Vals efter Gustaf Wallin
This Vals efter Gustaf Wallin is from the little province of Västmanland.
Gustaf Wallin was an outstanding fiddler from the village of Skrekarhyttan in the southernmost part of the province, near the borders of both Värmland and Närke. He was born in 1841, the son of a fiddler, and died in 1915. He was already playing at weddings at age 9, and music was the great love of his life.
In 1909 he entered a fiddle contest in Västmanland, and won a prize for his playing, which was “noble, full of feeling, and with pretty good clarity, despite him being stone deaf.”
Gustaf learned to play from his father, Jan Erik Wallin, who eventually emigrated with another son to America in 1880, where he died in the Dakotas.
Västmanland is a smaller province, without the great reputation of huge and rich repertoire that is found in Dalarna, Hälsingland, Värmland, Uppland, and others. But this waltz I learned on my first trip to Sweden, as a tune played even outside of its area of origin. It is considered an “allspel” tune in Västmanland – a tune most fiddlers know.
Here is a video of me playing this Vals efter Gustaf Wallin.