Customer Reviews

Edda - An Icelandic Saga - Myths From Medieval Iceland / Sequentia

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having listened now to this CD a fair bit I wish to comment on it. First of all I will say that it is an absolutely beautiful work: the voices, the sound of the lyre and the fiddle, the lyrics themselves (taken from the Old Norse "Elder Edda") are strange and enchanting. Here do not mistake "strange" for a negative comment: part of the beauty of the Norse myths, as with the Finnish "Kalevala", and with Professor Tolkien's "Silmarillion" and "The Lord of the Rings", comes from this sense of strangeness. Perhaps a better way of describing it would be to say that it is Teutonic (as opposed to, say, Classical or Romantic) in tone and feel, which is something altogether unique.

As I said, I find these stories to be exceptionally stirring and beautiful, and this CD provides the same feeling. But some clarity as to the nature of this CD is, I think, required.

For starters, ignore the reviewer who complained that this CD is sung in Latin; it is not. It is in Old Icelandic. (How this person came to this conclusion I can't imagine: a quick glance at the liner notes -- which are excellent, by the way, providing a dual text in Old Icelandic and Modern English -- should make this apparant: lines such as "Surtr ferr sunnan meš sviga lęvi / skinn af sverši sol valtiva" are clearly *not* Latin.)

However, the mistake is perhaps not without cause, for the CD (and this is important to note) is sung in the style of old Latin Gregorian chants. The inflection on the language is Latinate, *not* Norse. The reason I say this is important is because the CD claims it is singing approximately the way the ancient Norsemen would have sung these lays, but this is not so close to the truth as other reviews would imply. The fact is that Old Icelandic (as with all the Germanic languages) is a language of accents and stresses which is wholly distinct from the Romance languages. You can see this evidenced in the alliteration of the actual Eddic text: "*Brœšr* muno *beriaz* ok at *bonum* veršaz", for instance; or "Her stendr *Baldri* of *brugginn* miošr, / *skirar* veigar, liggr *skioldr* yfir."

I was quite disappointed by this, having hoped very strongly to hear a fair-to-good example of what actual Norsemen long ago would have sounded like, chanting these mysterious songs. BUT: as I said before, I find this nevertheless to be a very moving and beatiful collection. The manner in which it is sung, though evoking Latin tradition, still captures something of the feel of these ancient poems. Perhaps it is because that Gregorian chant style simply, in general, evokes something of an older world. (One notices how popular it has been made by film composers such as John Williams in the recent "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter" films, as well as Howard Shore in the "LotR" scores; and, furthermore, has been used with dubious results by a host of other imitators.)

So that's it, then. Old Norse language and text, but sung in an old Latin style; not authentic, but nevertheless evocative of a mysterious and ancient world which I find very beautiful. I recommend this CD to all lovers of medieval-style music, as well as lovers of the Eddic poems in particular. Just know the facts on what you're listening to.

Myths From Medieval Iceland is the best slice of Nordic culture since Iceland's Bjųrk Gudmundsdottir burst on the pop scene with her band Sugarcubes. Seriously, this recording of exerpts from the Edda are executed with as much passion as Sequentia ever put in to recording the entire works of Hildegard von Bingen. The universal appeal of this work was verified by one of my clarinet students when he took this and 5 other examples of Medieval music to give a presentation in an English class. The Icelandic offering was the clear favorite among TEENAGERS! It is heartbreaking that the world lost Sequentia's co-founder Barbara Thornton during the final editing phase of this recording. She had such a perfect balance between historically informed performance practices and delivering work with unbridled passion. What a loss. We are truly fortunate that she left behind such immaculate work as this.

It doesn't hurt to have read the myths beforehand, to know Voluspa--at least a translation of the material. But, even without knowing what is going on, the beauty of this music invites one to wander into a different mindspace. The computer can fade away. The CD player--gone.

Now, sitting around the fire, listen to the Edda (grandmother) tell the stories. Tonight the wind doesn't howl so loudly, the snow isn't so cold, bards have joined Edda to remind us of the tales of our heritage.

Is this what our distant Viking kin used to listen to back in their great halls? Absent sound recordings, we'll never know for sure. I do miss the percussion I've heard on other recordings of ancient music.

The stark simplicity of this music compels. "Listen to me!" Hear the words of the Witch, of Voluspa. Hear the tale of Thrym, who steals Thor's hammer and gets taken in by a ruse. "Balder's Dreams" haunts the listener, who knows Balder's fate.

It's interesting to spend 76 minutes listening to this music, then to drop Wagner onto the CD player. The contrast, from the spartan Icelandic music to the richness of the 19th century compositions, can cause a brainquake!

I love this CD so much that I can't think of what to say about it. For starters, the voices are wonderful - the combination of licoricey baritone, cool sopranos and spare instrumentals is both sensual and stark; the harmonies, sometimes only one note apart, are happy puzzles for the ear. More than the physical beauty of the music though, are the tales - familiar but told in an unfamiliar tongue and couched in the exotic imagery of pagan Iceland. This is like music in a dream - you know it but it's utterly strange and for me, mesmerizing.

Sequentia, known primarily for their excellent interpretations of the works of Hildegaard von Bingen, turn their attention here to the poetry and music of 13th Century Iceland. With eager and well pursued scholarship, they have attempted to recreate a lost musical experience, down to the archaic pronunciation of the Old Icelandic. The music is eerie and affecting, the singing and playing are stirring, and the program is extremely solid.
The sound of the lyre and fiddles (complete with droning strings) mesh perfectly with the powerful and beautiful voices as Sequentia sings, tells, and acts out ancient Norse Myths from the poetry of Snorri Sturlusson and others.
I guarantee you've never heard anything quite like this.

This a truly remarkable disc. The Sequentia group has long been one of my favourite groups; I count myself fortunate to have many of their discs featuring the vocal talents of Barbara Thornton, who unfortunately passed away during the final phase of this production; her gift to the world in song lives on in recordings such as this, a stunning presentation of music from history that is often forgotten in the modern world.

Iceland is a country that was settled by the Norse explorers hundreds of years before the Norman Conquest of Britain, and half a millennium before Columbus sailed across the Atlantic. The Norse explorations of the North Atlantic took them to Britain, Greenland, and even to the North American continent centuries before the arrival of Columbus. Iceland was settled in the late 800s, with a parliament being established in 930 which helped guide their culture and religion. However, Icelandic culture was never centralised in political or religious terms, and the pagan religion of Norse/Germanic gods and goddesses was a free-form body of stories that could be reinterpreted by communities and clans quite easily.

The epic work Edda, which exists from the thirteenth century in writing in both prose and poetry, is the basis of this disc. These works pre-date the manuscript by many centuries, perhaps even the settlement of Iceland itself. Like many epic works in the ancient world, they were passed down by oral tradition long before being committed to writing. The Eddic poems include heroic poems (think Beowulf) as well as poems about gods and goddesses - it is ironic that the deities in these works are often more 'down-to-earth' and human than are the heroes.

The way in which ancient poems would have been performed is always a matter of debate. There are different ways of thinking about how they should be performed, but in the end, it is guesswork (albeit educated guesswork). Add to this that there is probably no fixed way in which performances were done in the past in any event, and one must rely on instinct for the words, the lyrical quality, and what knowledge we do have of the way in which music and poetry was performed.

The liner notes for this disc have an essay by Benjamin Bagby discussing the recreation of the Eddic performance. This looks a vocal and contextual issues, as well as instrumentation; Elizabeth Glaver adds information on this point.

Sequentia was formed in 1977, and has been dedicated to recreating works of ancient and medieval music, including the work of Hildegard of Bingen, Spanish medieval music, and other major works. They have had an extensive recording, performance and broadcast career.

This particular work is full of mystery and strong tones. The music itself is very simple in structure in many ways, but also gives a rich and full experience. As one reviewer notes, there is a similarity of performance here to plainchant on the continent of Europe from the same time period. The language is a wonder to behold, despite the ambiguity in understanding how Old Icelandic was actually pronounced.

This is a great story, and a great musical treat.

'Edda' explores a stark world. That said, 'The Prophecy of the Seeress' becomes a tour de force of unremitting intensity. If you want to revel in a duet that is emtionally harrowing and technically astonishing, the close of the 'Prophecy' should do it for you. I take 'Edda' to be a spectacular example of master musicians having a great time, and recommend it heartily.

I thought nothing like this existed, yet here it is! The Sequentia group sings ancient Nordic mythological poems, in very much the manner of ancient Skalds. The skald was a bard, or troubadour, of ancient Scandinavia. In the Sagas, many of the greatest skalds came from Iceland, a land colonized by Norwegians unwilling to live under the dictatorship of King Harald Harfa-gri (Harald Fairhair). The songs on this album are recited in Icelandic, a language that has changed only slightly from the Old Norse spoken by their ancestors. The style of performance is a specualtion, to a certain degree, but very much like that of most traditional Nordic folk music, traditions that have been passed on for centuries.

First, I think this is a great collection of music. It captures the mystery and lure of the Norse Myths in a way which is otherwise unheard of with the possible exception of Svenbjorn Beintenssen's recordings from the 1970's.

However, I found the quality of the music somewhat uneven. Some of the longer ones performed by Benjamin Bagby were extremely well done. Some of the others seemed like they were mostly "Gregorian Chant in Old Norse." Bagby's performances seem to be generally well done elsewhere too (I highly recommend his performance of Beowulf on DVD).

All in all, it is a unique CD and one I would highly recommend to people interested in Norse myth.

I am impressed by, actually, the insert book! It has 47 thin pages of history, lyrics, and translation.

I bought this CD because the only foreign language I really retain is from foreign music. The lyrics are decently clear for learning. I didn't expect the insert book to have Icelandic lyrics, but it has that and a translation. There is a summary on each of the poems also.

The music is a bit simple, but the real art is in the song. The singing could even go without instrumentation. The album is 76:52 minutes long.