Ranarop

A few months ago, cor_cordivm sent me a link to an intriguing artist based out of Minnesota, Kari Tauring.  While it may come as no surprise that the Upper-Midwest is full of artists feeling called to their Nordic Roots, Kari Tauring is one of the few who is keeping her vision focused on bridging the gap in traditions from Scandinavia to America.  She's written a "mission statement," for all intents and purposes, where she introduces her Huldre Project.
The website on the whole is very interesting.  Tauring mentions seidr and staving and other "women's" traditions she and her companions are attempting to reclaim.  There are mp3's of her performance of galder, rune chants, and huldre, as well as descriptions of Scandinavian folk traditions centered on Trondheim and its surrounding area (I also have ancestral roots in this region).  

Staving is of particular interest to me, as it requires little to no access to instruments and can therefore be done spontaneously.  I also appreciate the idea of ritual as a part of seasonal transition cycles using music, rhythm, and ancestral stories to facilitate that process.  Working with others in the community and spiritual group during these times is also one of my goals as both an artist and a spirit worker.

Kari Taruing is one of my prime inspirations for a solo music project.  She is using the information she's collected over years of researching feminine folk tradition and turning it into cathartic performance art.  I doubt I'll do much with the theatrical side of storytelling, but knowing the stories to put to music is a key element I feel Tauring has gotten right.  Another idea spurred by hearing some of her rune chants and the rune chants of Freya Aswynn, as well as a suggestion from cor_cordivm after a Beginner Runes meeting, I am going to attempt putting tonal values to each of the twenty-four runes of the Elder Futhark.  Then, creating galder and chants with preassigned tones will make for more interesting chanting.  It might only work for me, but I think it is worth the experiment.