Female Fates and Fortunes – Randi Stene

Nordic fates interpreted by Randi Stene

The Nordic women, as they are portrayed in literature, can often be interpreted symbolically. Solveig, for example, represents boundless love and patience. In the Norse sagas, the idealised female characters are both strong and independent. In H. G. Møller´s translation of the Elder or Poetic Edda we discover that Gudrun “neither sat crying nor wringing her hands / nor did she sob like other women.” On the album “Female Fates and Fortunes”, the mezzosoprano Randi Stene performs, with pianist Burkhard Kehring, several songs where these women´s lives and fates are interpreted musically: from Edvard Grieg´s musical adaption of Arne Garborg´s “Haugtussa”, a poem about Veslemøy´s simple life at Jæren, the first signs of her infatuation and later her grief at being rejected, to Wilhelm Peterson-Berger´s “Marit´s Songs”, Hugo Alfvén´s “Maria´s Songs” and Peter Heise´s “Gudrun´s Sorrow” and “Solveig´s Songs from Peer Gynt”.