Early Music Now Presents Benjamin Bagby and Beowulf

Benjamin Bagby. Photo credit: Hillary Scott.

I was introduced to the epic Anglo-Saxon heroic poem Beowulf in a high school English Literature class. I confess to remembering little about the work other than its length (more than 3,000 lines) and the incomprehensible Old English dialect in which it is written.

Fortunately, Early Music Now (EMN) invites us to rediscover Beowulf through a live performance on Saturday, Nov. 4 by vocalist, harper and scholar Benjamin Bagby. He is the founder and director of Sequentia, a medieval music ensemble that appeared locally during EMN’s 2022-23 season.

Set in Scandinavia in the 6^th century, the poem recounts the heroic efforts of a young Geatish warrior, Beowulf, to defeat Grendel, a troll-like demon who terrorizes the great hall of the Danish kingdom ruled by King Hrothgar. Beowulf slays both Grendel and the monster’s mother, and returns in triumph to Geatland, which he eventually rules as king. Scholars cannot identify the author but believe the epic was written sometime between 700 and 1000 AD. The earliest translation into modern English dates to 1805. Projected English supertitles during Bagby’s performance will summarize the original language for the audience.

Bagby assumes the role of the scop, the “singer of tales” whose services as oral poet, singer, storyteller, and reciter at formal and informal gatherings were essential to the fabric of tribal society in early medieval England. Accompanying himself on a six-string harp, Bagby presents, in the words of reviewer David A. Rosenberg, “…no mere recitation, but a vigorous interpretation of the bloody epic.”

Speaking earlier this year with Canadian author Dena Bain Taylor, Bagby said the program functions on many levels simultaneously. It is grounded in the “magnificently crafted text” of the poem, informed by knowledge of how language was expressed by the storyteller in early medieval England. The harp, he said, serves as a companion to the storyteller, helping to advance the arc of the tale by suggesting “the passage of time, changing of scenery, and alteration of point of view.” Finally, Bagby said, his retelling expresses the enormous spectrum of the human voice. True speech, heightened speech, speech-like song, and true song are all used to share a dramatic tale that has engaged listeners for more than a millennium.

Beowulf will be presented at a new venue for EMN: the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center, 2133 W. Wisconsin Ave. The 1887 Romanesque Revival structure was designed as the Grand Avenue Congregational Church by Edward Townsend Mix, one of Milwaukee’s most prominent 19th century architects. EMN executive and artistic director Charles Grosz notes that the building’s concert hall “has a wonderful Medieval ambiance, and is acoustically compatible to Ben Bagby’s amplified performance.”

Saturday’s program begins at 5 p.m., with a pre-concert talk at 4 p.m. Tickets for Beowulf may be purchased online and at the door. The 90-minute program will be performed without intermission.