Kalevala (project)

This article is about the international progressive rock project Kalevala. For the Finnish national epic, see Kalevala.
Kalevala
Compilation album by Various
Released 2004, 27 January
Recorded Various places
Genre Progressive rock
Length 82:38 / 78:47 / 76:41
Label Musea
Producer Various producers

Kalevala is a 3 CD progressive rock epic based upon the Finnish national epic of the same name. It tells the story in 30 parts, each part played by a different band.[1][2]

The Kalevala

The Kalevala is considered the national epic of Finland, it was compiled and edited by Elias Lönnrot while he was a district health officer in (then under the governance of Russia) eastern Finland. The poem consists of 50 runos or cantos and 22,795 lines of poetry. The poem tells the story of a people, from the very beginning of the world to the introduction of Christianity.

The Kalevala has been translated into about 48 languages and has been an important cultural inspiration for the Finnish people for many years.

Concept

Colossus (the magazine of the Finnish Progressive Music Association) invited the 30 bands to write, compose, perform and produce their own songs for the project, they were asked to perform in their native language or if they wished they could perform an instrumental piece.

The bands were pretty much free to do as they pleased, there was really only one restriction, and that was that the bands had to use vintage equipment, for the genuine 70's sound and feeling and were to use no programmed drums. If the track was sung in their own language they were also required to provide an English translation of their lyrics and of course a small piece of information about the band for the liner notes.

The project was coordinated by Marco Bernard, the editor of Colossus magazine.

Bands from the following countries participated:

Track listing

Disc Track Title Artist Nationality Runo(s) of Kalevala Based upon Running time
Disc 1 1 The Creation - The Sowing Haikara Finland Runos 1 & 2 11:30
2 Wainamoinen and Youkahainen/The Fate of Aino Overhead Finland Runos 3 & 4 8:04
3 Som Floden Flyter (As the River Runs) Simon Says Sweden Runos 5 & 6 7:06
4 Trubadurens Kval (The Minstrel's Cry) Sinkadus Sweden Runo 7 5:43
5 Maiden of the Bow Moongarden Italy Runos 8 & 9 10:21
6 Ilmarinen Forges the Sampo Il Castello di Atlante Italy Runo 10 7:05
7 Lemminkainen's Lament Magenta United Kingdom Runos 11 & 12 6:58
8 Three Battles Submarine Silence Italy Runos 13 & 14 7:34
9 Raking the Bones Metaphor United States Runo 15 7:43
10 Boat Builder/Searching for the Lost Word Clearlight France/United States Runos 16 & 17 10:27
Disc 2 1 3 Orchard Norway Runos 18 & 19 7:33
2 Wedding Greenwall Italy Runos 20 to 25 14:27
3 Uninvited Guest Revelation Italy Runos 26 & 27 10:06
4 Pimeästa Pohjolasta (From the Dark North) Scarlet Thread Finland Runo 28 5:02
5 Suono Dei Ricordi (The Sound of Memories) Mad Crayon Italy Runos 29 & 30 6:22
6 Fiore Di Vendetta (The Flower of Revenge) Museo Rosenbach Italy Runos 31 & 32 6:41
7 Filo Di Lama (Edge of a Blade) Leviathan Italy Runos 33 & 34 10:34
8 Strani Colori (Strange Colours) Malibran Italy Runo 35 7:31
9 Malvagio Per le Stelle (Mean Because of the Stars) Sophya Baccini Italy Runo 36 5:24
10 Ilmarinen's Bride of Gold Elegant Simplicity United Kingdom Runo 37 5:00
Disc 3 1 Ilmarinen's Fruitless Wooing Qadesh United Kingdom Runo 38 11:33
2 Kantele Cantina Sociale Italy Runos 39 to 41 5:46
3 Stormen (Tempest) Grand Stand Sweden Runo 42 7:01
4 Battaglia Per il Sampo (The Battle for the Sampo) Germinale Italy Runo 43 8:12
5 Uusi Kantele (New Kantele) Aardvark Finland Runo 44 5:52
6 Kapittu 45/46 (Chapter 45/46) Thønk Switzerland Runos 45 & 46 6:38
7 Tuletta (Fireless) Groovector Finland Runo 47 5:18
8 Pine Whobodies Finland Runo 48 5:36
9 Runo 49 Randone & Tempore Italy Runo 49 8:57
10 Way Is Open Cafeïne France Runo 50 11:42

Packaging

The 3 CDs are packaged in a standard wide CD jewel case along with a fairly comprehensive booklet containing introductory information about the Kalevala and a complete listing of tracks with lyrics (where appropriate) a synopsis of each track and pictures of the bands and general artwork.

References

  1. ↑ Kalevala Project: Kalevala - A Finnish Progressive Rock Epic, Sea of Tranquility (website), 18 October 2003.
  2. ↑ "Kalevala: A Finnish Progressive Rock Epic - Various Artists - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
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