LISTEN: Rheingold Curse with Sequentia

Subtitled, “A Germanic Saga of Greed and Vengeance from the Medieval Icelandic Edda,” this rendering of the folkloric stories of the river Rhine, Fafnir, Sigurd, Gunnarm and his sister Gudrun, and Brynhild (among others) is as far from Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle as is possible. Scored for only five musicians, it includes spoken text, ballad fragments, and instrumental interludes created over 800 years ago in the Germanic Nibelungenlied, the Icelandic Eddas, and other ancient texts.

The performance by Sequentia is hypnotic, but does not have the same musical impact as the medieval hymns of Hildegard of Bingen. At nearly an hour and 45 minutes, it may be best sampled a little at a time before undertaking it all in one sitting. Of course, I’ve listened to the Ring Cycle all in one sitting, but that’s another story!