A Sweeping Curve of Sound

Erik Davis sings the praises of medieval music ensemble Sequentia, who have created  several recordings directly inspired by The Poetic Edda.

“Thousands of acts these days attempt to create an atmosphere of European paganism in their music, from black metal bands to gothic ambient artists to neomedieval folk groups. I won’t say Sequentia’s Eddic music is the “real deal,” because it is heavily reconstructed, albeit at a rigorously intellectual level. But its uncanny turns, its eldritch but strangely familiar modes, and, yes, even its mild tedium, all conspire to create a rare musical vessel of the heathen imagination. The various renderings of the Völuspá scattered across both discs are without doubt the best way to encounter that great spectral poem—an apocalyptic sybil song that ranks with the ancienct “Thunder, Perfect Mind,” not to mention that creepy Cate Blanchett scene in The Fellowship of the Ring, in terms of its sacred-femme uncanniness and psychedelic fear factor.”

A list of the ensemble’s recordings can be found, here. I’ll certainly be investigating this group in the near future.