Some years ago, Marco Blaauw and Christine Chapman bought two Norwegian Lures (Lur is a smaller and straighter Norwegian cousin of the Alphorn). They challenged Wallin to “find his Norwegian roots” and write music for them. Wallin had already behind him several works reaching into the rich and unique Norwegian folk music tradition, and he happily accepted the challenge. The result was Prillar, a project that still is expanding into different versions.

The title and the central idea of Prillar come from Prillar-Guri, the woman who had a very defining role in the Battle of Kringen in 1612. With her Lur she signalled the peasants of the Gudbrandsdal valley that the Scottish army was approaching, making it possible for the defenders to totally crush the intruding military forces. The cousins of the Lur, like the alphorn and the Celtic carnyx, were all intended for communication over large distances. So this is also a piece about communication.

Rolf Wallin