CLEVELAND -- Instead of wielding the mighty sword that slew the dragon-monster Grendel, Ben Bagby and his medieval lyre will conquer the menacing foe that 1,200 years ago terrorized Denmark and cast it into one of its darkest periods in history.Posted 9-1-00
CLEVELAND -- Instead of wielding the mighty sword that slew the dragon-monster Grendel, Ben Bagby and his medieval lyre will conquer the menacing foe that 1,200 years ago terrorized Denmark and cast it into one of its darkest periods in history.
Bagby will become the hero Beowulf when he returns to Case Western Reserve University's Harkness Chapel for encore performances of his 90-minute oral recreation of the Anglo-Saxon epic tale. The concerts are at 8 p.m. September 26 and 28, as part of the Chapel, Court & Countryside Early Music Series.
Thomas Bishop, professor of English and director of the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities, will set the stage with his pre-concert talks at 7:15 p.m., explaining the Beowulf chronicle and enlightening audiences for the performances that will follow in old Anglo-Saxon. Tickets are required by calling 216-368-2402.
"His performance is absolutely stunning," says Ross Duffin, the Fynette H. Kulas Professor of Music. "He's a bard in the old sense of the word. He tells the story using inflections of his voice and expressions on his face. The total performance is so completely convincing and enthralling that even if you did not know from moment to moment what the text was saying, you could tell what was going on in the story from what Ben is doing on stage."
The storyteller gives approximately 20 solo performances of Beowulf, accompanied by his six-string harp, annually throughout the world.
Bagby, the co-founder and member of the early music group Ensemble Sequentia, first performed a segment of Beowulf at Harkness almost a decade ago and delivered an expanded version in 1993 to a capacity crowd in the chapel.
Duffin, who has taught summer early music workshops with Bagby in Vancouver, arranged for Bagby's month-long residency as the Krieger Fellow. His visit also has support of the Kulas Visiting Artist Fund.
While at CWRU, Bagby will teach a performance class "The Singer of Tales," an interdisciplinary course that explores narration. The course culminates in a staged performance at 3 p.m. Sunday, December 3 in Harkness Chapel. The program, co-sponsored by the music department and the Baker-Nord Center, will explore the medieval narrator through words, music, and a visual presentation.
High school and college students will have the opportunity to participate in a conversation with Bagby at 4:30 p.m. Monday, October 2 in Harkness Chapel. During this program, the artist will talk about recreating Beowulf, emphasizing the history and cultural origins of the work, along with practical aspects of making a performance style where none exits. Admission is free, but reservations are required by calling 216-368-2402.
On the last day of Bagby's residency -- Saturday, October 21 -- he will join the Ensemble Sequentia for "The Year 1K" concert at 8 p.m. in Harkness Chapel. The program will include 1,000-year old music performed with voice, harps, and flutes. The group, based in Cologne, Germany, is known for its performances of medieval European music.
Also performing with Ensemble Sequentia are singers Lena Suzanne Norin and Eric Mentzel, and harpist/flute player Norbert Rodenkirchen. The concert will include songs of love, sorrow, and war; the work of an anonymous Rhineland harpist and singer; and from the Icelandic Edda, "The Lay of Attila the Hun," the earliest-known retelling of the famous Rhinegold tale and its violent end.
Ensemble Sequentia will return to Harkness Chapel at 3 p.m. Sunday, October 22 to coach a master class in which Cleveland-area musicians will perform medieval music. The master class is free and open to the public.
According to Duffin, CWRU's connections with the ensemble date back to a 1979 performance at Amasa Stone Chapel. CWRU doctoral student Janet Youngdahl has been with the group for several of their renowned recordings of the music of Hildegard bon Bingen. CWRU alumna Anna Levenstein (M.A., music) joined the ensemble for the Hildegard performances, beginning in 1998.
In addition to his work with Beowulf, Bagby has undertaken such music theater projects as the Hildegard von Bingen's "Ordo Virtutem" in honor of composer's 100th birthday and the Edda project, which is performances of the Eddic poems that formed the basis of Wagner's Ring cycle.
Bagby, who resides in Germany, graduated from Oberlin College in 1974 with his B.A. in voice and German literature.
Tickets for Beowulf and Sequentia are $20 for adults and $18 for senior citizens and members of Early Music America.
CWRU students may buy special discounted tickets in advance at the music department office in 201 Haydn Hall from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.Tickets are $10 for the Tuesday night performance and $5 for Thursday night's performance. At the door, student tickets will be $18.
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