Performance, Music and Metre in Kalevala-Metric Oral Poetry

In this article, I focus on the relationships of metre, music and performance in Finnic oral poetry, called Kalevala-metric poetry, runosong or regilaul, using examples from two different local singing traditions. Focusing on Archangel Karelian and Izhorian singing cultures, I build on and resume the earlier research on Estonian, Karelian, Ingrian (including Izhorian, Ingrian-Finnish and Votic) and Finnish oral traditions. My approach is based on sound recordings from Karelia and Ingria, made during the early 20th century, and on earlier manuscript collections. With these materials, I focus on the ways the metrical structures were used and varied in historical performance traditions.