Where the Bear Sleeps: stories from the frozen north

In this performance, Nick will lead you on a journey from our own shores to snow-filled forests of the far North. On his many travels through Finland, Nick works deeply with the national epic The Kalevala, rooting out seeds of stories that bloom into strange and wonderful flowers. With all the magic of the Northern Lights and the drama of the tundra, these stories will warm the heart on a cold winter’s night.

This show is being toured to a number of small venues in the South Lakes area. Please click on "perform" above for further details, and on "e-shop" to purchase tickets in advance.

The Liberty Tree

Robin Hood boasts to the Merry Fellowship about the ten-tined stag he’s just killed and gralloched even as the air fills with the sound of the baying of the sherriff’s hounds… as he always has boasted somewhere in the leafy shadows of our minds, and as he always will as long as tyranny rides rough-shod over the green freedoms of England.

Commissioned by Festival at the Edge 2007, with internationally acclamed storyteller Hugh Lupton, this show is a singing and telling deep into the secret, dappled heart of Sherwood… and the ancient tradition of English dissent.

A Rare Hunger

New release on Harboutown Records

I’m delighted to have worked in conjunction with Gordon Jones at Harbourtown to produce this brand new recording. Of the 13 tracks in all 5 are of my own writing (Falling Sun, Son of Wandering Aengus, The River, Naked Flame and Gallows Tree), 5 are traditional (Annachie Gordon, Lord Franklin, Wandering Aengus, Donal Og and a translation of a 7th century Gaelic poem Hermit’s Song) the remaining 3 are penned by Lal Waterson, Sydney Carter and Simon Heywood.

What is particularly exciting about the album is the contribution from Sherry Robinson on cello and piano accordion. Her sensitivity to both melodic and lyric content is fantastic, offering very subtle and appropriate support to the harp and voice. I have often found myself listening to The River (I very rarely listen to my own recordings) just for her beautiful contribution. The harp and cello together seem to express very well the way a river flows at many speeds at the same time. To really appreciate her skill in supporting a lyric, then I recommend a listen to track 8 “Gallows Tree”.

It has been a real pleasure to work with her on this project, and we both very much hope to develop a collaboration in the future. So watch this space.

To purchase a copy of this new recording through PayPal then please visit the e-shop page of this website, or alternatively email me directly at info@nichennessey.co.uk

The Ruined House of Skin

"The hag, a ruined house of skin and bone, sits winding up a thread. It is a thread that draws us slowly, inevitably into the withered arms of age. It is our ruin. But on her tongue is a song, on her breath the fragrance of truth."

Premiered at the Leeks Arts Festival at the beginning of June 2005, and then at the Barbican Festival “Feasting in the House of Story”, this is a new, innovative configuration of Irish mythology that celebrates the power of archetypal narrative patterns.

Whilst working on this new piece it became clear that stories have a gravity in themselves, they are complete worlds, and to configure two or more together is akin to rearranging stars in the sky. New configurations bring into being new possibilities, meanings hitherto unseen. This piece is a unique configuration of old stories that teases out new threads from the tangled skein.

To find where it’s next being performed, check out the gigs list on this site.

Kalevala

The Kalevala is epic mythology comprised of stories up to 5,000 years old. Stories of creation, the birth of song, the origin of fire, all unfolding in an ancient world rich in spirits of forest, sea and sky.

Compared with the likes of Homer for its epic narrative, Kalevala is a cornerstone of Finnish national identity. Published in its present form in 1849, it is a masterpiece of literature compiled and edited by Dr. Elias Lönnrot. Far more than this however, it is a classic collection of runo-song (epic poetry in strict eight syllable metre) gathered from an ancient tradition of epic-singing amongst the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Baltic Regions.

Nick first came to Kalevala in 1998, and in April 2000 (with support from Northern Arts) travelled to Finland and Karelia (West Russia) to further research and develop his understanding of the tradition. Whilst the epic-poetry tradition in Russian Karelia is not as vibrant as it was in Lönnrot’s time (the Soviet authority suppressed and oppressed indigenous culture) nonetheless Nick was taken to meet old, but bright-eyed men and women that greeted him warmly and unlocked their treasuries of songs. It was life changing.

In present day Finland, however, there are strong moves being made to take Kalevala from the printed page and set it once more ringing in the air, after all it was originally an oral tradition. One such move is an annual Finno-Ugric festival held each December near Helsinki. The main part of this is a runolaulu (epic-singing) World Championship where people compete, from all across the Baltic region, singing in Kalevala metre. In 2000 Nick entered the competition and won, becoming the Six World Champion of Kalevala Runesinging.

As well as touring the UK with his performances, Nick regularly returns to Finland telling Kalevala in English. In 2009 he presented a program on BBC Radio 4 on the relationship between Kalevala and modern Finnish national identity.

For more information about forthcoming events in the UK and Finland please check out the gigs list or contact Nick directly.