Danish String Quartet: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
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- čas přidán 3. 11. 2014
- An abundance of facial hair is not restricted to the sensitive male indie-rocker set. Three of the four players in the Danish String Quartet could easily pass for hipster Brooklyn beard farmers. "We are simply your friendly neighborhood string quartet with above average amounts of beard," the group's website says.
Yet what's really important about the ensemble is how they play - and judging from this performance behind Bob Boilen's desk, these Nordic lads possess warmth, wit, a beautiful tone and technical prowess second to none.
Like most string quartets, they thrive on classics by Brahms, Beethoven, Haydn and the like. But this group recently took a musical detour that landed them in the foggy inlets of the Faroe Islands (a Danish outpost halfway between Norway and Iceland) and various Nordic hamlets where folk tunes are played and passed on.
"Folk music is the music of small places," the quartet notes on its new album Wood Works, which includes the tunes in this concert. "It is the local music, but as such it is also the music of everyone and everywhere." You don't own folk music, the band believes, you simply borrow it for a while.
Violinists Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen and Frederik Øland, violist Asbjørn Nørgaard and cellist Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin begin with a set of wedding tunes, some dating back some 400 years and still in use today. Then they pair up an old Danish dance that feels like an Irish jig with a traditional Danish reel from near their home base, Copenhagen. And to close, a slow, evocative wedding dance, in a wistful arrangement by their friend Nikolaj Busk that conjures a lonely fjord shrouded in mist.
The young musicians may only be borrowing this music, but we're awfully pleased they lent a little of it to us. --TOM HUIZENGA
Program:
Traditional: Ye Honest Bridal Couple - Sønderho Bridal Trilogy Parts I & II
Traditional: Sekstur from Vendsyssel - The Peat Dance
Traditional (arr. Nikolaj Busk): Sønderho Bridal Trilogy Part III
Credits:
Producers: Bob Boilen, Tom Huizenga, Maggie Starbard; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Colin Marshall, Maggie Starbard, Susan Hale Thomas; Assistant Producer: Nick Michael - Hudba
This is so great
Ayyy TwoSet! *Dabs*
they definitely got their 40 hours in
DUDE HOW HAVE U NOT GOTTEN A MILLION LIKES
Ling Ling can play everything just himself at the same time.
TWOSET
These are the most danish people I've ever seen
One of Them is norwegian😅
@@jonaswillaume same ethnicity 🤷
God, when the viola and cello come in at 3:40, it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard.
almost sounds like an accordion!
Watching this in 2020 during the pandemic. Despite all the stupidity in this world, there's music and musicians as such. It really gives a warm light. So just don't lose hope on humanity.
absolutely agree!
Easily my favourite Tiny Desk concert, these guys are nothing short of amazing
Rarely will you hear music of this caliber played with such sensitivity and dynamic variation.Each musician knows how to clearly delineate their parts, and when to fuse together with exequsite tone.BRAVO.
So expressive, the soloist plays like he's singing the notes ❤ It was so good I teared up from the joy
This music make me feel like if I were staring at the ocean, at an abandoned house listening to the waves and feeling the sea breeze.
When I learned the 2nd Wedding tune from Fanø, the fiddler told me that the shapes in the music were meant to mimic the waves, and to illustrate how they give and take, how life gives and takes, full of ups and downs.
It's so obvious that they enjoy playing this wonderful music. I keep coming back to it.
This is the best thing I've heard in ages. Those chords - they reach deep into the very fibers of my being. Just beautiful and moving.
you are super awesome guys
Who thumbs this down? Seriously. Who voluntarily watches a string quartet video, sees this, and thinks, “nah.”?
Ahh. My soul needed this. I am moved beyond a thoughtful comment but will say that we could use a lot more of what these beautiful musicians are offering us with this concert and their work in general. It is incredibly healing.
Men, I hope that what you do here does not seem ordinary to you. Your music is richly beautiful-you play with so much spirit and emotion! The music makes my heart swell and my soul sing! Mere technical know-how cannot do that to people. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us. Please share more.
I love this! Gotta say that the violist is so grateful for that short solo. And he's having the time of his life!
Lol, noticed that too. Good for him!
This is electrifying stuff: a blending/alternating of modern and traditional styles that creates a rare tapestry of sound. Their consummate artistry supports both their sensitivity to the moods of the music (and to each other) as well as the exuberant energy of the dance tunes.
I hardly ever comment on videos... but this quartet, and the album.... it's just wonderful. I play it to my fiddle students. Thank you.
I feel like I'm reborn after listening to this 😍😍
Rarely will you hear music of this caliber played with such sensitivity and dynamic variation.Each musician knows how to clearly delineate their parts with exequsite tone.
Splendid !! Luminous !! Celtic sounds too... Thanksfully to All of you and to Tiny Desk !!!💖👍☺
I'll never understand the (even few) dislikes on one of these. This is truly beautiful
Thanks for sharing these beautiful ancient melodies. Smooth sailing to our friends from Denmark.
Finding this now?? LOVE ❤️
welcome to the party!
the last song gave me heavy Korra vibes and got me crying.
Oh my God, what an incredible music! I'm from Brazil, I'm absolute touched
Mutes are on at the start, and at the end for the first violin. Neat to see/hear that. Tiny Desk gets you in close for that. Wonderful playing.
Please, PLEASE come back to Santa Fe! Our Santa Fe Pro Musica audience went a bit wild over you and everyone is still talking about that Shostakovich #7. We're sorry about the altitude, but you handled it splendidly! Carlota, Pro Musica Emerita Board Member.
Ahhh, that ending 😭. That left me crying like a baby
One of my absolute favourite groups playing amazingly lovely tunes. Many thanks for sharing this. (Their album is tremendously good too).
They are so cute omg the smiles I'm dying. I'm in love with their music.
Smiles and tears! It’s my first time watching a video of the Danish String Quartet and they don’t disappoint. Whenever I hear them on the radio, I have to find out who this group is, and I’m not surprised when it’s them. Such fun music! Thank you!
This is absolutely splendid work. Brought me to tears when I first heard them.
This is the best string quartet I've ever heard in my life. This music is very pleasant to listen to.
They've been nominated for a Grammy!!! :)
simple yet an emotional ride.
Beautiful. Thank you for existing and playing, music. Congrats!!!
One of my favorite ever TDCs. Especially Part II of the Bridal Trilogy, and the Sekstur from Vendsyssel!!
This is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard!
Wow wow, what a pure delight. So glad to have discovered you this evening. Better late(r) than never! Thank you, Danish String Quartet. I hope you are still making beautiful music. Going to go to Google and find out.
This is absolutely wonderful~
Beautiful.
Thank you thank you thank you. We battle the blues in strings and wood. Thank you.
man these dudes are so connected and so Danish looking
Outstanding! Such beautiful, rhythmic melodies and such finesse from the musicians...
Absolutely wonderful! Got to see them perform at Chris Thile's "Life from Here" at Town Hall in February and they blew me away!
This was absolutely beautiful. Thank you❤️
They ... OMG tears of hapiness. Thanx for being.
Truly lovely. Your dynamics are impeccable.
I've been coming to this video for the past 3 years, simply amazing. Well done.
Make that 6.
Excellent music and bravo to whoever did the sound. Amazing quality.
So wonderful that a sublimely talented string quartet like these four gorgious gentlemen choose to keep old folk songs and dances alive. It is an important heritage we should not forget! Keep up the good spirit!
Ive started to crave string music lately, favoring Swedish folk music, but this was something else...
Wonderful music, so varied and expressive - thanks!
Thank you ..................... Don't have words to describe ........ the beautiful feelings that you guys just invoke in me with your music .......
Beautiful ! Thank you for sharing
Amazing - creates a new world in my heart!
So different and refreshing. What a joy to listen to!
i watched this, yoyo ma, and max richters set back to back... just glorious.
We heard them in concert yesterday afternoon at the Collins Center for the Arts, University of Maine (Minsky Hall). Fantastic! Played these selections.........................
Thank you for this magical beauty
Wonderful music, especially the first piece!
Beautiful... So glad I found this.
This is the Vikings that stayed at home.
Great sound, great performance and great dynamic... Wonderful music ! 🙏
This was wonderful!
so much sound
wow that last tune is gorgeous
Beautiful heart bursting.
This is gorgeous.
Awesome - GREAT Danish String Quartet - informal!
Beautiful!!
Absolutely fantastic playing and lovely tunes. I could listen to this for hours. Agree that the borrowed tunes have been well repaid here.
Jeg elsker jer og TAK fordi i vælger og finder på sådan nogle fantastiske styks og spiller dem med perfektion!!!
Simply beautiful ~
I first heard these guys on Performance Today. It was entertaining to listen to the announcer try to say their names. I love how they make a hardanger fiddle sound at times.
I adore this so much
Wow this is so beautiful. This is how I feel when I sit in nature and close my eyes.
So inspiring and exciting to watch! ❤️❤️
Amazing. Thank you. ❤️🙏🎻
This is totally gorgeous
Why I can't push the thumbs up button twice or more. Even thier sounds is so beautiful.
Beautiful !
Beautiful beautiful beautiful vibes.
They are amazing!
just sooooooooo beautiful!!! made me dance and cry of happiness and beauty
beautiful music and performance!!
Gosh, the percusive vibe of the cellist sound is incredible, i couldnt imagine the emotional efect it can have
Georgeous music!!!!❤️
Awesome t-shirt - oh, and the music was awesome too!
Lovely!
This is my favorite tiny desk!
I know this is old, but this performance stuck in my mind.
My favorite is the final piece, the third part of the bridal trilogy. When I first heard this, I thought the long notes and silences at the beginning were painfully awkward to listen to. But I have come to come to think of them this way: they are meant to slow us down, to readjust us to hear what follows. They expand the scope of the piece from a few minutes at a wedding to the entirety of a marriage lived across the many years of two lives.
Is there a traditional wedding dance where one person does the steps, then is joined by their partner to repeat them together? That is what I picture here, and when the two violins play in unison it always undoes me. It seems rare to me to find such a profound expression of married life.
Lovely comment.
You just made my day...
This is so beautiful
I love string instruments
made me cry, bravo
There smiles really make this performance so enjoyable ;)
I'm a fan of British and American folk music, and could definitely get into this. I hear a lot of similarities between this and Irish traditional/folk music. Lovely stuff :)
Thanks for sharing! ♥
Representing!!! Yay!!! Go Danish men!!! We love you!!! :D
yehaa 5:50 is where you'll find me jumping onto the dance-floor! yehaa boys!
We can't travel right now but this has just taken me on a wonderful trip across the icy seas of northern Europe, from a wedding in the Faroe Islands to Copenhagen where I was reminded that Dublin was founded by the Vikings...
Ouch….. Dublin founded by the Vikings .I am not knowledgeable,did not the Celtic race have some dominant influence…