Customer Reviews

Kalevala: Dream of the Salmon Maiden

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was turned on to this by a public radio program about the Kalevala (the great Finnish epic). The airy title "Dream of the Salmon Maiden" may make you think in terms of New Age music, but don't be fooled. This is a skillful modern take on traditional Finnish song styles, and it is persuasively assertive when it needs to be. By turns it can be subtle, challenging, or truely blood-stirring, all suffused with an obvious love for the source material. Many of the lyrics relate to a legend from the Kalevala. Most of them are in English, and wherever there is a narrative to them the lyrics sheet includes helpful notes.

Wow.
Wow.
Wow.

Bought it because I was writing a term paper on the Kalevala for an religion, magic and witchcraft anthropology class. I fell in love with it almost from the moment I began listening to it and heard what seemed like primal screams on the first track, Salmon Dance. It just got wilder as I listened to it, until my skin just crawled with the vocal power in the Kulning songs near the end.

Favorite tracks: Aino's Complaint, I can't describe it but I'm fascinated by what seems like singing while crying, and the 8 beat stanzas are so effective. Salmon Dance. Wow. Kaikk' Mia is a definite party hit, again, sounds like crying and singing at the same time. I love Oi Dai's words in Finnish interspersed with English. I want to learn Finnish just to sing along with it. Hands down though, I think my favorite song on the album is "Give Us Room to Roar. I want to jump around and just bang things loudly and obnoxiously and participate when I hear this song.

I own a lot of celtic music, and snobbishly collect music by women artists. This is my first Finnish music. I agree with the other reviewer who hopes Ms. MacKenzie would produce more music. I'd be at the store right away to get it. I am well and truly hooked on this CD. I'm still tingling. I love the use of the traditional and non-traditional instruments getting together in this music, like the Swedish sackpipa with the recorder and the use of the electric guitar to produce some rockin music. I only wish there was someone playing the kantele as well, would have made my project even more special.

I was fortunate enough to see this show at the College of St. Catharine in Minneapolis. Kalevala is passionate, lyrical, and visceral. Ruth MacKenzie blew us all away, using traditional Scandinavian singing techniques that produce a broad, powerful tone, and the marriage of design, music, and dance was joyously perfect. If you get a chance, see the show. If not, the next best thing is to buy the CD and dance to it yourself.

Ruth MacKenzie's Kalevala is by far, my favourite recording. every time i listen to it, i find a new rhythm or beat or instrument somewhere in the song. I wish Ms. MacKenzie would do more stuff, because i saw her adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Snow Queen" at The Children's Theatre Company (an amazing theatre, by the way) in Minneapolis, and that was beutiful, too!

Apparently the cast recording for a Minneapolis staging of the Finnish epic, Kalevala, this album features gorgeous singing (mostly MacKenzie) in both Finnish and English. It's a lovely song cycle that's equal parts Varttina and Anne Hill. The cover describes it as, 'untamed.' To me it's more a passionate explication of an ancient myth-a myth that celebrates the joys of (re)joining the primitive.

I saw this show at the renown Guthrie Theater's lab stage. I highly enjoyed the production and bought the cd. The music continued it's enchantment over repeated listens till I became almost obsessed with it. Even though many of the lyrics are in Finnish, the strong emotions of the story are conveyed through the excellent singing of the three ladies and their exotic (to US ears) harmonies. The music has its roots in traditional Finnish music, but is given a contemporary feel with electric guitar and drums, while Dick Hensold's Swedish sackpipa (bagpipes) complement the exotic harmonies of the singing. There were days when life just seemed too frustrating. I would get in the car, this cd would come on and the wild, almost primal singing would commence, and I would sing/shout right along with them... and felt better for it. Over the years, I've purchased multiple copies for friends. This is not a cd you would run across unless someone recommended it, and it deserves much wider recognition than that. If you buy it, and love it as much as I do... spread the joy.

This one is hard to describe. Beautiful vocals; stuff reminiscent of pagan chant; amazing, exotic melodies; a distinctly celtic sound in spots; an interesting mythical story theme that ties it all together; and the energy of a live recording of a good jam band. This is one of my favorite recent discoveries.

Here is a woman who puts not just her voice, words, music and verse in front of you, but a soul and a person and a life into you. No rhythm, rhyme and harmony here. This may not be for everyone. But if you want to hear a feeling...If you want to feel the sound of a real woman's voice this will feed the fire. Here is an artist.

Purchased this CD since I needed to return the one I borrowed from a friend. The songs are inspired by "Aino's Story" from Kalevala, national epic of Finland. I recommend you read it before listening to the album. It makes much more sense then.

The songs follow the same order with the story. Ruth MacKenzie did a great job of using authentic instruments as well as consulting with Finnish authorities on Kalevala for the story and lyrics. The end result is a musical masterpiece performed beautifully. Listening to it is a privilege.

However, I wish the same effort would have put into CD booklet as well. For such an elaborate story, there simply is insufficient information and lyrics for the songs (which are sung in both English and Finnish) are incomplete. Some of the lyrics are missing altogether (such as Kaikk' Miä) with just a joke of rough translation whereas there is a total neglect of Finnish terms when they were used in songs sung in English language. I would expect FULL lyrics together with English translation and some footnotes explaining the Finnish words contextually.

This is the only reason I docked one star and I hope Omnium would publish another edition with full lyrics, translations and footnotes.