BIG WHEELS ...

Leif Bengtsson / Me

The summertime guitarduo touring
1978 (with Morgan Svanberg) Places, mainly churches: Vellinge, Äspö, Skivarp, Sjöbo, Bromölla, Mjällby, Dalby, Åhus, Älmhult, Halmstad, Ängelholm, Höganäs, Landskrona
the musical program was; Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata – GF Händel: Suite nr10 – CG Scheidler: Sonata in Dmajor – A Diabelli: Serenad ( 5 pieces)– JS Bach: prelude, allemande fr english suite + fuga in D major

1979 (with Leif Bengtsson) Places, mainly churches: Växjö, Höganäs, Skivarp, Hemmesdynge, Karlshamn, Mariestad, Karlsborg, Helsingborg, Mullsjö, Femsjö, Unnaryd, Tvååker (the persian saloon…), Falkenberg, Värö(Bua), Skummeslöv, Mjällby, Karlskrona, Eksjö, Tranås, Nässjö, Söderköping, Flen, Västra Vingåker, Nyköping, Jönköping, Halmstad, Falsterbo, Aneby, Vadstena (Kapitelsalen),Hyltebruk
the musical programme was; A Vivaldi: Concerto in ...(?)– D Scarlatti; sonatas L 331 & L 23 – JS Bach Fuga,allegro – M Giuliani: Variazioni Concertanti op 130 – E Granados: Oriental

1980 (with Leif Bengtsson) The list of the places is missing, but from some other indications (local newspaper souveniers…, mostly they wrote nicely and surprisingly much) we at least visited; Silverdalen (Hultsfred…), Falkenberg, Åhus, Frinnaryd (?), Karlshamn, Bellö, Mjällby, Skummeslöv , …and more – this summer was in number next to 1979.
the musical programme was; Fernando Sor: Op. 34 – JP Kirnberger Three pieces – JS Bach Andante from the italian concerto – GF Händel Three pieces – F Carulli: Serenad op. 96 – F Chopin: Nocturne

1981 (with Leif Bengtsson) Places, mainly churches: Landskrona, Skummeslöv, Karlskorna, Mjällby, Vadstena (S:t Birgittas kapell), Söderköping, tranås, Nässjö x2
the musical programme was; D Scarlatti; Sonatas in Gmajor and dminor – JS bach French Suite nr 2 (six pieces) – F Carulli: Nocturno op 227 (three pieces) M Ravel: Pavan (for dead princess…)

All programmes were about 50-60minutes, depending of the length of our few very dry or “funny” comments. As in everything else, you have better days and worse days. I don´t remember too many blackouts during concert... – we were normally in good shape and badly paid. We didn´t really spend daytime at luxury hotels, ...it was more like bicycletourists, we lived in cheap hostels and and it did happen that we had the scale& arpeggio warm up for the concert in the woods, changed clothes on a parking lot, and so on.
But when black-out happens, it´s memorable for the competitors in the audience, the robots who never make any mistakes. I ´ve seen it, memory blackout, happen to others, ...and I´ve seen the competitors reactions, they are unforgiveable..., (scornful people I thought belonged to the staff in an concentration-camp)

I remember some of the churches as absolutely fantastic accousticly. Some parts of the programmes 1980-81 were recorded in separate occasions. We had no great ambitions in that direction, it was just like to take some routinephotos with an Kodak Instamatic Pocket Camera – but fatal and happily; one man ( I´ve forgot his name writing this) wanted to record us in church (Färgaryd), late summer (?) 1980 with taperecorder,... with Big Wheels. We completed with some “home-recordings” 1981, from the next programme. These documents were laying on tapewheels, in the drawer almost to year 2000…, I had some new technique at home... and happened to meet Leif at town…., after some months the most from the tapewheels was on cd.