Hasses Hambo
This is a tune composed by a leading nyckelharpa player of the mid-20th century, Hans (Hasse) Gille.
From the town of Österbybruk in Uppland, he was a merchant seaman as profession until about age 40. At that time he became concerned that the rich tradition of nyckelharpa music in his home town was fading away, so he determined to help save it himself.
He had been a jazz trumpeter up to then, but switched to nyckelharpa, and began studying with the remaining old traditional nyckelharpa players in Österbybruk. He also learned to make the instrument, as well, in both the modern chromatic version as well as the older models that were hardly played any more.
I became acquainted with Hasse Gille in the 1970’s when he was one of the most prominent players in Uppland.
In 1990 I did a video interview with him at his home, and one of the tunes he played for me was this hambo which he had composed himself. It was so delightful that I learned to play it myself.
Here is a YouTube video I made playing Hasses Hambo on the fiddle. And here is a video I made at the same time, using the nyckelharpa.