At the end of the road after twenty years

We met Synnøve S. Bjørset at Bjørset - on a rather windy day in the Jølster region. Photo: Heidi Hattestein

December 3rd in Førde is one of the very last chances to hear Majorstuen live.

The calendar had turned 2019, and we had just started a new decade. Majorstuen released "Jubel" and were looking forward to the tour. Then corona came and robbed them of the jubilation.  

— We had already decided that "Jubel" would be the last album, says Synnøve S. Bjørset, the fiddle player from Jølster who has been a permanent member of the band since the start in 2000.  

After twenty years, they call it quits. The breakup is done calmly, without drama. Synnøve thinks they realized it before any of them dared to say it out loud.

— We were going to play a concert and were sitting and talking. Then it came to the table. Several of us had begun to feel that it had been a little boring for a little too long, and we agreed to go our separate ways and think about it. A ripe old age, one might say.

— Who was it that uttered the first, decisive words?

— I wonder if it was me, but I won't say for sure. I have a selective mind. But the decision was unanimous.

At the bottom of this story you can read more about the concert in Førde , but first a piece of folk music history that goes from the west end of Oslo via the whole world and to Ålhus in Jølster.

Some "fake" rebels

They have always been a bit stubborn. They met at the folk music department at the Norwegian Academy of Music. That was not all they were happy with at the traditional educational institution, and they took matters into their own hands.

— We didn't feel like the teaching and the subject matter always suited us. We were hungry for knowledge about folk music, and we longed to express ourselves artistically on our own and folk music's premises. This sometimes came into conflict with the state of affairs at an institution that at the time was mostly built on the premises of classical music, she says.

“ The best school I've ever attended, ” says Synnøve about her time at Majorstuen.

The trend of going out brought them together. They established themselves as a band and took the name Majorstuen, not because they were so urban and cool, quite the opposite. They all wore Uno clothes and no makeup and had long hair. The cool ones went to the jazz department, and the well-dressed ones studied classical music. The choice of name was probably a bit random. At the time, it was almost a trend to name bands after neighborhoods, among others, Briskeby with front vocalist Lise Karlsnes released their debut album the same year. Majorstuen even received the Spellemannprisen for their debut album in 2003.

"The best school I've ever attended," says Synnøve about her time at Majorstuen. They have learned an incredible amount from each other, and they have cultivated the ensemble format.

— We're proud of everything we've accomplished. I'm not going to say that others are following us, but I think we opened some doors. We found a free spot and did a good job there.

A mysterious, well-dressed cello musician

For the gang in Majorstuen, it has always been about instruments, and first and foremost the fiddles. They bring with them different folk music traditions, and they see them as dialects. They have always been eager to learn each other's musical vernacular, and in addition they have experimented with how much they can borrow from other genres without it becoming a crossover.

— We have always been loyal to our own, strict idea, says Synnøve and continues:

— What we did was so different that it aroused excitement, while also provoking. That's often the case when you come up with something new. True enough, the critical voices have just as often highlighted what we _haven't_ done, as what we have done.  

"Why don't you bring bass and guitar?" the voices have asked. For a while, Majorstuen only played with fiddles, let's call it a treble row. Now they also bring cello and viola.  

— The cello may not be a typical folk instrument, but music history shows that the cello was actually the bass instrument before the double bass made its appearance. Folk music has not existed in isolation from the outside world, and living traditions always absorb impulses from the present. Wait a minute, she says and disappears out the door.

Who is the well-dressed cellist playing with Jens Galdane in this picture, Synnøve wonders.

She returns with an old photograph. It shows two fiddlers, one on a Hardanger fiddle and one on a cello, in front of a house. The identity of the Hardanger fiddle player is known, his name was Jens Galdane. The house still stands, it is located along the old Kongevegen in Lærdal, and the yard is open to visitors. But who the neatly dressed man with the cello is is a bit of a mystery. Maybe he was a musician on a journey through?

The good laugh of Synnøve

"Jubel" is Majorstuen's eighth album, on top of a handful of singles. For the first time, they have commissioned work from others. Three of the tracks on "Jubel" were composed by Thea Hjelmeland, Ola Kvernberg and Gjermund Larsen, respectively.

Press photoshoot in Majorstuen style. This is of course for the latest album, Jubel.

The latter played in Majorstuen at one time. There have been a few replacements along the way. Majorstuen was established by Synnøve, Jorun Marie Kvernberg, Tove Hagen, Andreas Ljones, Gjermund Larsen and Ragnhild Furubotten. First Ragnhild quit. Then Gjermund gave up, and they brought Anders Löfberg with them. Then Andreas gave up, and they brought Bjørn Kåre Odde with them.

Synnøve seems to have abandoned the work on the external contributions.

— Although we haven't heard anything special from the composers in retrospect, she says and laughs heartily, in a style familiar to those who know her.

Bad karma

Touring is one of the coolest things Synnøve knows.

— We have experienced absolutely fantastic things and played in the strangest places. I remember we played on an island in Normandy in France, Tatihou, at a festival there. The audience had to go over to the island at low tide, and there was a very tight schedule, so they had to get back dry. We played in a circus tent that was packed to the brim, and one thing after another, in any case they had to swim back to the mainland.

France is one of Synnøve's favorite countries to play in. The audience is genuinely interested, and they come in droves, of all ages.

"Otherwise, travel stories often involve visits to the toilet," she says.

— Yes?

— When traveling, it happens that you are exposed to foreign bacterial flora that can have an adverse effect on sensitive Norwegian stomachs, and it's really bad if it happens just when you're going on stage. But it's incredible what you can do if you have to.

Once in the Czech Republic, violin and cello player Tove Hagen fell ill. She was so exhausted that Synnøve began to wonder if she was exaggerating. It was not uncommon for the occasional comment to be made on the flight back to Oslo, but then, on the flight on to Førde , Synnøve sensed that something was wrong. She went home and remained bedridden for three days.

— I'm not sure if I ever said "sorry" to Tove, but today we have a good laugh about it. It's a bit like "good for you, Synnøve!".

The world is actually coming to an end. Førde

Yes, Synnøve loves to tour. The concert itself usually takes an hour or two during the day, and there is so much else to experience: champagne bars, snails, frog legs.

They have played several times in Canada, and they have played in Azerbaijan, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, Spain, Denmark, Ireland, England, Scotland. In Sweden they have only played once - no, twice - times, and Synnøve finds that a bit strange. She did not go to Murmansk in Russia. That is the only time she has "skipped" because she had something else to do.

Around festivals, she has often met musicians she has heard before.

— I live in tiny Sunnfjord in Norway and have heard them live, because they have been in Førde . Førdefestivalen is so much bigger than we might understand.

Self-made business people

The gang in Majorstuen likes to do things themselves. Apart from the first album, which was released on 2L, they have released all their albums on their own label, which has given them valuable knowledge and, for a while, also income.

— A few hundred thousand kroner can go from A to Z in a record production, and we are completely dependent on subsidies from various support schemes. Now that most music is streamed digitally, we may be left with a few measly hundred kroner a year, but not because there is no money in music streaming. Spotify and the other streaming services earn a lot, but only the biggest artists are left with amounts like coins. The smallest ones barely have any.

— Are falling record sales one of the reasons why you're quitting?

The concerts at Majorstuen are also a visual experience - and often with several humorous points and elements. Like here from the Skrible concert at Førdefestivalen in 2018. Photo. Knut Utler

— In fact, our genre has an audience that still buys some records, but we also notice the change well. For a while, record sales provided a good income for our company, now it is almost zero. Nevertheless, it is the eternal fight over royalties that is most tiring, I am so incredibly tired of it. We have said no to a lot, and I myself have said no to even more. Sometimes I think that some of the offers of royalties border on social dumping, and yet it is socially accepted. No, you have to put your foot down.

The decision to close is based on more than economics and what they perceive as a sluggish market.

— Everything is transient, and now our time has come. We feel we have done what we had to do. 

Maybe she should invest in a new wardrobe?

She had actually been looking forward to having time for her own music projects. Then the Museums of Sogn og Fjordane advertised her dream job as department director for cultural history, with responsibility for communication, events and exhibitions. She applied and got the job.

This means she has to resign from half of her position at the County Archives, another dream job in Synnøve's eyes. She finds it sad to have to hand over the music archivist's chair to someone else, but is looking forward to taking on the new job.

— I often hear that "you, Synnøve, you can't stop playing the fiddle", and that's true to a certain extent. Music doesn't disappear from my head, but there is less time for it besides a full-time job in museums, caring for young children and building houses. In fact, I'm a bit fed up with the touring life right now.

— Would it be good to go to a familiar bathroom?

— Yes, or mostly to lie in my own bed. Maybe I should buy a new wardrobe? I have one, but I haven't used it, and now my roommate Ole has taken it. For years I have lived with my clothes in a cycle between the suitcase, me, the washing machine, the clothesline and back to the suitcase. It is always spread out in the bedroom. And that's how it will probably continue for a restless person like me. I always have so many chapters to write!

She has lived in Oslo, Bergen and Jølster. As long as she has a place to return to in Jølster, she believes she can live anywhere.

— One of the reasons why touring life has worked so well is that I have had that balance. The job as a musician is extremely social. There are intense periods, partly with parties and fun, and I have had to meet the social needs. At home in Jølster I have been almost antisocial. For me it has been "business is pleasure", but now that there is less of that, I am excited to see if I can find the balance again.

— If not, maybe there will be a comeback for Majorstuen?

— I'm reasonably sure that won't happen. It will be a challenge to clear the calendars of five mega-busy people.

Recording Christmas

The string series will be added on December 3rd. Førde with "Juledrøm", a material they have toured with several times since it was released on record in 2006. They have two young vocalists with them: Malin Victoria Alander and Katerine Nybakken . "Juledrøm" is a tribute to folk Christmas music and is just as likely to be about the cheerful and playful as the solemn and thoughtful.  

“ Sacred depth and merry Christmas antics,” wrote the record reviewer in VG the same year the album was released. Through several releases, they have solidified their position as a different and extremely talented ensemble. ”

They play in Førde on Thursday, in Oslo on Friday and in Steinkjær on Saturday. That is, if everything goes according to plan in a corona time where plans have to be made and changed as often as one changes socks.

— We'll probably squeeze in a couple of songs from "Jubel". Maybe we'll try to do a little tour with the new album in March next year, since the launch tour went awry, but right now there's no time to plan anything.

Exactly how many chances there will be to hear Majorstuen live is uncertain. It's a bit of a lottery.

Young warm-up band

Sunnfjord junior fiddlers are 'warming up' for the concert. We took a trip to Sunnfjord cultural school to hear them practice one evening in November, and three of the young fiddlers took the time to chat: Kari Storøy (12) on fiddle, Sion Shankar (7) on accordion and Sverre Absalon Grepstad Nes (8) on accordion. 

"We're not nervous. No one knows who we are," they say - a thought. 

— And if we play wrong, we just have to stop and try to get back in gradually. 

At the concert they will play a couple of songs that district musicians Ole Nilssen and Ingrid Schei Stuhaug have composed, in addition to a piece from Sturla Eide's new sheet music book for junior fiddlers.

Kari has chosen the fiddle because she thinks it sounds nice, and because there are several people in her family who play the instrument. The famous folk musician Arne M. Sølvberg is her uncle. 

"He taught me a song," she says. 

— It's fun to play the accordion, says Sion about his choice of instrument, and Sverre wholeheartedly agrees:

— You don't need a piano, because you kind of have a piano on the accordion. And you know, I've even been inside my accordion. Ole and I had to fix a note. We took out three parts, and then all that came out was air and no sound. 

Fortunately, the parts are back in place.

Synnøve is happy about the warm-up band and that there is a junior fiddler group at all. 

— When you're young and starting to play an instrument, the social aspect is incredibly important. Music becomes extra powerful when you share it with others, and it's valuable to get together with others who have the same interests as you.  

On Thursday, December 3rd, you can hear them all together outside the main hall in Førdehuset right before Synnøve and Majorstuen's Christmas Dream concert. Welcome!