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From
the Heart of Scandinavia by Jack Pearson![]() What to give that hard-to-shop-for Scandinavian relative? Jack Pearson's new CD! And, as a way to introduce both this new CD and Jack, Rural Route Bookstore is offering it at a discount. Jack Pearson — Minnesota musician, storyteller, and constant wearer of colorful suspenders — has released a new CD just in time for gift giving. Jack's new CD features 17 solo guitar renditions of familiar, and a few lesser known, Scandinavian folk tunes and hymns. All melodies have Jack's special arrangements, and his most ardent fans will recognize them as "Genuine Jack." Contents include songs from Denmark such as Roselil, Det var en lørdag aften, and the beautiful Harvest Song. Some songs from Sweden on this recording are Tryggare kan ingen vara (the beautiful Swedish folk melody best known as Children of the Heavenly Father), Vem kan segla, and Hälsa dem därhemma. Norwegian folk songs include Per Spelmann, Blåmann, and Kjerringa med staven. Northern
Lights (CD) Sissel Kyrkjbø with
guest, Jose CarrerasIt
has been said that Sissel's voice defies categorization as she
glides between classical music and lighter pop
fare. According to CD
Universe, "She can soar like a seasoned diva in the most difficult of
arias, project a plain-spoken earthiness in folk tunes, whisper
intimately in romantic ballads, or belt out ... showstoppers with
unbridled gusto." The concert aired last Christmas in the U.S, and this CD features beautiful renditions of Christmas classics as well as many of Sissel's compositions. CD
- 12 $19.95
Great Hymns of
Faith Volume I (CD) St. Olaf College
ChoirGreat Hymns of Faith Volume
II (CD) St. Olaf College Choir Choirs associated with Midwestern Lutheran Colleges are known for their excellence in a cappella singing and for their perfection in all aspects of choral interpretation. The St. Olaf (College)
Choir is the pioneer a cappella choir
in the United States. For more than a century, since F. Melius
Christiansen founded this college's music program in 1903, the St. Olaf
Choir has set a standard of choral excellence and remained at the
forefront of choral artistry. Under the direction of Anton
Armstrong, this choir continues to develop this rich
tradition.Although the choir has produced many excellent recordings, two recent CDs mark the first time the group has produced entire recordings of common hymns. One or both of these CDs would make an excellent gift for the person who truly appreciates the beauty of well-performed choral works or one who delights in hearing familiary humns. (If you are curious about the contents of each CD, send an email to: questions@ruralroutebookstore.com) CD - 13 Vol. 1 $16.98 CD - 14 Vol. 2 $16.98
For over 100 years members of the Berntson Family have
been providing "gammeldans" music for their
friends, neighbors, and at community events. Three generations of this
Norwegian-American family have had normally staid Scandinavians kicking up
their heels as the Berntsons played waltzes, schottisches and the hambro.
Growing up in the 50's, my dad (who didn't dance and would never
allow me to try dancing) would have referred to these peppy, cheerful
tunes as "good milking music" and he would have cranked up the barn radio
and been rewarded with full pails of milk.
Now that milking music is heard in fewer barns and
"gammeldans" songs are heard at fewer wedding dances, the Berntsons are
still around to again remind the listener of less blaring and more
carefree times.
CD - 11 $17.95 Only one
remaining.
Walter Eriksson grew up in Brooklyn, New Yrok, the son of ethnic Swedes from Finland. Coming from a musical family, he began studying accordion at an early age and was playing professionally by the age of 14. He studied with, and styled his playing after, some of the most prominent accordionists in the Scandinavian tradition, earning an international reputation as a great performer, composer, arranger, and recording artist. This CD includes such lively tunes as: Livet I finnskogarna, Koster valsen, Sørensens reinlender, and Bestefars vals. CD - 17 $17.95 12 dance songs
Subtitled A Definitive Collection of Traditional Nordic Rhythms, the Scandinavian dance music on this CD represents the remarkable diversity of folk music from Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The dances are presented in ascending order of difficulty, and the selections are purposely programmed in an order that allows for a change of pace in both rhythm and tempo. Dances include Seksmannsril, Hambopolska, Gammel Schottis, and Gammel Reinlendar. Remember: you don't have to be a dancer to enjoy Hahn's arrangements of these Nordic melodies. Bonus: In your computer's CD-ROM drive, this CD acts as a book of dance instructions! CD - 19 $17.95 35 dance songs and dance instructions CD/DVD
Since 1964, "Ole Ivars" — the title for this group of five — has been Norway's leading dance band. The group includes Tore Halvorsen (vocal, acoustic guitar), William Kristoffersen (vocal, bass), Ole Odegard (keyboards), Arne Willy Foss (floyte, clarinet, sax), and Arild Engh (drums). Spellemannsblod is a collection of ballads, love songs, and folk tunes including Fridas Vals, Jonsokbarn, and Spellemannsblod. The CD notes include the words to all the songs. CD -
18 $17.95 15 dance songs Storebror og Lillebror (CD) Arna Rennan and
Nordic Angst![]() Storebror og Lillebror, which translates as "Big
Brother and Little Brother", is Arna's second CD, but she has now
formalized a backup band called Nordic Angst — a term used by Americans to
describe the perceived darkness of the Nordic culture, the kind of
darkness found in Ingmar Bergman films. Arna says the name was
chosen because the band "represents both the perspective of traditional
folk music interpreted through an American sensibility" and a "love and
understanding of Nordic folk traditions."
Nordic Angst uses an eclectic blend of traditional and
nontraditional instruments such as the nyckelharpa, ocatave mandolin,
electric guitar, accordion, overtone flute, acoustic guitar, and bass, and
the songs on this recording include ballads from the Middle
Ages, dance tunes such as the halling and pols, drinking songs,
and, as Arna states, "a wayward tango or two with a contemporary
sound that bridges time and cultures." In summary, this CD
blends traditional Norwegian folk music with a contemporary
sound.
CD - 16 $16.00 NOW $12.00
In 2005, the renowned St. Olaf Choir recorded A St. Olaf Christmas in Norway with the Nidarosdomens Jentekor and esteemed soloist Randi Stene in Trondheim, Norway. The recording honors Norway's 100 years of independence and celebrates the historic and cutural connections between St. Olaf College and the country of Norway. Available in CD format.
CD - 6 $16.98 ![]() Can We Have Christmas Now? (CD) Sari & Mari
Kaasinen ![]() Sari and Mari Kaasinen are among the best-known singers of folk songs in Finland and are founding members of the group, Värttinä. On this CD, they present 11 of their favorite 11 of their favorite Finnish Christmas songs--both original and traditional--with arrangements by Timo Alakotila and other great players from the Finnish folk music world. While the lyrics and style are definitely Finnish, the universal spirit of Christmas shines through. As many of these songs remind the sisters of their childhood, a child's sense of wonder and excitement
can be felt throughout, as expressed in the title "Can We Have Christmas
Now?" Sari completes the album with a special version of "Silent Night" on
the Finnish harp, the kantele. CD - 2 $15.00 NOW $8.00
Church Basement
Ladies
Away in the Basement A Mighty Fortress Is Our Basement
Just when we think everyone in the U.S. and Canada must already have eight or nine copies of this 20-minute humor tape, we get more orders for it! No, we aren't complaining, and no, it isn't music, and we don't sing or play instruments — at least not in public. But now, in response to requests, it is again available in both cassette and CD formats. "Those Lutheran Ladies" are, of course, Janet Letnes Martin and me, Suzann Nelson. Yup, I guess we are still funny, but perhaps not as peppy as we were in 1998. Go to 'Those Lutheran Ladies'. Recorded live in 1998 at the Medora Musical (held each summer in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park), this humorous tape, about growing up on farms in quiet Norwegian-Lutheran communities in the 50s in the Midwest, is perhaps tied in popularity with our book, Growing Up Lutheran.
![]() Growing Up Lutheran
(Audiobook in CD format) Read by authors Suzann Nelson & Janet Martin, & a few select friends Authors Nelson & Martin read an abridged version of their bestselling book, Growing Up Lutheran, in their natural Norwegian-American brogues. Chapters are introduced with excerpts from familiar Lutheran hymns. In other words, there are no hymns from the green hymnal or With One Voice. Truckers can shoot right across Kansas or Montana when they listen to this, and people in the hospital can shoot right through the day...unless they have had stitches. In the case of stitches, the authors recommend the book version. Why get sewn up again? The doctor has better things to do with his time, like finding a cure for hot flashes. Additional readers, also with great natural Norwegian-American brogues, add interest and humor in several chapters. Thanks to friends Ron Nelson, Miriam Nelson, Dr. Stephen "Gabe" Gabrielson, Olaf Bakke and Randy Johnson. Vocals are by Ron Nelson, and organ music is provided by "Gabe" Gabrielson, aka "Ole himself, then!" NOTE: This is not a DVD or video. It is an audio-book reading on three compact discs (CDs); three hours (180 minutes). AB - 01 $19.95 DVDs Christmas Unwrapped: The
History of
Christmas
Harry Smith, Host/Narrator ![]() People celebrate the birth of Christ worldwide on December 25th. But was He really born on that day? Come in from the cold, have some hot chocolate, and get in the mood for the holidays by learning about the history of Christmas. ![]() In this History Channel documentary, TV personality Harry Smith traces the origins of Christmas and examines some of the Western World's most enduring traditions. How did a holiday that began in pagan Rome become the centerpiece of the Christian tradition? Why is the Savior's nativity marked by gift giving? Has consumerism twisted the holiday into a global celebration in which faith plays a small role? How did Christmas trees and candy canes come to be? Discover how the patron saint of children was transformed into Jolly Old Santa Claus by British settlers in the New World, and learn the relationship between cartoonist Thomas Nast's concept of Santa Claus and the Coca Cola company's rendering of Santa in ads and commercials. If you get into holiday documentaries and want more, this program is also available as part of a four-part Christmas DVD (DVD just above). Running time: 50 minutes; produced by the History Channel, A&E, and the Biography Channel. DVD - 04 $12.95 NOW $7.95 Scandinavia
2000-2012 with PBS Host, Rick
Steves![]() For years now, travel guru, Rick Steves, has taken PBS and APT viewers down main streets, through forests, up to mountaintops, and into homes and all sorts of nooks and crannies around the world. This recently released DVD is the only one that includes all six of the “Rick Steves Europe TV" shows on Scandinavia. This will make you want to travel, but if you c an’t leave right now, watching this is the next best
thing!Steves will take you to tourist sites in the capital cities of Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, and Helsinki. Then join him on a two-hour boat ride across the Gulf of Finland to be part of the medieval charm and newfound prosperity of Tallinn, Estonia. However, you will also hike on glaciers, learn rural traditions, go island hopping, take a steamy sauna, sample gourmet reindeer meat, and sip vodka in an ice bar. Throughout the adventure you will see beautiful scenery and learn about Scandinavia's culture, history, and its independent ways of today. Throughout the adventure you will see beautiful scenery and learn about Scandinavia's culture, history, and its independent ways of today. Steves' most recent guidebook on traveling in Norway can be found here. Contents: All six of Rick Steves' half-hour shows on Scandinavia; three hours of travel on one DVD; all in widescreen format. DVD - 01 $24.95 NOW $19.95 A bargain rate we are passing on to you! Here Comes Pippi Adapted
from Astrid Lindgren's stories
The townsfolk in Pippi's village agree that the town will never be the same again, and they are certain that the eccentric little girl with
her wild imagination, incredible strength, and lack of parental
supervision will cause no end of trouble. Her new neighbors, young
Annika and Tommy, are excited about the adventures they will surely share
with their new neighbor.This 88-minute DVD contains one disk with four
animated episodes: Pippi Returns to Villa
Villekulla, Pippi Doesn't Sell her House, Pippi Meets a Master
Criminal, and Pippi Saves the Old Folks
Home.
In the first of these four episodes, Pippi — one of
the most loved and recognized characters in children's lit — returns to
Sweden and befriends a monkey (Mr. Nilsson) and a horse (Lilla
gubben or Little Buddy). Next, she meets up with city
slickers who want to sell her house. Actually, these two characters —
disguised as real estate agents — are the thieves, Thunder and Bloom, who
are after Pippi's gold. The thieves also show up in the third episode on this DVD. Their master criminal manual doesn't address the "wisdom" of Pippi Longstocking, Astrid Lindgren's irrepressible and irresistible heroine, and more whacky adventures occur. In the last episode, Pippi somewhat redeems her "lawless" behavior and rescues senior citizens. Full screen, not rated, but animated. DVD - 05 $8.99 NOW $5.00 Only one remaining. Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory Adapted from Roald Dahl's story
![]() Roald
Dahl, like many of Rural Route Bookstore's customers, was 100% Norwegian.
However, his parents emigrated to Wales rather than America.
Dahl — a prolific writer of adult and children's
stories, screenplays, novels, and short stories — became internationally
known for his writing and philanthropy, but mainly for nineteen children's
books which were translated into many languages and often made into
movies. Throughout the years, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been
issued by several film companies under different titles including "Willie
Wonka and the Chocolate Factory".
This special widescreen edition version, released in
2005, stars Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka, the reclusive candy connoisseur of
a candy factory that is supposedly closed but continues to produce and
ship candy all over the world, and is directed by Tim Burton.
Fill a bowl of popcorn or, in this case, a bowl of
Wonka Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight candies, and let your
imagination run wild as you sail along the Chocolate River, enter this
magical factory, and frolic with the Oompa-Loompas. 115
minutes. Rating "PG Suggested".
Jiggle Your Jell-O DVD Featuring
"Those Lutheran Ladies," David Cook and Greta
Grosch. Janet Letnes Martin and Suzann Nelson, commonly known as "Those Lutheran Ladies," have adopted new personas for this crazy DVD. Watch them portray Myrtle Klemetson and Ethel Urness, Emil's Mrs. — the ladies just down the road apiece — as they try to understand the younger generation and attempt to please their children by "working out." To these two women the phrase, "working out," means being a hired hand on a farm, or working at the nursing home in town. Myrtle and Emil's Mrs. just don't get it, but they try! Like typical Norwegian-American women of a former era, Myrtle and Ethel don't have time to fool around exercising. They get plenty of that by just existing: dusting everything in sight both inside and out, "putting up," serving at funerals, rolling lefse, cleaning the church, and feeding the menfolk's bottomless pits. If you need a good laugh, or know someone who does, this DVD will handle the situation. If you want to give a total Jiggle Your Jell-O Gift Package, add the T-shirt. CA 9 - 03 DVD $14.95 NOW $10.00 Videotapes
"Way to make me bawl out loud--all alone--on a
Saturday night! When something evokes emotion in this old Norwegian
Lutheran body, you know you have something that hits close to the heart.
This is an absolutely beautiful, touching documentary."
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