Göran Svenning and David Hellström

Statue of Svenning and Hellström in Strömstad.

Lyricist Göran Svenning and composer David Hellström were a top Swedish songwriting team of the early 20th century. ^[1] Together they wrote over thirty waltzes, including the classic Kostervalsen (The Koster Waltz).^[2]

In America their songs appeared on the Columbia, Edison and Victor labels. Some of the artists who covered Svenning and Hellström were Arvid Franzen, Lydia Hedberg, Eddie Jahrl, John Lager, Ingeborg Laudon, Eric Olson, Hjalmar Peterson and Charles G. Widdén.^[3]

The Svenning-Hellström composition Friarevalsen (The Suitor’s Waltz) was given a second life when the producer Emil Norlander borrowed its melody for his revue "Tokiga Amelie" (Crazy Amelie). Norlander, who was a prolific songwriter, wrote new words for the song and called it Balen på bakgården (The dance in the back yard).^[4]

In 1914 Svenning and Hellström wrote Malmö Valsen (The Malmö Waltz), a song also known as På Baltiskan (On The Baltic). The piece commemorated the Baltic Exhibition of 1914, which was held in the Swedish city of Malmö on the eve of the First World War. Hjalmar Peterson and his wife Olga Lindgren recorded the song in 1917 for Columbia Records. The same year Charles G. Widdén recorded Sångvals (Song waltz) for Victor Records. His recording was an adaptation of Malmö Valsen. It had Hellström’s melody, some of Svenning’s text and new lyrics that were partly in English.^[3]

Göran Svenning

Göran Svenning (1870 – 1953) was a songwriter, who was also a dentist. A native of Västergötland, he had a dental practice in Strömstad in Bohuslän, where he met the composer David Hellström.^[1]

Svenning wrote most of his song lyrics in collaboration with Hellström although he worked with Theodor Pinet on the well-known Bondvals (Farmer Waltz). Pinet, a popular bandleader and composer, was known as the “Boston King” because of his association with the Boston waltz, a dance popular in Sweden in the early 1900s.^[3]

In 1911 Svenning published a collection of verse entitled Skärgårdssånger (Archipelago songs).^[5]

David Hellström

David Hellstrom (1883 - 1965) was a Swedish composer from the province of Bohuslän. As a young man he enlisted in the Royal Bohuslän Regiment, where he studied music and played the French horn. He returned to civilian life after attaining the rank of sergeant and from then on worked as a gardener.^[2]

After leaving the military Hellström continued with his musical activities, composing both waltzes and marches. He often worked with lyricist Göran Svenning. In 1907 the two men submitted Kostervalsen in a Bohuslän contest for the province’s best new melody. Their entry was disqualified when the jury ruled it was “too suggestive”. Despite the setback, the partnership endured and produced many memorable songs.

In 1962 David Hellström was awarded the Fred Winter prize for his contributions to Swedish music.

Selected songs by Svenning and Hellström

The Baltic Exhibition 1914.

• Balen på bakgården (Friarevalsen) ~ T: Emil Norlander (1910)
• Beväringsvals (1912)
• Bondvals ~ M: Theodor Pinet (1909)
• Bohuslänska Sjömansvalsen (1910)
• Brudvalsen
• Bröllopsvalsen
• Fiskarvals Från Bohuslän (1908)
• Friarevalsen (1909)
• Hjärterövalsen (1915)
• I Det Soliga Blå
• Kostervalsen (1913)
• Kyssvalsen (1914)
• Kärestan Min
• Landsvägstrall
• Malmö Valsen / På Baltiskan / The Baltic Exposition Waltz (1914)
• Midsommarsvalsen
• Ny Fiskarvals (1912)
• Nya Kostervalsen
• Sångvals (Malmö Valsen) (1917)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Göran Svenning". spray.se. Retrieved: October 22, 2011.
2. ^ ^{a b} "David Hellström". spray.se. Retrieved: October 22, 2011.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Ethnic Music on Records: A Discography of Ethnic Recordings Produced in the United States, 1893-1942 by Richard K. Spottswood, (University of Illinois Press, 1990) LCCN 89-020526. Volume 5.
4. ^ "Stockholmslåtar". stockholmskallan.se. Retrieved: October 22, 2011.
5. ^ Skärgårdssånger by Göran Svenning, (Göteborg: Åhlén & Åkerlund, 1911).

External links

Articles

• Lydia Hedberg at Swedish folk parks.
• Theodor Pinet at Swedish ragtime.

Swedish music and film

• David Hellström.
• Göran Svenning.
• Theodor Pinet.

Discographies

• David Hellström at the EDVR.
• Göran Svenning at the EDVR.

PDF file

• Svenning and Hellström songbook at the Internet Archive.

Swedish lyrics

• Beväringsvals
• Fiskarvals från Bohuslän
• Kostervalsen

Mp3 files and streaming audio

• Balen på bakgården at the National Library of Sweden.
• The Baltic Exposition Waltz at the Library of Congress.
• Bondvals at the Internet Archive.
• Friarevalsen, Hjärterövalsen, Kostervalsen and Malmö Valsen at the Internet Archive.
• 16 Svenning - Hellström songs at the Internet Archive.