Crone Wisdom ceremonial concert – review

“Did you also fell a bit in love?”, Jelte asked me.
– “I feel enchanted”, I answered.
“Yes, that’s the right word!”, he replied.

Two days ago I attended a ceremonial dancing concert, called Crone Wisdom by Fralalai. I’ve mentioned her twice already on my weblog, and this is because I’ve been genuinely and deeply impressed by the magic she brings into this world. I asked my brother Jelte to join me, 45 minutes before the show started. It fitted perfectly in his schedule and he mentioned he chance-met Fralalai in the train about a year ago. I love such synchronicity.

The day was the 6th of January. For a reason. In some Christian traditions that’s the day of Epiphany, which is celebrated differently throughout different countries. In Holland, it’s called “Driekoningen”, the three kings (the sages)..¹
Anyway, in Italy, Fralalai’s home country, the central figure of this day is La Befana. She is an old woman, flying on a broomstick, who hands out rewards for children. Sweets for those who have been good and coal for the ones who misbehaved. Her broomstick wipes away the old year and makes space for the new one.
I’ve read a number of books on the fairy folk to my children and La Befana was definitely mentioned in some of them. She’s rooted in pagan time and tradition.

Fralalai would bring her up as one fine example of the crone archetype, which she thinks is not represented, appreciated and celebrated as much as she deserves. And this concert was dedicated to her; to this quality of crone wisdom.

The concert was in an old priory building. The lights were dimmed as we entered the space, which was lit only by candles and the air was filled with the scent of frankincense. The atmosphere was nothing short of mysterious.
Fralalai beckoned us to settle on the pillows that were lined up at the outer wall. There were branches there for us to use as we saw fit; one faded oaken and one evergreen pine.

I stole one moment in the very beginning to take this low-quality photo in an attempt to capture the atmosphere.

In the beginning Fralalai explained many of the facets that would be relevant that day. About La Befala and the crone, about the magic circle created out of soil and ash, in which all of us were invited to take our time and contribute to an offering of earth and ash. Earth being the living soil that will bring forth wood, and ash representing the end of wood – while at the same time being a potent fertiliser for new growth. She opened the ceremony, inviting everyone present to see and connect to one another, inviting in the qualities of the different stages of life and singing their song.

After she worked her magic through ceremony, it was time for her to do so through music. There was no fixed setlist; there would be a flow of existing songs, blended together through improvisation. The space was open to all to do whatever felt right: to dance, to sit anywhere or to lie down.

Though nearly sold out, the concert was intimate, with only about thirty people present. There was enough space for everyone to dance, which all did in the beginning of the concert.

The music that was played was quite diverse. Fralalai is capable of playing a range of different instruments, accompanying each with pure vocals. This night it was different drums, the harp and a little harmonium-like instrument.

Many of her songs have an ethereal quality to them; previously I’ve compared her music to something between elven and angelic. But she also performed songs that were more dark and mysterious. I find it difficult to find the right words, but these songs felt powerful, dangerous almost, and had the quality of the night, underground or maybe ancestors; all there but quite incomprehensible to our daylight consciousness.

For me it was interesting to notice how I interacted with the flow of the music, my body’s desire and what the others were doing.
At some point, there was a song with powerful drumming, and most people were dancing. I thought I’m not tired, I should keep dancing to these drums! But it felt more right for me to sit down and enjoy the music that way. It took a while for me to accept this, but in the end I did.
Later on, Fralalai sat down with the harp. Everyone present was now settling down as well. For a while I had been staring at her fingers graciously dancing across the strings. But soon I felt the flow of the music through my body and I couldn’t sit down anymore. Looking around, I realised I’d be the only one moving around. For a second this held me back, but then again, I usually dance like no one is watching. And on top of that, there would be so much more space for me to move around now, so I surrendered to the music and danced along with the notes.

I really had a great afternoon! Even though Jelte and I had little time for conversation, it was good to be there together.

I deeply appreciate Fralalai’s work. She adds beauty and grace to our world and is re-enchanting it. She strives to help people connect to one another, to nature and to life. Both through words, ceremony and music.
I don’t know whether Fralalai would identify as such, but I really felt to have seen a priestess at work. As Margo defines it, a priestess is a woman who puts her medicine to use for the good of all. And that was definitely what I experienced there and then.

1. It’s the day my family traditionally removes the Christmas tree from the house. Even though I remember being dressed up as a king als a toddler and singing the song, lantern in hand, I just read that the tradition is considered forlorn by now. ↩︎