A guy I knew in college recently resurfaced on Facebook - writing from Iceland, of all places - offering as a status update his celebration of Walpurgis and Volbriöö. I'd never heard of either holiday and was grateful for the impromptu lesson. Volbriöö is an Estonian springtime-arrival fete, while the celebration of Walpurgisnacht takes place every year on April 30 or May 1 and involves setting bonfires to cast off dead spirits.I'm taken with that notion of "off with the old, in with the new," with a ritual to mark the division. Moreso, I'm taken with a song that the day spawned: Procol Harum, best known to '60s pop fans as the creators of "A Whiter Shade of Pale," recorded the instrumental "Repent Walpurgis" in 1967. (The live performance I've linked to is from '71.) I have no idea what Procol Harum are asking repentance for with the title; but then, after the vestal virgins of "Pale" and the ill-fitting clothes of "Homburg," I'm not about to start expecting the rational and literal now. "Repent Walpurgis" is a powerful bit of prog-rock - a more morbid "Funeral for a Friend," in a way - and stands right up there with "Pale," "Conquistador," and the other minor-key, depressing entries in the Procol Harum catalog.
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Has anyone else noticed that this is almost the same melody as Elton John's Funeral For A Friend?
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