In memory of Styrbjörn Bergelt

February, 2006

Styrbjörn Bergelt, another treasure of the Swedish Folk Music world has left us. A quiet, humble, and unassuming man with extraordinary musical talents, he was born in Stockholm in 1939 and lived to be just 66.

Styrbjörn was a dyed in the wool musician who nurtured a lifelong quest for deeper and deeper understanding of musical origins in the Baltic regions. He was the first of his generation to take up the older silverbasharpa and bring its distinctive sound to the public’s attention. He researched and brought forth numerous forgotten instruments, both string and wind, and published many articles about his findings and theories. He made numerous recordings, and received the Swedish Grammy twice. He appeared on radio programs and wrote music for film and theater. He was quite prolific and very passionate about his research and explorations, and he loved sharing what he knew with anyone who would lend an ear. The Zorn Gold Medal, the highest honor a Swedish folk musician can be awarded, was presented to Styrbjörn in 1997. His musical curiosity was by no means limited to the traditional, but this is where he left his indelible mark.

Five years of study at the Royal College of Music were followed by engagement as a French horn player with the radio orchestras of both Gävle and Malmö. He held the second chair French horn position at the Orscarsteatern in Stockholm for a time. In addition, he worked as a professional photographer for many years and amassed quite a unique collection of photographs spanning several decades of the Swedish folk music scene and its personalities. In his spare time he was also a painter.

Styrbjörn was completing a documentary DVD with Rita Leydon which was filmed in the spring of 2005. Peter Puma Hedlund visited Styrbjörn just a couple of weeks ago to record the english language version of the narrative for this film. Styrbjörn was working on a solo silverbasharpa CD recording which was planned for release later this year, the project was not quite complete, but Gunnar Fredelius, the producer, assures us that he is determined to bring the CD to fruition.