Vòluspá - Draumkvedet

Two ancient Norse song cycles performed in the traditional singing style "kveding".

Øyonn Groven Myhren, one of Norway's most renowned folk musicians, performs the Old Norse poem cycle Vòluspá together with multi-instrumentalists Tomas Nilsson and Bjørn-Christian Svarstad. This pre-Christian visionary poem from the 13th century is presented here with newly composed music. After the interval comes Draumkvedet, sung in an old Norse dialect - a visionary poem from the period when Christianity took root in Norway. Øyonn Groven Myhren introduces both poems and narrates them in English, so the story is easy to follow. If you love Heilung and Wardruna, you'll hear where that sound comes from.

Vòluspá ("prophecy of the seeress") is a poem from the Poetic Edda that tells of the world's creation and Ragnarok. The story is told by a Volva, a seeress who appears to be in a trance. Øyonn Groven Myhren has composed new music for this poem.

Draumkvedet ("the dream song") is a medieval Norse visionary poem and is considered one of the most famous songs from that era. The protagonist Olav Åsteson falls into a deep sleep on Christmas Eve: his soul leaves his body and travels through the afterlife. When he awakens, he tells his dream: how he struggled through thornbushes and marshy wetlands, caught a glimpse of hell and a glimpse of heaven, and witnessed sinful souls atoning for their earthly deeds. Along the way he meets the Virgin Mary and witnesses the encounter between Jesus and the archangel Michael, armed with the trumpet for the Last Judgment.