Atle Lien Jenssen is a versatile folk musician and cultural promoter whose main instrument is the fiddle. One of his chief areas of interest is the local polsdans music of Sør-Hedmark, with its ancient stylistic elements, but he also plays runddans music, modern folk songs, fiddle tunes and music for social events, both in concert and in theatrical performances. In his solo concerts he often plays several instruments and uses local history as a starting point in telling the audience about the instruments, the music and the sources. He has gained this knowledge mainly through many years of dedicated work in collecting and documenting this music. His collecting activities have also resulted in a number of recordings of, and books and articles about, folk music traditions in Hedmark.

Atle Lien Jenssen is a trained nurse. He has acquired a good deal of his repertoire through travelling around the country to learn from older performers. He has been engaged as music co-ordinator for Hedmark County since 2003, and teaches at the school of the arts in the municipality of Løten. He has taught the traditional music from Hedmark for several years at Telemark University College and the Ole Bull Academy. He is also participating in a research project about the musical idioms of the Romani people.

In addition to his solo performances, he has written, and participated in, a number of theatre productions and school concert tours, including the programme Halteguten (starting in 1992, with Sinikka Langeland and Halvor Håkenes), the theatre production Brakar og Joanna (1995, Hedmark Teater, by Geirr Lystrup), Spillet om innvandrerne (1999-2001, independent production, Grue Finnskog, by Merete Wiger) Snus og elvesus (2000, “log raft theatre”, Hedmark Teater, with Martin Myhr and Odd Mandfloen), Musikk på vandring (2005, with Hege Nylund and Odd Mandfloen), Den store kråka (2006- , with Margrete Nordmoen and Ann-Elin Lium), Dystre slåtter, dystetromme og djevelsk spill (2003-2006, with the group Hurvumhei), Stemmer fra Blaarud (2003-2006, by Tor Karseth), and Huldringstimen (2006-2007, withEllen Marie Tangen and Anne-Elin Lium). He has also released his own recordings and participated in a number of recordings by other musicians.

Discography

1986: Karva blanding (Heilo)
1990: Om berg og dalar dom kunne tala (Heilo)
2001: Hurvomhei (own record company)
2008: Huskum Buskum (own record company)

Appeared on

1994: Norske turdansar (Heilo)
1996: Hyrdestund (Heilo)
2002: 24 polsdanser fra Finnskogen (Finnskogen kulturverksted)
2002: Tenkt på lenge… (with Ellen Marie Tangen, own record company)
2004: Fra Tullerud til Horne (own record company)
2006: Solørsalmer (with Hamar Domkor, own record company)
2007: Goda stjerna (with Geirr Lystrup and others, Juni/KKV)

Other releases/books

1987: Min elskede pike og venn (book about folk music tradition of Guttorm Flisen from Elverum, Aschehoug)
1992: Gamle notebøker og opptegnelser fra Hedmarken (Lokalhistorisk Forlag)
1996: Solørmusikken (O. M. Sandvig’s records from Solør, Odal and Finnskogen, Solørforlaget)
2007: På Budor vi danse skar… Spelemenn og tradisjonsmusikk på Hedmarken (Solørforlaget)

Productions

1980: Hemgjort (Heilo, MC)
2007: Hemgjort (Heilo, CD, accompanying the book På Budor…)
1987: Min elskede pike og venn (MC, accompanying the book with the same title)
2008: Min elskede pike og venn (CD, as an independent release)

Awards