Anders Ljungqvist
Encyclopedia
Anders Ljungqvist also known as "Gås-Anders" (Anders of the geese), was a Swedish
fiddle
r from Björklinge
in Uppland
. Gås-Anders got his derogatory nickname as a child when he had to work as a goose herder at a mansion house in Gamla Uppsala
. As he grew up he never used the name Gås-Anders, and it was not until the 1920s that folk musicians started referring to him by that name, which was by now used as a positive epithet rather than a slur.
Although Gås-Anders made his living by working as a day labourer at the farms around Björklige, he was known as a poor worker who usually brought his fiddle
with him and played rather than worked. As a spelman
he was very popular and extremely skilled, and it was said that nobody could sit still when he played dancing music – not even he himself. As he played he would jump around, dancing on chairs and tables. Rumour had it that Näcken
had taught him to play, signing a contract in blood on human bones from the churchyard. According to the stories, Gås-Anders played the polska
he had learnt from Näcken on his death bed, after which all four strings on his fiddle broke and he was able to die in peace. Another story had it that Gås-Anders's wife once put a Bible
on top of his fiddle, and after that it would never stay tuned.
Gås-Anders left a legacy of folk music
, upwards of 150 different melodies; both tunes he himself had written and those he had learnt from other fiddlers. Most of the tunes are eighth-note polskas. Since fiddlers at the time played by ear, not from written music (something which is true for traditional folk musicians today as well), much of Gås-Anders's music was never saved for posterity. Towards the end of his life he got rather deaf and had to bring a helper to tune his fiddle, but he kept playing at weddings and dances up until the final years of his life. He was a poor man when he died, and was buried in the communal part of the churchyard in Björklinge. The exact location of his grave in the churchyard is unknown.
In 1944, a statue of Gås-Anders, created by the sculptor Bror Hjorth
, was erected next to Björklinge church.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
r from Björklinge
Björklinge
Björklinge is a locality situated in Uppsala Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 3,186 inhabitants in 2005. The name, written as Birklinge, was used for the parish as early as 1314, and Viking graves have been found in the area....
in Uppland
Uppland
Uppland is a historical province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea...
. Gås-Anders got his derogatory nickname as a child when he had to work as a goose herder at a mansion house in Gamla Uppsala
Gamla Uppsala
Gamla Uppsala is a parish and a village outside Uppsala in Sweden. It had 16,231 inhabitants in 1991.As early as the 3rd century AD and the 4th century AD and onwards, it was an important religious, economic and political centre...
. As he grew up he never used the name Gås-Anders, and it was not until the 1920s that folk musicians started referring to him by that name, which was by now used as a positive epithet rather than a slur.
Although Gås-Anders made his living by working as a day labourer at the farms around Björklige, he was known as a poor worker who usually brought his fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
with him and played rather than worked. As a spelman
Traditional Nordic dance music
Traditional Nordic dance music is a type of traditional music or folk music that once was common in the mainland part of the Nordic countries — Scandinavia plus Finland. The person who plays this kind of music might be called speleman , spelman , spelemann , pelimanni or spillemand...
he was very popular and extremely skilled, and it was said that nobody could sit still when he played dancing music – not even he himself. As he played he would jump around, dancing on chairs and tables. Rumour had it that Näcken
Nix
The Neck/Nixie are shapeshifting water spirits who usually appear in human form. The spirit has appeared in the myths and legends of all Germanic peoples in Europe....
had taught him to play, signing a contract in blood on human bones from the churchyard. According to the stories, Gås-Anders played the polska
Polska (dance)
The polska is a family of music and dance forms shared by the Nordic countries: called polsk in Denmark, polska in Sweden and Finland and by several names in Norway in different regions and/or for different variants - including pols, rundom, springleik, and springar...
he had learnt from Näcken on his death bed, after which all four strings on his fiddle broke and he was able to die in peace. Another story had it that Gås-Anders's wife once put a Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
on top of his fiddle, and after that it would never stay tuned.
Gås-Anders left a legacy of folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, upwards of 150 different melodies; both tunes he himself had written and those he had learnt from other fiddlers. Most of the tunes are eighth-note polskas. Since fiddlers at the time played by ear, not from written music (something which is true for traditional folk musicians today as well), much of Gås-Anders's music was never saved for posterity. Towards the end of his life he got rather deaf and had to bring a helper to tune his fiddle, but he kept playing at weddings and dances up until the final years of his life. He was a poor man when he died, and was buried in the communal part of the churchyard in Björklinge. The exact location of his grave in the churchyard is unknown.
In 1944, a statue of Gås-Anders, created by the sculptor Bror Hjorth
Bror Hjorth
Bror Hjorth was a Swedish artist. Hjorth was one of Sweden’s best-known sculptors and painters, and was professor of art at the Royal University College of Fine Arts in Stockholm from 1949 to 1959. On completion of his studies, he lived in Uppsala, where he built his studio home in Kåbo, now the...
, was erected next to Björklinge church.