Helga Myhr is a Norwegian, Oslo-based hardanger fiddle player and singer, working in the field of Norwegian folk music and contemporary and experimental music. She feels at home in contemporary and improvised settings in the experimental ensemble Dei Kjenslevare, and the duo with cellist Tanja Orning, or in collaboration with Mats Gustafsson’s Ensemble E, as well as in a myriad of different expressions rooted in various Norwegian and Swedish traditions in the vocal quintet Kvedarkvintetten, the Morgonrode quintet, or the Mojna trio.

Myhr’s debut solo album, Natten veller seg ut (Motvind, 2019), focused on experimental interpretations of folk songs from her native valley, Hallingdalen in Eastern Norway, that she has learnt from her mother, Gunnlaug Lien Myhr. Her inventive interpretations of this music led to her winning the National Championship for Norwegian Folk Music and Dance (Landskappleiken) in 2025.

Slåttespel features Myhr continuing to explore the music she grew up playing, the traditional instrumental tunes from Hallingdal, which she has been working with for all her musical life. She plays on three different hardanger fiddles – one made by Gunnar A. Røstad in 1915, a second by Anders C. Kleven in 1898, and a third by Gjermund Tjønn from 1974, with a bow made by Niels J. Røine in 2019. She adds a timeless, experimental, and improvised touch to these old melodies, dances, and hymns. The excellent recording and mixing of Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard emphasizes the masterful way that Myhr’s hardanger fiddles sing and resonate = literally – the melody of the fifteen tunes in playful, commanding manners, sounding like a little band.

Eyal Hareuveni

Helga Myhr (hardanger fiddle)