The Accordion in Iceland

Unruly and Loud - A brief history of the accordion - Published in Iceland Review

The accordion, or harmonika has a long history in Iceland, even longer than many might suspect. For decades, it wasn’t a decent party without someone pulling out their harmonika, or simply nikka, to keep the music going. Family reunions often had multiple accordion players and no county feast was complete without them either. Even though it‘s popularity appears to be dwindling in recent years, it has had quite the impact on Icelandic music and culture.

in 1998 The Association of Icelandic Harmonika Enthusiasts (Félag íslenskra harmonikuunnenda) held a vote deciding which way the instrument’s name should be spelled. There were so many local clubs, each with their own preference in spelling that a coordination attempt was necessary: Out of harmonika, harmonikka, harmoníka, harmónika, harmónikka, harmóníka the winner with a vast majority was harmonika. Despite that, the Icelandic dictionary from 2006 only lists harmóníka as the correct spelling. As a side note, keep in mind that harmonica in English is a “mouth-harp” or munnharpa in Icelandic and the two should not be confused.

Most historical accounts mention the arrival of the accordion in Iceland during the latter half of the 19th century. Around 1845 a German man was known to play his accordion in parties in Reykjavík and in 1859 a well-off lady writes a letter in which she urgently reminds a man travelling from Denmark to bring her the accordion she had ordered to Iceland. Shortly thereafter, mentions of a few more accordions in various locations around Iceland emerged, indicating that the instrument had started to intrigue the nation. Accordions were still few and only a handful of people actually knew how to play them.

Off to a slow start perhaps, but around 1870 the accordion had become a must-have instrument for anyone hoping to perform in a Reykjavík dance hall. Around the turn of the century, the ownership had multiplied, perhaps thanks to the presence of foreign fishermen who took up fishing in various parts of the country. They brought their accordions and talents with them and introduced it to the local population. At the same time, there’s evidence of advertisements in local papers, where the accordion - usually imported from Germany - was sold at a fairly affordable price for the local population.

Let’s get the (accordion) party started

Today, the guitar is the most typical way of playing music at a party, but during most of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th,  the guitar - and the piano - were only available to the upper classes, who mostly played them in the privacy of their homes. So, the accordion became the essential output for Icelandic musical expression.

At the time, the upper class regarded the accordion with a certain disdain: It was an “unruly and loud” instrument, too accessible by the common people and the partying associated with it had gotten out of hand (by their standards). In 1901, someone wrote a complaint in the Icelandic newspaper Þjóðólfur about all the common young people, workers and “vagabonds of sorts” who were fixated on dancing all night, to screechy accordion tunes, every single weekend, in parties held in all sorts of huts and side-houses of Reykjavík. At that time, Iceland was one of the poorest nations in Europe, and with the tough living conditions, unforgiving nature and dark winters they had to face, it is no wonder the population needed something uplifting to break up their hard-working lives.

The craving for music and a festive atmosphere in country gatherings was such that people had at times attempted to move big old harmonium organs between towns, just for a party. Nota bene, this was in the rough Icelandic countryside, where cars - and roads for that matter - were an uncommon luxury. But with the arrival of the accordion, music became accessible to the masses. You could just strap it up on your shoulder and walk over to the next ball.

And that’s what was done. These country dance balls could start as soon as the last cow was milked in the afternoon and lasted until right before the first milking in the morning. Sometimes, the accordions were played so intensely that they ripped in half. Normally, another accordion player would continue keeping up the rhythm, but one tale tells of a party in the Westfjords that came to a sudden halt when subsequently, the second accordion got ruined in the excitement as well!

Join the club!

The first club of accordion players was established in Reykjavík in 1936 but it was only active for four years, despite the popularity of the instrument during that period. Up to the mid 20th century, a few instruments were as popular as the accordion in Iceland. It wasn’t really until rock and disco took over the scene that the accordion fell into disregard.

After the threat from rock, pop and disco had started to take its toll on the popularity of their beloved instrument, a few students of the most prominent post-war accordion player, Karl Jónatansson, established The Reykjavik Association of Harmonika Enthusiasts in 1977. Almost 100 people joined and subsequently frequent events and fundraisers were held, to keep the traditions alive. These events were popular for the first 20 years, but with an aging group of followers, attendance started to decline. By cooperating with the Icelandic Folk-Dance Association, many accordion players kept up their talents, as the traditional Icelandic dances favor the music of the accordion over other instruments.

Five years after the emergence of The Reykjavik Association of Harmonika Enthusiasts, seven other accordion clubs had sprung up around Iceland. The Association of Icelandic Harmonika Enthusiasts was established in 1981 to act as an umbrella organisation for the other clubs, which are now 16 and continue working together until this day. According to Friðjón Hallgrímsson, all of these associations probably have around one thousand members, of which two to three hundred are musicians. These associations regularly hold summer gatherings, with a new location hosting festivities and tournaments devoted to the accordion almost every weekend over the summer months. It’s a community that puts an emphasis on keeping an age old tradition alive, while always keen on new members and interest. Friðjón is the editor of Harmonika, Journal of the Harmonika Enthusiast, which has been published three times a year since 1986. He estimates that around three to four hundred people in Iceland play the accordion, as not everyone is associated with a club. This has to be considered quite a large number for such a small population, even though the visibility of the accordion in the Icelandic pop-cultural scene is not as prominent as before.

A new generation of accordion players

For a while, this apparent invisibility of the accordion on the popular scene has created an image that it’s not an instrument for the young. Friðjón points out that, 15 years ago, a cohesive accordion curriculum was created for Icelandic music schools to follow, which has sparked more interest in the instrument with the younger generation today.

Around the same time as the accordion was about to start its re-emergence onto the popular music scene, one young Icelandic woman was growing up to become one of the few, young professional accordionists in the country. Margrét Arnardóttir and her career as a full time musician, is living proof of the rekindled interest in the accordion.

Many Icelandic millennials might only remember the accordion from their early childhood, in family gatherings and at kindergarten christmas balls, as they grew up with the more popular instruments of today, the guitar and the piano having become the favorites. Margrét however, inherited the interest from her father, who played the accordion at home. It wasn’t just the music produced by the accordion that intrigued her curiosity as a child, but also all the interesting buttons and functions of the instrument. So, he gave her a accordion for Christmas when she was 7 years old and she has been playing ever since.

She quickly started taking classes and eventually went on to study at the well known Tónlistarskóli FÍH, but incidentally a higher education curriculum for the accordion doesn’t exist yet. In order to pursue studies in classical music and jazz, she had to follow the curriculum for the piano. In her opinion this has not hindered her at all, but rather sparked her creativity and willingness to pave the way for a future generation of Icelandic accordion players. She even quit her job three years ago to pursue her career and it’s safe to say the decision was a good one - her schedule is packed!

Margrét is optimistic about the instrument’s future in Iceland. Although her schedule becomes quite busy around Seamen’s day and Christmas, the accordion is no longer an instrument only assigned to traditional events such as sailors and christmas balls. She is increasingly taking on other projects, opening the eyes of Icelanders to the versatility of the accordion. The projects she has done include a musical theater piece, joining forces with famous Icelandic musicians, like Sóley and Bubbi, as well as playing tango, pop and even metal on the accordion. “Playing anything on the accordion can be fun, especially when you can put your feelings into it and play from the heart,” according to Margrét. She is also booked for family gatherings, weddings and other ceremonies, as well as concerts. During many of these events people approach her, wanting to know where and how they can learn to play. She insists that there’s even a shortage of instructors for all the children who want to learn the accordion today, implying that the popularity of the accordion is indeed on the rise.

It is thanks to the accordion that a love for music was established in the hearts of this island nation and it very well deserves a rekindled enthusiasm from future Icelandic generations to come.