Edda : the legend

The legends found in the ancient Icelandic Edda form the basis for a unique collaboration between the famed medieval music ensemble Sequentia, under the guidance of Benjamin Bagby, and the stunning visual direction of Ping Chong. Sung in Old Icelandic (also known as Old Norse, the language of the Vikings) with "super-titles" the production will incorporate visual projections, singers, and instrumentalists. The music will be chanted to the original Eddic poems and spoken texts will be adapted and interpolated from the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson (ca. 1200). The Icelandic Edda is the earliest medieval manuscript containing ancient Germanic myths, stories of gods and heroes, tales of possession, betrayal and revenge. Its pages reflect the pagan beliefs of the oral culture and bardic genius of the pre-Christian North as heard by medieval Icelanders.The music, which has been stunningly realized after Benjamin Bagby's research of Icelandic and other northern folk traditions, appears on Sequentia's most recent CD for BMG: "EDDA. Myths from Medieval Iceland."