Left to right: violist Bruno Sanches, cellist Mathilde Helding, violinists Jørgen Dickmeiss and Ditte Fromseier Hockings. Photo: Ard Jongsma
Four strings, two traditions: a new voice in Nordic chamber-folk Still a young ensemble on the Nordic music scene, the Danish Fiddle Quartet has already earned enthusiastic reviews and a nomination for Årets Nye Rootsnavn at the Danish Music Awards Roots. Formed by two experienced folk musicians and two elite classical players, the quartet brings together the rhythmic grounding of traditional fiddle music and the tone, balance and precision of chamber performance – a contemporary form of new Nordic chamber-folk with a bow in both worlds.
That same curiosity led him from Irish folk music into the Danish tradition, where he completed his studies in 2002. Since then, he has lived entirely from music, performing widely across Denmark and abroad, often in duo with his wife.
By Signe Hansen
From COVID to concerts
The group consists of violinists Jørgen Dickmeiss and Ditte Fromseier Hockings, both widely recognised on the Danish and international folk scene, together with violist Bruno Sanches and cellist Mathilde Helding from the younger Danish classical elite. Since releasing their debut album at Tønder Festival in 2023, the quartet has performed at Windros Festival in Germany, Davinde Festival and, most recently, SPOT Festival in Aarhus, as well 44
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Issue 184
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November 2025
as a number of churches, small halls and local classical music societies. “It is pure folk music,” says Dickmeiss, who composed and arranged the music. “But in some pieces, I have tried to move a little away from the usual way of thinking and arranging it. It is still folk at its core, and it still has to swing like fiddle music, but it is performed in a more classical tradition.”
Though highly successful in his genre, the wish to build a string-based folk quartet had played on Dickmeiss’ mind for years. “It is an old dream,” he explains. “I have made a living from folk music for many years, but I had long dreamt of playing with a string group because it is a fantastic format. It rings in a different way, and you can really dig into detail together.” The first sketches for the project appeared just before the pandemic, and when live