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Ruth Mackenzie - Kalevala, (dream of the Salmon Maiden)

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As part of my listening material for comparing the two upsampling DACs I currently have (I know, I'm going to hell), I pulled out this recording. It really is quite unique. Ruth MacKenzie is a folk singer from Minneapolis with an incredible voice. She spent some time in Finland and Sweden studying the folk music of the region and singing with local musicians whuke she studied the traditional folk singing styles of the region.

The end result of that immersion in Nordic folk was this "folk opera" which puts the Finnish epic "Kalevala" to music. Only parts of the collection of folk poems (or cantos) are used (it would take many hours to stage the whole thing), but, the arrangements and singing are quite something. The musicians make use of traditional Scandanavian folk instruments as well.

The traditional singing style "kulning" can sound a little strange at first, she uses it on a couple of the songs. Some of the lyrics are sung in Finnish which is s very beautiful language when sung nad sounds almost like singing when spoken.

One of my favorite songs is "Aino's complaint" which is entirely vocal harmonization with no instruments.

Anyway, this is a unique, unusual and beautiful piece of music. Ruth Mackenxie has been performing the whole thing on and off for the last couple of years live, mainly in her local area. So, if you live around Minneapolis you might have the chance to experience a live performance.

Ruth Mackenzie's Kalevala web site

Kalevala - The Finnish Epic

-Joe.




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Topic - Ruth Mackenzie - Kalevala, (dream of the Salmon Maiden) - JoeII-K 12:38:27 02/22/00 (8)


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