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by
Freeman, February 6, 2005
Ah, Finland.
The Far North. Exotic old stories, weird forests, lingering shamanic traditions, and a language that doesn't sound like
anything else in the world. The resonance of Finnish, especially when
sung, can take one to some very special places. Tolkien experienced this, and based his Elvish languages heavily upon Finnish.
Ruth MacKenzie, an inspired singer from Minneapolis, Minnesota, makes all this come stunningly alive in her recording of songs from the
Kalevala.
Set in a mixture of Finnish and English, with rich rhythmic accompaniment, these songs evoke something very primal.
MacKenzie has studied the various traditions of Finnish singing, including
spell-singing, and she is quite fully aware of what she is doing. This
is reassuring, as I would much rather be enchanted on purpose than accidentally.
Ruth MacKenzie's voice is up to the task. I hear the joy in her singing, the sheer pleasure of having a capable female voice and being
utterly unafraid to explore what it can do. There are cries and howls,
yodels and dances in her voice, but her great control and skill make it all fit perfectly within each song.
Someone called her "the Janis Joplin of folk," and if you take that as a description of just how
wide-open and innovative she is, rather than directly of how she sounds, it is quite apt.
With all the pyrotechnics and the superb production, and the completely modern arrangements, this still manages to escape any
posturing and pretense. Every lick is done with the greatest respect
for the mythic material and the traditions of the land.
The Kalevala as we have it today is about 150 years old, being the result of a song-catching trip by one folklorist.
Much of the material is very old, but its status as the national epic of Finland is a
fairly new development. I read the Kalevala in English years ago, in
my "Joseph Campbell phase." I remember enjoying it for its tone, for
its echoes of the strange land of its birth, but not being very impressed with it as story.
Now I know what was missing. I would love to approach it again with a new appreciation, and perhaps listen to
some more traditional Finnish recitations.
But what I most want is for Ruth MacKenzie to book a tour, and play a venue that I can get to (there are no plans for this at the
moment). Hearing this music live would be a peak experience.
We have been listening to this CD daily since we got it, and it keeps getting better.
It is an instant classic. I don't just give this CD some number of "stars," I give it constellations.
All of them, or at least all that are ever visible on a long dark night in Finland.
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