Musical 'Beowulf'
Early music at the Hop Monday
Toolbox
Published: November 7, 2008
HANOVER, N.H. – Acclaimed early music vocalist Benjamin Bagby brings his dynamic, world-renowned performance of the epic Anglo-Saxon tale "Beowulf" to Dartmouth College's Rollins Chapel on Monday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. A founder of the early music group Sequentia, Bagby steps into the role of Anglo-Saxon bard for this piece, which has mesmerized audiences around the globe. Speaking and singing in the original Old English, with modern English super-titles, Bagby summons vivid images of Medieval halls, horrific monsters, and pitched battle. Accompanying himself on a replica of a seventh-century German harp of the type bards are thought to have used, Bagby transports the listener to a Medieval hearthside, his voice dropping to a sinister whisper or bone-chilling growl, or ringing the rafters with action so vivid you can almost hear the clash of swords and shields. For centuries, the Anglo-Saxon epic passed through generations of storytellers, varying from telling to telling the adventures and battles of the monstrous Grendel, the kingly Hrothgar, and the heroic Beowulf. The earliest written version known to exist is a single manuscript that dates from no later than the 11th century. The most recent translation by Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney appears in the Norton Anthology of English Literature.
Tickets are $26; call (603) 646-2422, or online at www.hop.dartmouth.edu.
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