Album Notes

The ballads and songs of centuries ago traveled from land to land with the trading people, such as the Vikings, the Celts and the Saxons. These cultures are different, yet their musical traditions share much in the spirit, form and contect of their songs.

Tradisjon is the album that springs from love of these cultures. Experience exotic melodies and harmonies that are quite different from our own in these exquisite and lovingly-crafted arrangements.

Tradisjon, pronounced Trah-dish-OON, means 'tradition' in Norwegian. Beth Sankey Kollé and Terryanne Baker Reinert share a passion for the ancient songs and airs of the Northern Lands. Their distinctive voices blend beautifully in these ballads, accompanied by guitar, flute and harp.

The duo Tradisjon gained popularity in the Scandinavian community, singing traditional ballads from Norway at Pacific Northwest venues. The clarity and lushness of their vocal harmonies carry ancient messages from other times and other worlds. Accompanied by Beth on classical guitar, they toured and performed for radio and television in Norway in 1986. With the addition of Susan McLain on harp and with Beth tracking on flute, Tradisjon expanded their vision to include instrumental ballads.

Included on this album is one of the live recordings Terryanne and Beth made in Oslo, Norway for a newly-formed television station. Terryanne added several 'stev', or traditional 4-line poetic songs from Norway. Beth and Susan provided the lovely Celtic airs, Kathleen Astor from Ireland and Bonnie at Morn from Scotland.

Beth Kollé performs as a solo harpist and as vocalist and flutist with the Scando-Celto-Bulgarian folk-rock band Crookshank in Seattle, Washington. Terryanne Reinert lives in southern Norway and continues to sing traditional folksongs from the area. Susan McLain teaches and performs on both folk harp and concert harp in Seattle, and performs with Beth in the duo Greensleeves.