Page 30 - Gellin og Borgstrøm

Gellin & Borgstrøm
Gellin & Borgstrøm
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Page 30

Gellin & Borgstrøm 1930

Most of the year was spent touring Europe, and in June they went to Iceland, where they had booked a 25 concert tour. Between tours they managed to record several pieces.
They actually made two trips  to Iceland; 1930 (25 Concert tour) and in 1934 with Osvald Helmuth.
Herman Hoffmark
Composer of "Melodie"
which Gellin & Borgstrom
played
in Iceland.
"Amandus"
(Lindberg)
Gellin og Borgstrøm
Nyhedkvintetten
Recorded 1930
HMV Label
Gellin & Borgstrøm on their way to Iceland.
Dr Gunni, aka Gunnar Lárus Hjálmarsson,  well known musician and writer in
Iceland,  wrote a book called  'Blue Eyed Pop' -- about the history of popular music          
in Iceland. 
Through  the generosity of Dr. Gunni, I have obtained numerous recordings of G & B
some of which I had the listing, but not the soundfile. Others, which were a complete
surprise to me, as they had not appeared in database I had researched.
     In the first chapter he offers some pictures and description                     
of the two tours that  Gellin & Borgstrøm made in Iceland 1930, 1934.
Here are a few samples from the book: 

Foreign accordion virtuosos held concerts in Iceland and broadened people's comprehension of the instrument. The most famous was the duet of "Accordion Kings" Herman Gellin and Ernst Borgström (from Sweden and Denmark) who arrived by the ship Lyra in 1930 and stayed at Hotel Iceland and drew a lot of attention in town. "Everybody in Iceland knows them" said the newspaper Althydubladid . They held numerous concerts in the Capital and it was proclaimed in the newspaper that the first concert in Gamla Bio was a great inspiration:         " They played songs of such genius that the audience could not believe that the sounds came from the accordion, if they had not seen it with their own eyes".
 
Continued:
They are as clever playing a modern dance song as "Classical" songs.
Applause of the audience had such power that the walls of the cinema
vibrated, as they had to play 6  -- six encore songs, and still the
audience wanted more. We understand from this concert that it is
possible to enchant magical sounds from the accordion, no less
than any other instrument.
  Gellin and Borgstrøm had "special light equipment" so tha people could see
them and their mighty instruments better, as newspaper Falkinn reported.
 The duo sailed with the ship Esja around the country and held their concerts
where the ship stopped.  In Isafjordur they played in Gúttó for such a crammed
house that all the windows had to be opened so that the crowd outside could
also hear. After the concert the fascinated crowd followed them to the dock
where they had to play until the ship sailed.

It is safe to say that Gellin & Borgstrøm were amongst the most popular musicians in
Iceland during the depression years. Their visits had a major impact on young people,
and amongst them was Eiríkur Bjarnason from Ból. He was losing his sight due to illness,
but with the help of his opthalmologist the accordion kings took him under their wings.
"They helped me surprisingly well", Erik said in an interview in 1977. " I trained with
them which was very helpful, and I bought their spare accordion.
    Gamla Bio
Gellin & Borgstrom accompanying
Ballerina Brock-Nielsen.

The accordion kings walking leisurely.
Dr. Gunni has contributed the following:
First violin player Þórarinn Guðmundsson wrote in Morgunbladid, rather sullenly, that the people would flock to see Gellin and Borgström play their "disgusting and art-less instruments ever to have been invented" while only few came to see Peder Möller play the "queen of instruments", the violin. 
Later "regular people" wrote back taking the accordion's side and telling Þórarinn off for his snobbery.

Dr Gunni har bidraget det følgende:
Første violin spiller Þórarinn Guðmundsson skrev i Morgunbladid, snarere tvært, at folk ville flokkes for at se Gellin og Borgström spille deres "ulækkert og kunst-mindre instrumenter nogensinde at have været opfundet", mens kun få kom til at se Peder Möller spille "dronningen af instrumenter ", violin.
Senere "almindelige mennesker", skrev tilbage at tage harmonika side og fortæller Þórarinn off for hans snobberi.

 Landssimastod - is a a rest stop/hotel 50km outside of Reykjavik called Thrastarlundur. 
 Landssimastod - er et rest stop/hotel 50 km udenfor Reykjavik kaldet Thtastarlundur


Dr. Gunni, alias Gunnar Lárus Hjálmarsson, velkendt musiker og forfatter i
Island, skrev en bog kaldet "Blue Eyed Pop '- om historien om populærmusik
i Island.
     I det første kapitel, han tilbyder nogle billeder og beskrivelse af de to tournere, som Gellin & Borgstrøm foretaget i Island 1930, 1934.
Her er et par prøver fra bogen:
Udenlandske harmonika virtuoser afholdt koncerter i Island og udvidet folks forståelse af instrumentet. Den mest berømte var duetten med "Harmonika Kongerne" Herman Gellin og Ernst Borgström (fra Sverige og Danmark), som ankom med skibet Lyra i 1930 og opholdt sig i Hotel Island og trak en masse opmærksomhed i byen.
"Alle i Island kender dem", sagde avisen Althydubladid. De holdt talrige koncerter i hovedstaden, og det blev proklameret i avisen, at den første koncert i Gamla Bio var en stor inspiration: "De spillede sange af sådan geni, at publikum ikke kunne tro, at lydene kom fra harmonika, hvis de havde ikke set det med egne øjne ".
  De er lige så kloge at spille en moderne dans sang som "klassiske" sange. Bifald af publikum havde sådan effekt, at væggene i biografen vibrerede, som de havde til at spille 6--seks - Encore sange og stadig publikum ville have mere. Vi forstår fra denne koncert, at det er muligt at fortrylle magiske lyde fra harmonika, ikke mindre end de øvrige instrumenter. "
Gellin og Borgström havde en "særlig lys udstyr", så "folk kunne se dem og deres mægtige instrumenter bedre", som avisen Fálkinn rapporteret. Duoen sejlede med Esja rundt i landet og holdt koncerter, hvor skibet stoppede. I Isafjordur spillede de i Gúttó for sådan et proppet hus, alle vinduer skulle åbnes, så at publikum uden for kunne høre dem spille. Efter koncerten fulgte en fascineret menneske mængde  dem ned til kajen, hvor de var nødt til at spille, indtil skibet sejlede væk til næste havn.
    "Harmonika Kings" Gellin og Borgström vendte tilbage igen i 1934 og blev holdt travlt. "Vi har meget nyt at byde på Reykjavíks indbyggere: Ungarsk folkesange, russisk dans, moderne melodier og komedie sange," Borgstrøm sagde ved ankomsten. Under det første besøg, havde de tider spillede sammen med bandet fra Overgaard på Hotel Island. Nogle gange hawaii guitarist Umberto Romangnoli spillet før dem og dans rutiner blev udført. I 1934 underholdt de undertiden med Orchestra på Hotel Island, og undertiden med komiker Bjarni Björnsson - så deres show blev kaldt "Tre glade fyre."
Det er sikkert at sige, at Gellin og Borgström var blandt de mest populære musikere i Island under depressionen år. Deres besøg havde en stor indflydelse på unge mennesker, og blandt de fortryllede var Eiríkur Bjarnason fra Bol. Han var ved at miste synet på grund af sygdom, men med hjælp af hans øjenlæge, tog Harmonika Kongernes ham under deres vinger, "De tog mig overraskende godt," Eric sagde i et interview i 1977. "Jeg trænede med dem, som var meget hjælpsomme, og jeg købte deres reserve harmonika.
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