--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, Daniel Bray <dbray@...> wrote:

> Heill Haukur!
>
> I have a copy of the Sequentia CD, and even as a relative novice, I
> found numerous errors in pronunciation.

As did I.

I also was somewhat disappointed

> that the style owes more to Gregorian chanting than to medieval songs or
> folk songs that I've heard.

A correct reading, in my opinion.

The metre of Eddic poetry should, in my

> mind, lend to it a certain rhythm, which I didn't find at all on the
> Sequentia production.

The Eddic metres match the rhythms of Nordic traditional music. The match is
at times, in fact, so extact that it hardly matters for purposes of time whether
one sings or simply speaks the verses. By far the most difficult part lies in
understanding the emotional content of the poetry and how to express this
within the strict and conservative form of the inherited traditional music. There
is, however, no other way to express this poetry in music, nor will there ever
be. Both the poetry and the music are organic growths from the same soil.

Regards,
Konrad.


That being said, I still quite enjoy it as a

> musical production. Do you know of any recordings of traditional folk
> ballads or the like, that would give us a better idea of how it should
> sound?
>
> Kve?a,
>
> (the other) Dan
>
> haukurth@... wrote:
>
> >Hi, Dan!
> >
> >This exchange is only marginally on-topic but I hope
> >no-one minds our discussing Sequentia a bit more.
> >
> >
> >
> >>I doubt this CD was recorded with the
> >>intent of making it into an academic exercise on reconstructing a sung
> >>version of the "Edda" as it was performed in mediaeval Iceland.
> >>
> >>
> >
> >I'm sure it is nowhere explicitly stated but that's
> >the impression many people seem to be getting.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >>It is a modern artistic expression
> >>of an old text, not more no less.
> >>
> >>
> >
> >Certainly. But why would they do all this research
> >if their goal wasn't, at least partially, to reconstruct
> >something?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >>To criticize it under this aspect does not do the craftsmanship and
> >>effort justice that was put into it.
> >>
> >>
> >
> >The aspect we were asked (by more than one person)
> >to criticize was the accuracy of the pronunciation.
> >As I said two years ago:
> >
> >"Obviously the members of Sequentia are musicians
> >(not linguists) and they will have to be judged for the quality
> >of their music. I don't know much of anything about music so
> >you shouldn't take my comments about it very seriously."
> >
> >As for accuracy of pronunciation we found it mostly absent.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >>And how would you know how the Edda was performed in the first place?
> >>Were you there? Even darwing conclusions from modern Icelandic,

Faeroes,

> >>and Norwegian traditional folk music doesn't really help, because
> >>performace and musical styles develop and change over time at least as
> >>much as language does.
> >>
> >>
> >
> >Even so, later Icelandic and Faroese folk songs would surely
> >be a better approximation than, say, traditional Japanese music
> >or modern opera. And this criticism was founded on their own
> >claims. They said they'd listened to a whole lot of traditional
> >Nordic music - yet I hardly heard a trace of that in their
> >performance. Neither did ?kar.
> >
> >But it so happens that now we do have someone on this list
> >who is much better qualified to judge Sequentia's music.
> >Konrad, what do you think?
> >
> >By all means, don't let me ruin your enjoyment of the music.
> >I keep giving the impression that I hated this CD but that's
> >not the case at all. I enjoyed some of the melodies. I'd even
> >like to own it but I'd rather prefer not to pay for it ;-)
> >
> >Kve?a,
> >Haukur
> >
> >
> >A Norse funny farm, overrun by smart people.
> >
> >Homepage: http://www.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/
> >
> >To escape from this funny farm try rattling off an e-mail to:
> >
> >norse_course-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> >
> >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to

http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> --
> Daniel Bray
> dbray@...
> School of Studies in Religion A20
> University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
>
> "Human history becomes more and more a race between education and

catastrophe." H. G. Wells (1866 - 1946)