In November 2019, I was fortunate to travel to Stockholm, Sweden to visit schools and learn about their music education system. As is common when I travel, people ask about Hawaii, its culture and customs, and of course, music. I also enjoyed learning the customs of my new friends. I was introduced to Swedish folk music, and the teachers also told me about Gävlebocken, a giant straw yule goat. These yule goats, usually hand sized and made of straw, is a holiday symbol in Scandinavia. In the city of Gävle, north of Stockholm, a very large goat, 30 – 40 feet tall, is erected on the first day of Advent every year. Some individuals see it as a challenge to avoid the security measures put in place to set fire to the large straw goat. Although the practice is illegal, it has become a tradition to see if Gävlebocken will survive until Christmas. Stories and photos of Gävlebocken can be found on social media.
The piece, Gävlebocken, was written in two parts. The section in compound meter, composed first, is built on galloping three measure phrases. Held together by the ostinato, melodies evoke scenes of battle. The opening section uses harmonic and rhythmic patterns from Swedish folk music to lay the landscape. A melodic variant from the first section returns in compound meter in the final section of the piece.
