Following in the footsteps of a giant: When fieldwork past influences field‐work present, Karl Tirén and Die lappische Volksmusik

Abstract

Between 1909 and 1916, the Swedish amateur folklorist Karl Tirén crisscrossed the northernmost regions of his country, collecting examples of joik, a vocal genre unique to Scandinavia's indigenous Sami populations. While the resulting book of his transcriptions. Die lappische Volksmusik, fell short of his goal to preserve this tradition for future generations of Sami singers, Tirén's legacy in the region remains a palpable presence, despite his demise in 1955. In this article, the author discusses the impact of this early twentieth century fieldwork on his own research with contemporary joik artists, with Tirén occasionally emerging as an unanticipated “partner” in the process.