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Artist
Olle Gällmo
11+ albums
folkFolkmusikswedishbagpipesVisor
about
Olle Gällmo is a bagpiper from Sweden. In 2008 he was awarded the Swedish honorary title Riksspelman (Piper of the Realm). Olle plays Swedish traditional music on a traditional instrument - the Swedish bagpipe. This instrument is native to Sweden and was suggested to the title "national instrument" in the 1860's (together with the nyckelharpa). The tradition died out soon after that, however, and was soon forgotten. The instrument was revived in the early 1980's. Olle have worked to spread information about this fascinating instrument, in Sweden and abroad, for many years through concerts, courses, workshops, information sites on the Internet, etc. Olle Gällmo play both traditionally configured Swedish bagpipes, i.e. mouth blown and with a single drone, and an extended version of the instrument with bellows and more drones (which makes it superficially similar to the Irish Uilleann pipes). The pipers of old played mostly solo - Olle likes to play with others. He plays traditional music from most parts of Sweden, but in particular from Dalarna (where the instrument has its roots) and Uppland (where I live). Olle also sings traditional songs, together with the bagpipe playing second voice (another advantage of the bellows). He gives talks and lectures on bagpipe history, Swedish and international. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
