Hugin and Munin: A Song Cycle | Thursday 17 May

There is a brief and cryptic passage in the Poetic Edda poem Grímnismál (one of the foundational works of Norse Mythology), that talks about a relationship between Odin, the all-father of Norse gods, and a pair of ravens, Hugin (a Norse word for ‘thought’) and Munin (‘mind’ or ‘memory’).  It translates as follows:

“Hugin and Munin fly each day
over the spacious earth.
I fear for Hugin, that he come not back,
yet more anxious am I for Munin.”

Hugin and Munin is an original cycle of songs and performances that explores the significance of this passage, particularly as an allegory for our current times:  who/what gathers information and monitors the activities of our world, and who/what synthesizes that knowledge?  Do we have a collective anxiety that thought (hugin) and memory (munin) are in a state of precariousness?  Are we experiencing the dawn of a new era of consciousness or unconsciousness?

WING AND STRING COLLECTIVE

The Wing and String Collective is a collaborative performance ensemble whose current members include Nora Hutchinson, Jeff Bird, Peg Evans, Neal Evans, Sue Smith, and Tor Lukasik-Foss. The Wing and String Collective is interested in the creation of new works hybridizing opera, traditional folk music, theatre, and performance art together. Past works include: In Safe Places (performed throughout Ontario between 1996 to 2003), If You Hate This Planet (1996 to 1997), Urban Hootenany (2007), and The Soul of The Street (2011). Their latest collaborative work is Hugin and Munin: A Song Cycle (2015).