did not completely disappear. These are reinterpreted as heresies, superstitions, and folk tales, and they slip into folk songs.
Christian concepts such as the devil, hell, and sin were combined with existing dark entities to form new narratives. As a result, Nordic folk takes on a double darkness.
On the other hand, mythical beings are rarely determined to be completely evil, and the fact that vague boundaries are maintained can be said to be a Scandinavian characteristic.
Darkness was not eliminated, but preserved in a different form.
Rediscovery and reinterpretation after modern times
From the 19th century onwards, with the rise of nationalism, Nordic folk was reevaluated as a ““cultural heritage’’. As the collection and notation progressed, the dark content was categorized as symbolic and literary.
In the second half of the 20th century, reinterpretation progressed in the context of dark folk, neofolk, and ambient, and mythicity and the idea of life and death came to the fore once again.
However, many modern reinterpretations do not reproduce past values, but instead refer to the worldview originally held by Scandinavian folk.
The dark mythical nature has not been lost, but has been reinterpreted.
Structure of Nordic folk dark mythology
北欧フォークの暗さは単一要素ではなく、複層的な構造の結果である。
年表：神話と音楽の交差点
Mythology and music have coexisted, changing their forms with each era.
Conclusion: What is dark mythology?
The dark mythical nature of Nordic folk is not just an ornament to emphasize fear or tragedy. It is a worldview that allows us to face nature and death, time and fate, and a system of knowledge that has been shared through music.
この音楽が現代においても聴き継がれる理由は、その暗さが過去のものではなく、現在の不確実性とも共鳴するからだろう。
Nordic folk is music for living together with darkness without denying it.
