Vals från Ragunda
This Vals från Ragunda comes to us from the repertoire of Arvid Brännlund. He was a fiddler born in 1880, died in 1960. He played most of his life, having been taught by his father before he was 6 years old.
Much of Brännlund’s repertoire he got from his father, either directly or indirectly from other fiddlers. He left a legacy in his son, too, who also became a fiddler.
I learned this tune from a Jämtland fiddler, Pelle Persson, when I was visiting Värmland in 1974. I liked it so much, that when I returned to California and resumed playing with American fiddlers, I gave this the name “Tim’s Favorite”. There are just too many great tunes I know now to have any single one called my favorite, though!
To the left is a photo of the Ragunda area, which seemed to me to be one of the most beautiful places in Sweden when I first went through.
To the left, a video of me playing one of my favorite waltzes.