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FARGO — For years, they sat up in our attics or in immigrant trunks stashed in the basement.
The “Hardanger Fiddle” that Norwegians made for centuries is now making a resurgence in Fargo-Moorhead.
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Not just musicians, but builders of the treasured fiddle, that was once built in Norway and on Broadway in downtown Fargo.
In a cozy wood workshop in south Fargo on Monday, Jan. 6, there was the sound of sanding and carving.
And longtime Hardanger Fiddle builder, Bud Larsen, who has been making fiddles since he was teenager, is working with his latest class of students who are now carefully crafting their own instruments.
Back in the day, Larsen worked and studied under Gunnar Helland in downtown Fargo. Helland came from four generations of Hardanger Fiddle builders in Norway and he opened a shop in Fargo. Larsen, now 82, has built and repaired dozens of the Hardanger Fiddles.
“You know it is a Hardanger Fiddle if it has anywhere from 3-5 under strings. They are resonating strings, they ring when you play the upper strings,” he said as he pointed to the Hardanger Fiddle.
And he knows now is the time to teach others the craft.
Markus Krueger has been working for more than a year on his fiddle.
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“There is a special thing going on here. Maybe a dozen people cycling through here today and that is probably more Hardanger Fiddle makers than the rest of the USA, maybe even Norway,” Krueger said.
Jonna Gjerve grew up in Moorhead and now lives in Albuquerque. She flew home to work on her fiddle and learn more from Larsen.
“I heard the Hardanger Fiddle when I was a little girl, and I always thought I would play one someday. But I thought ‘No, too expensive, too much work.’ Then the pandemic happened and I thought, ‘If I don’t do this now, will it ever happen?’ So, I am making it happen, it is fun,” Gjerve said.
And to mark the 200th anniversary of the first boatload of Norwegians to arrive in America, there is something called the 2025 Fiddle Project. So far, nearly 200 people have carved and helped build one fiddle.
“So many people have gotten to work on this 2025 fiddle and worked on it, it is an inspiring project to be a part of,” Elsa Ruth Pryor, a Hardanger Fiddle player, said.
Over the weekend, there was a chance to hear the Hardanger Fiddles. People like Ruth Pryor and Gus Holley played their instruments throughout the holidays in Fargo-Moorhead and played Saturday, Jan. 4, at the Hjemkomst Center with the local Spelemannslag, thought to be one of the largest Hardanger Fiddle groups in the country.
“I think it is really, really great because it does have a history in this area,” Holley said.
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In Norway, building Hardanger Fiddles is considered somewhat of a lost art. This fiddle of the common man, now getting a new life 200 years after the first Norwegians came to our area.
Find more information on the 2025 Fiddle Project on their Facebook page .
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