Kalenda Maya – Kalenda Maya

Kalenda Maya interprets and performs songs and dances from the medieval and renaissance age.

Kalenda Maya was formed in 1973 by ensemble leader and instrument builder Sverre Jensen, and consists of six musicians who have specialized in medieval and renaissance music. Together they blow new life into a music form many find antiquarian, serious and bone dry. Consisting of several members with a background in folk musical traditions, they manage to give the repertoire a fresh informality perfectly suitable for the music.

Few of the instruments from this age have survived today, so frontman Sverre Jensen took on him the assignment of reconstructing several of the instruments used on the album. Reconstruction is also central the musical material. The original performing practice on these melodies are little known, and Kalenda Maya use the old manuscripts as a point of departure and gives them new life by drawing on elements from traditional musical forms such as Balkan music, norwegian and spanish folk music, as well as arabic music. The result is remarkably beautiful, and Kalenda Maya shows in a masterful way how old and faded parchments can be transformed into living music fit for the present age.