Sparf Fars Polska
Sparf Fars Polska is a well-known tune from the town of Rättvik, in the province of Dalarna. It comes from the repertoire of Sparf Anders Andersson, a fiddler born in 1839.
Sparf Anders was esteemed in his home district for his great tunes and his enthusiastic style of playing.
Stories were told of his almost supernatural ability, and he did not discourage this reputation, as it just made him more in demand at dances and other events calling for a fiddler.
One story that might even be true has to do with him playing at a dance one evening, and getting caught up in intensity. He kept on playing for hours, even after the dancers got so tired they all left, and might have played all night had not someone come and taken his bow out of his hand!
Here is a YouTube recording of Sparf Fars Polska being played by a group of fiddlers from Dalarna.
To the left is a photo of a painting of dancers done by the master artist Anders Zorn. He incorporated folk traditions into his art as well as his life.