Jenny Wilhelms
The Vocals feature the distinctive ornaments and micro-tonalities, laced with elements of improvisation, that lie so deeply embedded within the Scandinavian singing tradition. Because the Nordic hymns originate from Gregorian chant, there are also many similarities here with the Middle-Eastern and Indian modes. The medieval ballads of Scandinavia represent an oral tradition of epic stories that has passed from one generation to another over hundreds of years. Jenny Wilhelms has focused her interests on the vocal and fiddling tradition in Scandinavia, with the music of the Swedish minority of Finland as her main subject. She also composes contemporary folk music for choirs and vocal ensembles. Jenny’s pursuit of the different types of Nordic folk music has led her to study within almost all of the Nordic countries: at key institutions which include Malungs Folkhögskola, (Sweden), The Conservatory of Keski-Pohjanmaa, The Sibelius Academy, (Finland), Ole Bull Academy (Norway).

Adrian Jones
The fiddle is the most common ingredient in the instrumental tradition of Sweden and the west coast of Finland, the viola bringing depth and variation to the second voices and evoking the old, and characteristic, „octave harmony“ sound that is created by twin fiddles. THE MANDOLA is an octave mandolin, with an extra base drone and movable „pin-point“ capos. The quarter-tone frets for microtonality make the mandola an ideal instrument on which to perform those tunes (based on Nordic melodies) in which the blue notes play a central role. Adrian Jones has his roots deep in the Swedish folk music of Dalarna, but feels he wants to keep an open mind towards the rest of the world of music. He has studied at the Music Conservatory of Falun (Dalarna, Sweden) and at the Royal College of Music’s Department of Folk Music.

Petter Berndale
Petter’s playing is especially adapted to emphasize the existing beat of the dance tunes and the ballads. His drumming follows the melodic line of the tunes in a playful manner. Petter’s goal is not to produce an accompaniment that fits in with folk music but, rather, to create something that IS its very essence. He achieves this is by studying the ways in which the fiddler supports the melody, and integrating its curves and contours into his own playing. Petter has studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, and is the first percussionist in the world to hold a degree in Swedish folk music. He has previously studied in Sund Folkehögskole (Sund, Norway), Birka Folkhögskola (Östersund, Sweden), and the School of Music and Music Education at Göteborg University (Sweden).

Göran Månsson
The Sub Contrabass Recorder is a baroque instrument, blending well together with contemporary medieval ballads. It adds extraordinary low ranges to the music and can be used with great variation. In addition, it can produce one of the basic elements of Scandinavian music - the drone. Göran Månsson also plays FLUTES AND RECORDERS. He is a graduate of the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, and currently ranks as one of the most exciting and dynamic flute players on the innovative folk music scene. Göran is very much in demand as a session musician for both early music and folk-pop recordings and has toured the world as a percussionist and recorder player. Göran teaches at the Royal College of Music´s Department of Early Music.

About Bruce Swedien who mixed the album:
Five-time Grammy winner Bruce Swedien’s career in music recording began with the music of the post-swing era and continues through today’s multi-media digital technology. First publicly recognized in 1962 with a Grammy nomination for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’ Big Girls Don’t Cry, Bruce went on to record and mix Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the best-selling album in the history of recorded music (60 million copies today). Bruce has been nominated for a total of 13 Grammies. Also he has been awarded 10 Grammy certificates, two ASCAP composer Awards and has been nominated for five TEC Awards. In 1991, he was honored with the TEC Hall Of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award. On November 10, 2001, Bruce Swedien was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Philosophy Degree from Luleå University of Technology in Luleå, Sweden, presented under ruling of King Carl XVI Gustav. Swedien, a Minnesota-born descendent of Swedish immigrants, is the first in the music industry to receive this auspicious honor.