2024
2′ 30”
This piece is inspired by the Norse myth of the Einherjar, the spirits of deceased warriors who enter Valhalla provided they die a glorious death in battle. There they spend the days sparring, continuously competing for yet more glorious deeds in the afterlife. They celebrate the evenings with grand feasts, eating meat of the boar Saehrimnir and drinking mead from the udder of the goat Heidrun. Every night their wounds are healed, creating a continuous cycle as they train for Ragnarok (the end of the world).
From a modern, non-believing perspective this might not appear as the happy afterlife we are familiar with in Abrahamic religions. Every day being brutally maimed, healed to repeat the charade the following day. It sounds similar to the Greek myths’ punishment of Sisyphus, carrying the same bolder up the same hill for eternity, or Prometheus who’s liver is eaten during the day and heals every night. This is made even more apparent by the fact that the results of Ragnarok are pre-determined (spoilers, the Einherjar fall alongside Odin fighting the wolf Fenrir).
However following these days of toil, there are the feasts, surely far grander spectacles than those experienced on earth. This piece depicts the beginning of one such meal, complete with all the pomp that the gods can muster. Here the Einherjar will bask in shared revelry with the same warriors they fought during the day, or perhaps were slain by on Earth. Ragnarok might lie just beyond the horizon, but today we toast with the Einherjar to another glorious feast.
Brass Ensemble
6 Trumpets in C
5 Horns in F
2 Trombones
1 Bass Trombone
2 Euphonium
2 Tuba