Årets Näck 2003
The Näck is a figure from Swedish folklore. There are many versions of the legend, but they go something like this. The Näck lives in a stream and plays the fiddle so beautifully that he lures women and children to the water, where they drown. A fiddler who wants to improve his playing must go to the waterfall three Thursday nights in a row, bringing such offerings as the finger bones of dead fiddlers and other common household objects. If his offerings are accepted, the Näck will teach him, imbuing him and/or his fiddle with magical powers.
Årets Näck is an annual contest among male fiddlers. Contestants play the fiddle (naked of course, that's what Näck means) in a stream, and are judged on how well they incarnate the Näck, with a separate award for best musical performance. See http://user.tninet.se/~lrv885z/nack/ if you don't believe me, or even if you do, for I'm sure their explanation is better than mine.
This year at Buffalo Gap, someone (not a male fiddler) had the brilliant idea of holding our own Årets Näck, and five more-or-less willing contestants were found. Ably assisted by teams of helpers, they girded their loins (figuratively speaking) and played Thursday night for the international jury. Judging criteria were Creativity, Daring, Näckliness, and Expression (no separate award for music).
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| Photos by Jennifer Brosious, Sandy Cowan, and Joel Remde |
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