The history of Swedish folk music collection began with the formation of an organization called the Gothic Society in 1811, shortly after the establishment of Sweden as a modern constitutional monarchy in 1809. The first published transcription of a Swedish folk tune came out in their journal Iduna in 1813. The men of the Gothic Society were primarily interested in collecting the oldest materials they could find among the peasants of the Swedish countryside. Collection in the 19th century largely followed this model; the music was generally arranged for performance by people whose primary background was in art music. In the early 1890s, the first "public" performances of Swedish folk music by actual spelmän were held at Skansen, Stockholm's open-air museum of Swedish folklife. The first Swedish spelmancontest was held in 1906, and the first nationalgathering of Swedish spelmän in 1910. Over time, the contests began to fade, and the less formal gatherings became the primary venue for Swedish folk musicians to interact with one another. Instrumental folk music was still primarily a solo tradition during the first half of the 20th century, and the best-known players were virtuosic fiddlers from the province of Hälsingland. In the 1940s, the first spelmanslag, or amateur folk music groups, were established, associated primarily with the music of Dalarna. The first major recording project for Swedish folk music was also launched in the late 1940s. Some of the most popular recordings were of spelmanslag in Dalarna, and during the 1950s the spelmanslag phenomenon spread throughout the country. The beginnings of the folk music revival could already be seen in the mid-1960s, influenced by albums such as Jan Johansson's Jazz på svenska released in 1962 and 1964. The movement gained momentum in 1970 in the aftermath of Gärdesfesten, Sweden's answer to Woodstock. The Swedish folk music revival peaked in the late 1970s. In the years since, Swedish folk music has once again receded into a subcultural niche, but the revival has effected a number of changes. These include the addition of a number of new instruments as well as some revived instruments. The inclusion of these instruments has meant the invention of new forms of ensemble music. A polska dance revival, beginning in the early 1980s, has meant new contexts for the music to be played in. Swedish folk music has entered the educational system at all levels; musicians are becoming more and more skilled at ever-younger ages.
