The great Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar can be heard as accompanist on recordings with John Forsell, and as soloist on a few piano rolls, but never as conductor. However, his successor, Tor Mann was recorded while rehearsing and performing the famous 2nd symphony, and the Serenade, works he himself experienced under the composer's baton as an orchestral cellist. Sixten Eckerberg succeeded Tor Mann, and together with the Gothenburg Symphony and pianist Hans Leygraf, he made the world premiere gramophone records of Stenhammar's important orchestral works. This release explores Stenhammer's heritage through these historical recordings.

"This album is a collection of my favorite songs from my home country of Norway. On this album, Ken Embrey and Jan eLandstra are playing Hardanger Fiddles. They are both deeply involved in teaching the fiddle, playing for dances and organizing Scandinavian folk music activities along the west coast of America. On double bass I have Piper Heisig who is known for her versatile style. Paul Espinoza on accordion and Margie Butler on harp are my friends from "Golden Bough". They have been performing together for the last thirty-five years. Josef Bornback on keyboards is an experienced recording artist and Jackeline Rago on percussion got her degree in music at the University of San Francisco." - Leif Sorbye

Martti Pokela, Eeva-Leena Sariola and Matti Kontio are among the foremost players of the Finnish kantele, a folk instrument of the psaltery type. Almost nothing is known about early Kantele repertory, beyond a probable narrow melodic range. In more modern times the kantele has become a box-shaped instrument of 12 to 46 strings fastened to wood or iron wrest pins, tuned diatonically and encompassing 3-4 octaves. "The Art of the Finnish Kantele" presents 17 kantele pieces, both traditional melodies and new compositions. Played on 5, 9-and 36-string kanteles and the jouhikko (bowed lyre)

This new release featureslively traditional music from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark played in modern and traditional renditions by some of the finest exponents of Scandinavian music. The album features traditional instruments such as the kantele, jouhikko, nyckelharpa, Hardanger fiddle and others. The included booklet features descriptions of the folk instruments, the brilliant folk musicians and ensembles, and full texts to the songs in their native languages. Enjoy this sound journey across the beautiful countries of Scandinavia!