Anders Ljungqvist

Rumour had it that Näcken had taught him to play, signing a contract in blood on human bones from the churchyard. Another story had it that Gås-Anders's wife once put a Bible on top of his fiddle, and after that it would never stay tuned. Gås-Anders left a legacy of folk music, upwards of 150 different melodies; both tunes he himself had written and those he had learnt from other fiddlers. Most of the tunes are eighth-note polskas. Since fiddlers at the time played by ear, not from written music (something which is true for traditional folk musicians today as well), much of Gås-Anders's music was never saved for posterity. Towards the end of his life he got rather deaf and had to bring a helper to tune his fiddle, but he kept playing at weddings and dances up until the final years of his life. He was a poor man when he died, and was buried in the communal part of the churchyard in Björklinge. The exact location of his grave in the churchyard is unknown. In 1944, a statue of Gås-Anders, created by the sculptor Bror Hjorth, was erected next to Björklinge church.

• Name — Anders Ljungqvist • Alias — Gås-Anders • Born — 10 May 1815 • Birthplace — Jumkil, Uppland, Sweden • Died — 24 December 1896 • Place of death — Björklinge, Uppland, Sweden • Instrument — Fiddle • Genre — Traditional Nordic dance music