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N​ø​kkens Sang om Elven

by Nøkken + The Grim

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1.
Beneath the River Lies an Ocean 06:51
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2.
Nøkkens Sang om Elven 04:30
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about

A wandering traveler, you stumble into a grotto out of time and place.
Whispers of a song carry through the watery air.
Your heartbeat spikes as the rumble of ancient heartbeats roll through the earth beneath the tides.
You've wandered into the water spirit's lair.

---------------

Nøkkens Sang om Elven (Nøkkens Song of the River) efter Peter Heise is a Danish traditional folk song carrying roots to old Norse pagan and animistic beliefs.

The 19th century composer Heise wrote down many traditional Danish songs, and due to his work in both preserving and writing his own variations of folk tunes, we have this song. He collected folk songs in folios of song cycles. Nøkkens Song om Elven is from "Nat Mellem Fjeldene" (A Night Between the Mountains) which is originally set to voice and piano.

The song itself is a mystic ballad which originally has lyrics in Old Danish (ours is instrumental). The original folk song is sung by the Norse folkloric water spirit Nøkken about the river as a life-giver who works tirelessly because all living beings are dependent upon them. In Old Danish, there is a kind of erotic wordplay lost in modern Danish which no longer uses some of the archaic phrasing in which the mountain is a mother to the river who gives birth to the river through her womb, and the river gives birth to life, exemplifying Ancestry in the Land, the river as a sacred Ancestor of life, a person to whom Nøkken sing praises. Our violist Karli Leal translated the original lyrics below.

Lyrics of the Original Song

Danish:

Nøkkens Sang om Elven
Fra "Nat Mellem Fjeldene"

Sommernattens fred har bedækket fjeldets fod,
trindt omkring er livet gå't til hvile:
elven våger evigt, den er dalens hjerteblod,
brusende du hører den ile.
Fredløs går for den
fredens time hen,
aldrig får den lov til at hvile.

Dalens grønne liv det er elvens eget værk,
stenens vægt på alting monne hvile,
men den golde klipperyg den brusende og stærk
kløved med sin mægtige kile.
Gennem fjældets skød
skummende den brød;
aldrig blev den traet af at ile.

Men går den i stå på sin vandring tung og lang,
synker alting fluks i dødens hvile,
og det blanke birkeløv vil gulne sidste gang,
sidste gang da rosen vil smile.
Derfor uden rast
strømmer den i hast;
aldrig får den lov til at hvile.

English:

Nøkken's Song of the River
From "A Night Between the Mountains"

The summer night's peace has covered the foot of the mountain,
Life all round has gone to rest:
Ever watchful is the river, the heartblood of the valley,
Thou hear'st its rushing roar.
Unceasing it goes,
In this hour of peace.
Never allowed repose.

The greenery of the valley is the river's own work,
Everything upon the weight of rock rests,
But roaring and strong the barren cliff is cleft
with its mighty wedge.
From the mountain's womb,
Frothing water breaks,
Never in its rush tiring.

But if it stalls on its journey heavy and long,
All things will soon sink into Death's rest,
And the shining birch leaves will yellow for the last time,
For the last time will the rose smile.
Therefore without pause,
Hastily it flows,
Never allowed repose.

credits

released March 4, 2022

-CORE MEMBERS-

Nøkken (Fehérló Gortva): Violin, Folk Instruments
Ajatar (Karoline Leal): Viola, Folk Instruments
Peryton, The Black Stag (Stephen Ian Savage): Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Keyboard, Electronics, Folk Instruments

-ADDITIONAL CREDITS-

The track "Nøkkens Sang om Elven" was produced by Fehérló Gortva and Stephen Ian Savage.

The track "Beneath the River Lies an Ocean" was composed and produced by Stephen Ian Savage.

Featuring solos by Karli Leal on viola.

Both tracks were recorded and mastered by Stephen Ian Savage.

Folk song arranged by Karli Leal and Fehérló Gortva.

Album Art by Karli Leal.

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Nøkken + The Grim image

Nøkken + The Grim Austin, Texas

Shapeshifting nature spirits of Norse and Magyar legend have gathered together to perform music pulled from underlayer of the animal mind. The primal neofolk band resides in Austin, Texas.

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