Tolkien used bits of it, Sibelius orchestrated parts of it, now here it is in its raw unvarnished beauty, of what do I write? The Kalevala – the epic poem of Finland, think Beowulf or The Iliad and, despite Cambridge being a seat of learning, you get to hear it in English too.
Tales of myth and legend, heroes and villains, truths and lies, love lost and found, all human life in dark tales of creation, flood and fire in the land of lake and forest, where the Winters are unimaginable harsh and Summers short yet elegiac.
Tales of witches, woodland creatures and bears told by the award winning storyteller Nick Hennessey, Finnish folk music , dance and song from Anna-Kaisa Liedes, Kristina Ilmonen and Timo Vaananen. So what’s not to like? They may be tales from another land, but the foibles of humankind resonate across the planet and these ancient tales certainly strike a contemporary nerve, and will touch the soul of all but those who reside beyond the reach of passion and longing.
See you there.
Fire in The North Sky is at The Junction, Cambridge on Saturday 8th October 2016 – click here for tickets.
Nick Hennessey
Storyteller, vocals
Anna-Kaisa Liedes
Vocals
Kristiina Ilmonen
Flutes, percussion, vocals
Timo Väänänen
Kantele – Finland’s national instrument – pyngyr, vocals
Paula Crutchlow
Director
Naomi Wilds
Producer