Bol-Olles Schottis: A Song History

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The tune Mark Gilston lists as “Bol-Olles Shottis” in his Scandinavian Tunes for Mountain Dulcimer appears to correspond to “Böl-Olles schottis,” a Swedish fiddle tune; the match rests on the near-identical title.[1][2] Under that name, with or without the hyphen, it is printed in Låtboken, a 1992 book of 65 fiddle tunes for beginners from the Swedish fiddlers’ national association, and in Allspel och danslåt, a 2013 tunebook compiled by Ingemar Hahne.[2][3] A nyckelharpa booklet of Dalarna tunes compiled by Gulle-John Forslund and published by the Dalarna fiddlers’ association, tentatively catalogued as dating from the 1980s, lists a schottis tagged “Böl-Olle” after Åker Erland Jonsson of Malung, which by its name is probably the same tune; the national library gives his dates as 1902–1986 and indexes a biographical article that calls him a riksspelman.[4][5] Who or what “Böl-Olle” refers to is not explained in the sources consulted here.[4] The Swedish Academy’s dictionary describes the schottis as a polka-like couple dance in moderate 2/4 time, citing a 1933 folk-dance source that calls it exceptionally popular throughout the countryside, and derives the name from German schottisch, “Scottish.”[6]

Etching of a young herd girl in a long dress seated in a doorway

Anders Zorn, Vallkulla, etching, 1912. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public domain (CC0). A Swedish herd girl, shown for its subject; it has no connection to the tune.

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Sources

  1. Mark Gilston: "Dulcimer Tab Books" (Scandinavian Tunes for Mountain Dulcimer).
  2. LIBRIS (National Library of Sweden): "Låtboken: låtar för nybörjare på fiol" (Sveriges spelmäns riksförbund, 1992).
  3. LIBRIS (National Library of Sweden): "Allspel och danslåt" (Ingemar Hahne, 2013).
  4. LIBRIS (National Library of Sweden): "Dalalåtar [2]" (Gulle-John Forslund, Dalarnas spelmansförbund, [198-?]).
  5. LIBRIS (National Library of Sweden): "Riksspelmannen Åker Erland Jonsson" (Sven Bohm, Skinnarebygd 2000/2001).
  6. Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB): "schottis".