THE BEAUTIFUL FORMULA TRIO / RAUASÕNAD

RAUASÕNAD
The Beautiful Formula Trio
Mariliis Haljasorg
Oleksiy Koval
Veronika Wenger

Live Painting Performance
ARS Project Space, Tallinn
8. August 2026, 14:00

The composition "Rauasõnad" is the fourth composition in the series Muta Poesis, created during the NART artist residency in Narva.

"Muta poesis, pictura loquens" (Latin for "silent poetry, speaking painting") is a famous dictum originally attributed to the Greek poet Simonides of Keos and handed down by Plutarch.

The composition "Rauasõnad" is based on Kalevala Runo 9 (Raua sünd / Raua needmine) and the shared Finnish-Estonian tradition it represents.

The score is written entirely in The Beautiful Formula Language and follows the movement and rhythm of the legend in six parts: the separation of air and water, the three mothers of iron and their milk, the forge and the fire, the poisoned tempering water, the breaking of the oath, and the closing incantation.

"Rauasõnad" is silent poetry: it makes the invisible rhythms of Estonian folklore visible.

The Beautiful Formula Trio – Veronika Wenger, Mariliis Haljasorg, Oleksiy Koval
ARS Project Space, Tallinn 2026 – Photo: Niina-Anneli Kaarnamo

The Beautiful Formula Trio — Mariliis Haljasorg, Oleksiy Koval and Veronika Wenger — performed "Rauasõnad" together before an audience for the first time, as a digital live painting performance.

The performance took place within the exhibition "Loor. Connecting Inner Landscapes": Saturday, August 8, 2026, 2 p.m., ARS Project Space, Tallinn.

Curated by Viktoria Berezina
Organised by LOORE – Estonian Creative Residencies Network

Funded by Nordic Culture Point (Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Culture) and the Estonian Ministry of Culture

Rauasõnad (Symphony IV)
The Beautiful Formula Trio – Veronika Wenger, Mariliis Haljasorg, Oleksiy Koval
4K projection, ARS Project Space, Tallinn 2026 – Photo: rhythmsection.de

Rauasõnad (Symphony IV)

Oleksiy Koval, Narva 2026

I. Ukko and the three mothers of iron
Ukko, the creator of the sky, separated air and water, rubbed his hands firmly together and pressed them against his knee — thus arose three maidens, the mothers of iron. They walked along the edges of the clouds, their breasts overflowing with the milk of the iron to come, which flowed onto the earth, into the valleys and waters.

A   

A¹  A1/2     
V2 H1 | V1 H2  

A²  A1/9

A³ A1/4

E 

a,b,c,d,e,f,g ≈

P  
  
#1 a A¹ A1 [1,2,1,2,1,2] [1,2,1,2,1,2] [1,2,1,2,1,2] [8] [8] [8]  
#2 b A¹ A1 [-]  
#3 c A¹ A1 [-]  
#4 d A¹ A1 [-]  
#5 b A¹ A2 [A² A7, A8, A9, (1) T5, T8, T3]  
#6 c A¹ A2 [A³ A1, (1) T5, T8, T3]  
#7 d A¹ A2 [A² A3, A6, A7, (1) T5, T8, T3]

II. The milks congeal into matter
The eldest mother of iron let out black milk — where it met the land, wrought iron arose (soft, malleable iron). The middle one milked white milk — from it steel is made. The youngest let out red milk — from it came iron ore.

#8 b A¹ A2 [A² A7, A8, A9, (6) T5]  
#9 c A¹ A2 [A³ A1, (4) T5]  
#10 d A¹ A2 [A² A3, A6, A7, (5) T5]

III. The forge: the fire
The fire desires to devour the iron; the smith Ilmarinen comforts the iron, saying it will become beautiful once it unites with the fire.

#11 e A¹ A2 [A² A7, A8, A9, (7) T5]  
#12 e A¹ A2 [A³ A1, (7) T5]  
#13 e A¹ A2 [A² A3, A6, A7, (7) T5]

IV. The poisoned water
Then Ilmarinen seeks the tempering agent — and the evil Hiisi poisons the tempering water with snake venom and evil saps, whereby the iron turns bitter and evil and calls upon its kin to cut flesh and blood.

#14 f A¹ A2 [A² A7, A8, A9, (-)]  
#15 f A¹ A2 [A³ A1, (-)]  
#16 f A¹ A2 [A² A3, A6, A7, (-)]

V. The oath-breaking
The poison crosses the boundaries, evil no longer knows a place. The poisoned iron breaks its oath and cuts indiscriminately into the flesh.

#17 f (-)

VI. The incantation and the resolution
The curse does not end in a ban but in a resolution. To gain power over the iron, one imparts knowledge to the object — describing the birth of the iron to the iron itself is part of the shamanic process; the magical rite is performed to tame the evil hidden within the iron. Man and iron share the same origin — therein lies the possibility of healing.

#18 g (1) T8  
#19 g (2) T7  
#20 g (3) T6  
#21 g (4) T5  
#22 g (5) T4  
#23 g (6) T3  
#24 g (7) T2  
#25 g 1,5,2,3,8

Rauasõnad (Symphony IV)
The Beautiful Formula Trio – Veronika Wenger, Mariliis Haljasorg, Oleksiy Koval
4K projection, ARS Project Space, Tallinn 2026 – Photo: rhythmsection.de

Signs and symbols

A  area
T  takt
E  element
P  procedure
#  entry
[ ]  within the same area
#(n)  number of entries
(n)  size of unit
≈  is corresponding for all elements
V  vertical
H  horizontal
ⁿ  ordinal number
|  or

This composition has been written using THE BEAUTIFUL FORMULA LANGUAGE.

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