COLLECTION

Leonard Finseth

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Identifier
CSUMC0020-CG (local)
Date
1942 - 1979 (Inclusive dates)
Summary
Leonard Finseth (1911-1991) was a Norwegian-American folk fiddler, farmer, and factory worker from Mondovi, Wisconsin. In addition to maintaining the family farm, Finseth played and participated in fiddle festivals throughout the Midwest and published two albums of Norwegian folk music, The Hills of Old Wisconsin and Scandinavian Old Time Folk Fiddler from Wisconsin. The Finseth collection's recordings are a mix of concerts, personal recordings, and recordings of old time fiddlers who influenced Finseth. There are a large number of old time fiddle songs, with special emphasis on Norwegian tunes. Also present are photographs, newspaper articles, a reminiscence by Finseth of his World War II experiences, and other items.
Creator and/or Contributor
Finseth, Leonard, 1911-1991 (creator), McMahan, Pete (creator)
Scope and Content Note

The music in this collection is a mix of concerts, personal recordings, and recordings of fiddlers who influenced Finseth. Most of the photographs highlight the musical venues and performances, while other photographs, personal correspondence, and articles shed light on Finseth's life, both as a performer and a farmer. The “War Clouds" typescript offers a glimpse into Finseth's personal experiences in World War II.

The Finseth photographs and paper documents are organized in six folders. The Finseth recordings are organized by format type. Tape cassettes are stored in 2 cases and are found in Box 1 along with paper material. Box 2 contains the reel-to-reel tapes. The recordings list in the collection inventory below is based on notes made by Robert Andresen.



Administrative/Biographical History Element

Leonard Finseth (1911-1991) was a Norwegian-American folk fiddler, farmer, and factory worker who was born on February 11, 1911. His parents emigrated to the United States from Norway in about 1900, and settled in western Wisconsin. Finseth's first musical training was from one of his two sisters who taught him the organ at a young age. He began to play the fiddle at age 17 after his Uncle, Ed Quall, himself a fiddler of some renown, helped him get a fiddle through mail order and started to give him lessons. Much of his musical training came from “Uncle Ed” and later his neighbor Ingvald Syverson. Finseth could and did read music, but his folk fiddling was more of an oral tradition learned from “Uncle Ed,” Syverson, and Otto Rindlisbacher (from Rice Lake, Wisconsin and of Swiss descent).

Before World War II Finseth started working at what was to become the Uniroyal plant in Eau Claire until he enlisted in the Navy and served in the war. After service, he returned to the Uniroyal factory and continued to work there for the next 35 years until his retirement about 1980. In addition to working at the Uniroyal plant, Finseth also maintained the family farm in Mondovi, Wisconsin where he lived all his life. Despite a shortage of time, Finseth continued to play and participated in folk festivals including the Fiddler's Fest in Yankton, South Dakota, the Nordic Fest in Decorah, Iowa, the Snoose Boulevard Festival in Minneapolis and the Festival of American Folklife held by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. in both 1974 and 1976. He was invited to the Smithsonian after being heard by scouts at the Snoose Boulevard Festival in Minneapolis.

His music is identified by some as being similar to that of Gudbrandsdalen, a region north of Oslo. Finseth also played organ, harmonica, guitar, and a Norwegian violin variant, the Hardanger fiddle or Hardingfele, a fiddle with four added sympathetic strings.

Finseth recorded two albums of Norwegian folk music, The Hills of Old Wisconsin (Minneapolis, Minn.: Banjar Records 1942, 1983) and Scandinavian Old Time: Folk Fiddle from Wisconsin (Minneapolis, Minn.: Banjar Records 1834, 1979). He was also featured in Scandinavian-American Folk Dance Music Vol. 2 (Banjar Records 1974, 1976) and Across the Fields: Fiddle Tunes and Button Accordion Melodies (Madison: Wisconsin Old Time Fiddle Project, c1982). Finseth died on June 16th, 1991.



Conditions Governing Access

Contact Mills Music Library for access information.

Wisconsin Music Archives at Mills Music Library
University of Wisconsin-Madison
B162 Memorial Library
728 State St.
Madison, WI 53706-1494
Email: askmusic@library.wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 263-1884
Web site: http://music.library.wisc.edu

Conditions Governing Reproduction
The Leonard Finseth Collection is part of the Wisconsin Music Archives, a non-circulating special collection in the Mills Music Library. Users wishing to listen to any recordings in the collection should contact the library in advance. Typically, the library makes a copy of the desired recording to facilitate listening. This process may require several days' preparation. Duplication of the materials for non-profit personal, educational, and research purposes may be arranged after making a written request expressing compliance with copyright law. Use of materials for public presentation, publication, and production requires negotiation with the Music Library Director and Leonard Finseth's decedents.

Custodial History
The Finseth papers were donated by Robert Andresen on September 12, 1991. Leonard Finseth's son, Alverve Finseth, gave the papers to Andresen after his father's death in June 1991. Andresen was to sort and inventory the records, which he did, leaving handwritten sheets of song titles in each tape box. After Robert Andresen learned he had terminal cancer he readied his vast collection of regional ethnic music for donation to the Mills Music Library at the behest of folklorist and friend James P. Leary. Andresen died on March 10, 1995, and in June of that year Leary and WMA Curator Steve Sundell transferred the collection to Mills Music Library.

General Note
In the fall of 1996, student David Seubert created an Inventory and Appraisal Report of the Finseth Collection. In the spring of 2006, Carrie Roy prepared the information for publishing on the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections (UWDC) web site.

Related Archival Materials

Robert Andresen Collection (CSUMC0012-CG)

Down Home Dairyland Collection. Wisconsin Music Archives, Mills Music Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Reel-to-reel tape and tape index of an interview conducted by James P. Leary with Leonard Finseth, 1988.

Phil Martin Interviews. Wisconsin Historical Society Archives. Interview with Andresen by Phil Martin, 1978 (call no. Audio 737A).

Extent
6 (folders)
50 (reel-to-reel tapes)
34 (audiocassettes)
81 (photographs)
Language
English (Languages)
Norwegian (Languages)
Other Subject Headings
Norwegian Americans (Local)
Scandinavian Americans (Local)
Accordion (Local)
Banjo (Local)
Bass guitar (Local)
Fiddle (Local)
Guitar (Local)
Keyed fiddle (Local)
Nyckelharpa (Local)
Piano (Local)
Tenor banjo (Local)
Violin (Local)
English language (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Norwegian language (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Middle West (Local)
Minnesota (Local)
Wisconsin (Local)
South Dakota (Local)
Country music (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Farming (Local)
Fiddlers--Competitions (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Fiddle tunes (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Folk music (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Hambo (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Hoedowns (Local)
Hornpipes (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Hymns (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Jigs (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Laendler (Local)
Mazurkas (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Old-time music (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Polkas (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Polska (Local)
Reels (Music) (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Reinlender (Local)
Schottisches (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Sermons (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Springars (Local)
Two steps (Local)
Waltzes (Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH))
Preferred Citation
Consult the Mills Music Library for citation guidelines for their documents.
Related Entities:
Finseth, Leonard, 1911-1991 (creator)
McMahan, Pete (creator)
Related Objects

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