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An additional audio pronunciation guide to the Old Norse text of this work is included in all score purchases. The audio files are in mp3 format.

About the work

In Norse mythology, Loki is a god or jötune (a giant) or both. Loki appears often in the Poetic Edda, a book of poems compiled in the 13th century from many earlier sources, and is described as "the trickster god," sometimes assisting the gods and sometimes wreaking havoc.

Lokasenna (Old Norse "Loki's Quarrel") centers around Loki fighting with the other gods. The poem begins with a prose introduction detailing that Ægir, a figure associated with the sea, is hosting a feast in his hall for a number of the gods and elves whom Loki insults one by one, eventually being chased from the hall entirely. The work should have a strong sense of mockery from beginning to end.

This work was commissioned by the Argus Commissioning Consortium led by Chris McGinley in 2015. Not only is he a hugely popular character in Norse Mythology, but in pop culture now as well. Loki is everywhere it seems, which is likely what the trickster god would have always wanted.

There are many different ways to write and perform music based on such a rich character that I hope makes the work interesting to sing and I am so grateful to Chris and the participating directors and ensembles: Central Bucks High School West Men's Choir, Joseph Ohrt; Chor Leoni, Erick Lichte; Sine Nomine (Elizabethtown College); Matthew Fritz; Orpheus Men's Choir (Concordia Choral Arts), Christopher G. McGinley; and Virginia Glee Club (University of Virginia), Frank Albinder.