Annbjørg Lien (born 15 October 1971) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

musician, playing the

hardingfele A Hardanger fiddle ( no, hardingfele) is a traditional stringed instrument considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than fo ...

(Hardanger fiddle),

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

, and

nyckelharpa A nyckelharpa (, "keyed fiddle", or literally "key harp", plural ) is the national musical instrument of Sweden. It is a string instrument or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when a key is depressed, serve as frets to cha ...

Career

She first came to national prominence in 1986. Shortly afterwards got a recording deal with the Heilo label and released her first album on that label in 1988. She has received numerous awards, both in Norway and the Nordic countries, including the Gammleng Prize in classical folk music in 2004 and the Hilmar Prize in 2006. In her work, Lien often combines traditional

Norwegian music Much has been learned about early music in Norway from physical artifacts found during archaeological digs. These include instruments such as the lur. Viking and medieval sagas also describe musical activity, as do the accounts of priests and pil ...

with

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

. She has traveled to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, and other parts of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and worked with musicians from many countries. In 2006 she performed on

Loreena McKennitt Loreena Isobel Irene McKennitt, (born February 17, 1957) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who writes, records, and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern influences. McKennitt is known for her ...

's album

An Ancient Muse ''An Ancient Muse'' is the seventh full-length studio album of the Canadian singer, songwriter, accordionist, harpist, and pianist, Loreena McKennitt. It was released on November 20, 2006, internationally, and November 21, 2006, in the United Sta ...

playing

, and in 2008 she played

Hardanger fiddle A Hardanger fiddle ( no, hardingfele) is a traditional stringed instrument considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than ...

Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (; born 26 July 1959) is an Irish fiddler and the lead vocalist for the Irish folk music band Altan, which she co-founded with her late husband Frankie Kennedy in 1987. Today, Mairéad is recognised as a leading exponent ...

's album

Imeall ''Imeall'' ( Irish Gaelic for "''Edge''", "''Rim''", "''Threshold''") is Irish musician Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh's debut (and to date only) solo album, self-produced on her own label "Moon" and released physically as a (numbered) limited edition ...

. Her 2008 project ''Waltz With Me'' brought together American fiddler, guitarist and singer

Bruce Molsky Bruce C. Molsky (born 1955, New York City) is an American fiddler, banjo player, guitarist, and singer. He primarily performs old-time music of the Appalachian region. Early years As a young man, Molsky first became interested in blues music, but ...

, Swedish violist Mikael Marin and Canadian cellist Christine Hanson for a concert commissioned by the Telemark Festival. The project included a CD of the same name. With

Arve Moen Bergset Arve Moen Bergset (born 13 March 1972) is a Norwegian traditional folk singer, hardanger fiddler, and classical violinist. He is known both for his solo works as well as for his works with Bukkene Bruse. Life and career He was born in Sandn ...

Bjørn Ole Rasch Bjørn Ole Rasch (born 28 July 1959) is a Norwegian artist (keyboards performer), composer, arranger and producer. He is a professor of popular music at the Agder University College. With his wife, Annbjørg Lien, he runs the Kongshavn Studios in ...

and

Steinar Ofsdal Steinar Ofsdal (born 4 October 1948) is a Norwegian composer and flutist. Career Ofsdal has since 1967 performed on numerous stages in Norway, and worldwide in different settings. He has performed alone or within one of his many bands, and is ...

, she is a member of the folk music group

Bukkene Bruse Bukkene Bruse (established in 1988 in Norway) is a Norwegian traditional folk music band, presenting a varied repertoire of traditional and folk-style Norwegian songs, but also including many new compositions based on various Norwegian musical tra ...

. Lien is part of the fiddle ensemble

String Sisters String Sisters (or The String Sisters) are a folk supergroup made up of six of the world's leading female fiddlers. History Formation In January 1998 at the world-renowned Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow, Scotland, Shetland fiddler Catrio ...

, which formed in 2000 and consists of six string players from different countries, who released their début album ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

'' in 2007.

Personal life and education

She is married to keyboardist and professor

. In 2019 she received her PhD degree in hardingfele (Hardanger fiddle games) from the

University of Agder The University of Agder ( no, Universitetet i Agder), formerly known as Agder College and Agder University College, is a public university with campuses in Kristiansand and Grimstad, Norway. The institution was established as a university co ...

. She has no other academic education and learned fiddle games straight from the masters.

Honours

*Spellemannprisen 1993 in the class Traditional for the album ''Bukkene Bruse'', within Bukkene Bruse *

Gammleng-prisen The Gammleng Award ( no, Gammleng-prisen) is a Norwegian culture award created by ''The Fund for Performing Artists'' in 1982, 25 years after the fund was established in 1957. The award's official name is the ''Rolf Gammleng award to performing art ...

2004 in the class

Traditional folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

*Hilmar Prize 2006

Discography

Solo albums

*1983: ''Eg Er Liten Eg, Men Eg Vågar Meg'' (

Grappa Music Grappa Musikkforlag (established 1983 in Norway) is a Norwegian music company initiated and directed by Helge Westbye. It is one of the oldest and biggest independent record companies in Norway today. The company represents prominent Norwegian a ...

) *1988: ''Kjellstadslåttar'' (Grappa Music) *1989: ''Annbjørg'' (

Kirkelig Kulturverksted Kirkelig Kulturverksted (KKV) is a Norwegian company and record label, founded in 1974 by Erik Hillestad. Among the musicians who have issued records on the label are Ketil Bjørnstad, Kari Bremnes, Erik Bye, Ole Paus, Sigvart Dagsland, Bjørn Eidsv ...

) *1994: '' Felefeber'' (Grappa Music) *1996: '' Prisme'' (Grappa Music) *1999: ''

Baba Yaga In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga, also spelled Baba Jaga (from Polish), is a supernatural being (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) who appears as a deformed and/or ferocious-looking woman. In fairy tales Baba Yaga flies around in a ...

'' (Grappa Music) *2002: '' Aliens Alive'' (Grappa Music) *2005 ''Emma'' (Agder Theatre Music) with Bjørn Ole Rasch *2008: '' Waltz With Me'' (Grappa Music) *2009: '' Come Home'' (Grappa Music), with

*2010: '' Alle Vegne'' (Kirkelig Kulturverksted), with Sondre Bratland *2012: '' Khoom Loy'' (Grappa Music) *2015: ''Drifting Like A Bird'' ( Heilo Music)

Collaborative works

;Within

*1993: ''

'' *1995: ''

Åre Åre () is a locality and one of the leading Scandinavian ski resorts situated in Åre Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden with 3,200 inhabitants in 2018. It is, however, not the seat of the municipality, which is Järpen. 25% of the local eco ...

'' (Grappa Music) *1998: '' Steinstolen'' (Grappa Music) *2001: '' Den Fagraste Rosa'' *2004: ''

Spel ''Spel'' (released February 9, 2004 on the Heilo catalog at the Grappa label – HCD 7188) is a live recording and the fifth album from the Norwegian folk band Bukkene Bruse. Review Bukkene Bruse, alone and in creative interaction, creates ne ...

'' ;With others *1987: ''I Seierstakt'' (Celebration) *2007: '' String Sisters Live'' (Grappa Music) *2010: '' Abocurragh'', with Andy Irvine *2011: ''Beginner's Guide to Scandinavia'' (3-CD box set), with various artists *2012 ''

Nordic Woman ''Nordic Woman'' is a compilation album that features traditional music forms performed by well known female artists in Nordic countries. Nordic Woman album was released worldwide in 2012. The album is the first release from WOMAN which is an alb ...

'' with various artists released by Fuuse Mousiqi/Grappa Music

References

External links

*
Annbjørg Lien Biography

Store Norske Leksikon The ''Great Norwegian Encyclopedia'' ( no, Store Norske Leksikon, abbreviated ''SNL''), is a Norwegian-language online encyclopedia. The online encyclopedia is among the most-read Norwegian published sites, with more than two million unique vis ...

Kunnskapsforlaget Kunnskapsforlaget () is a Norwegian publishing company based in Oslo. Kunnskapsforlaget was established in 1975, as a partnership between H. Aschehoug & Co. (W. Nygaard) and Gyldendal Norsk Forlag. The purpose was to co-operate on publishing e ...

(in Norwegian)
Annbjørg Lien - Tjønneblomen
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Annbjørg Lien "Khoom Loy"
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Lien, Annbjorg 1971 births Living people Musicians from Ålesund Norwegian fiddlers Norwegian traditional musicians Nyckelharpa players Grappa Music artists Heilo Music artists String Sisters members 21st-century Norwegian singers 21st-century Norwegian women singers 21st-century violinists