EDDA - The Rheingold Curse: A Germanic Saga of Greed and Vengeance from the Medieval Icelandic Edda

Ensemble: Sequentia
Album: The Rheingold Curse
Video: Codex Regius GKS 2365 4to, XIII secolo
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Reconstruction, by Benjamin Bagby, of the ancient Germanic Rheingold story from the Old Icelandic Edda. This is the oldest-known witness to the story of gold, greed and revenge which captivated Europe for centuries and which served as the basis for Richard Wagner’s Ring des Nibelungen cycle. Three singers are joined by two instrumentalists to tell the story of Fafnir the dragon, the dwarf Regin, Sigurd the young hero, the Valkyrie Brünnhild and her beautiful rival, Gudrun; Atli the murderous Hunnish chieftain and many others. The story is framed by the visionary prophecy of the Seeress, telling of the beginning and ending of the world.

Building on the success and momentum of the 1996 ‘Edda’ recording, Sequentia continued the Icelandic project with a re-telling of the Rheingold story, also taken from the ‘Edda’ collection. This 90-minute saga was staged in 2001 by the New York stage director Ping Chong, and performed in the Lincoln Center Festival (NYC) as well as other venues in Europe, and has continued – in a concert version -- to be in the ensemble’s repertoire until 2010. Bagby & Gaver are joined by flautist Norbert Rodenkirchen and vocalists Lena Susanne Norin and Agnethe Christensen. This was Sequentia’s first release on an independent label: Marc Aurel Edition based in Cologne. (Source: https://www.sequentia.org)

Concerning the video: I used Codex Regius GKS 2365 4to, the manuscript that contains Snorri Sturluson's Edda. At the margins of the pages there are sometimes curious illustrations and I focused on these images to create this background video.

I wish you happy listening!
Mirkò Virginio Volpe
MUSICA MEDIEVALE
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1 Hlióðs Bið Ec Allar Kindir - Voluspá I (The Prophecy Of The Seeress - Part 1)
2 Óðinn Oc Hoenir Oc Loki Hofðo Komit Til Andvarafors - Reginsmál (The Lay Of Regin)
3 Sveinn Oc Sveinn, Hveriom Ertu Sveini Um Borinn? - Fáfnismál (The Lay Of Fafnir)
4 Hvat Beit Brynio, Hví Brá Ec Svefni? - Sigrdrífomál (The Lay Of Brynhild)
5 Instrumental Interlude
6 Ár Var, þatz Sigurðr Sótti Giúca - Sigurðarkviða In Scamma I (A Short Poem About Sigurd, Part 1)
7 Ár Var, þaz Guðrún Gorðiz At Deyia - Guðrúnarkviða In Fyrsta (The First Lay Of Gudrun)
8 Ár Var, þatz Sigurðr Sótti Giúca - Sigurðarkviða In Scamma II (A Short Poem About Sigurd, Part 2)
9 Mær Var Ec Meyia, Móðir Mic Foeddi - Guðrúnarkviða Onnor (The Second Lay Of Gudrun)
10 Atli Sendi ár Til Gunnars - Atlakviða (The Lay Of Atli)
11 þat Man Hon Fólcvíg Fyrst í Heimi - Voluspá II (The Prophecy Of The Seeress, Part 2)
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Benjamin Bagby - voice, lyre
Agnethe Christensen - voice (Brynhild), drum
Lena Susanne Norin - voice (Gudrun)
Elizabeth Gaver - fiddle
Norbert Rodenkirchen - flutes, lyre
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