Some sad holiday news to share: Swedish accordionist and Accordion Tribe member Lars Hollmer passed away on Christmas Day. I know he had been sick for some time; earlier this year, Seattle accordionist Amy Denio took Hollmer’s place on Accordion Tribe’s European tour.
Known for his improvisational and avant-garde work on accordion and keyboards, Hollmer was part of the pioneering Swedish prog rock group Samla Mammas Manna (and its subsequent offshoots) and collaborated with numerous artists over the course of his 40 years in music. Most of his recordings were made at his unique home and studio outside Uppsala, Sweden, called “The Chickenhouse.” One of my favorite Hollmer songs is “Boeves Psalm,” written around 1977 and dedicated to an uncle of Hollmer’s who had just passed away. There’s an all-accordion version on the first Accordion Tribe album, but I just can’t resist this beautiful orchestral arrangement.
Lars Hollmer: Boeves Psalm mp3
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(Thanks to Lauralee for passing the news along.)
1 Comment:
Sad news indeed, the world certainly won’t be the same without him, he was one of my favorite composers, and I truly left amazed each time I was able to see him perform, I’m still finding it hard to believe, his music had a way of reaching both the child-like glee & the deep sadness we all carry in our hearts…..Boeves Psalm is just the tip of the Iceberg!!
R.I.P. Lars Hollmer.
by michael rae on December 30th, 2008