|
Early Music Festival |
7:30 p.m.Cathedral of All Souls at Biltmore Village |
January 26, 2008 |
|
With harp in hand, the vocalist and storyteller Benjamin Bagby has taken the epic story of Beowulf from its written form—where it miraculously survived the centuries—and returned it to its original home: a live performance of oral epic. The untitled Anglo-Saxon epic poem known as Beowulf survives in a single manuscript source dating from the early eleventh century. The story has its roots in the art of the scop (‘creator’), the bardic story-teller and reciter at formal and informal gatherings, whose services were essential to the fabric of tribal society in early medieval England. Mr. Bagby has been investigating and performing Beowulf for over 20 years, appearing around the world at such illustrious venues as the Utrecht Early Music Festival, the Lincoln Center Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Library of Congress, and many others. A DVD production of Mr. Bagby’s ‘Beowulf’ performance, filmed by Stellan Olsson in Sweden, became available in summer 2006. |
|
Benjamin Bagby |
|
To contact us: |
|
Phone: 828-505-2858 E-mail: info@eemf.net |
BioBenjamin Bagby is descended from a Germanic clan which emigrated from Jutland to northern England in ca. 630, from where his branch of the family emigrated to the colony of Virginia almost a millennium later. Following 321 years of subsequent family wanderings, he was born on the shores of the Great Lakes, and twelve years later was captivated by Beowulf.Several years after moving back to Europe in 1974 he founded – together with the late Barbara Thornton – the ensemble for medieval music, Sequentia, which was based in Cologne, Germany, for 25 years. Nominated for a Grammy Award, and winner of numerous international prizes, Sequentia is one of the worlds most respected and innovative ensembles for medieval music. Both Mr. Bagby and Sequentia are now based in Paris.
In addition to his activities as singer, harper and director of Sequentia, Benjamin Bagby writes about performance practice and teaches widely in Europe and North America. He is currently on the faculty of the Sorbonne University in Paris, where he teaches in the master’s program for medieval music performance practice. |
|
"What was incontrovertible about Bagby's performance was its ring of truth ...Old English has rarely seemed so alive ...in Beowulf,one could hardly doubt the numinous presence of Orpheus himself." “Mr. Bagby comes as close to holding hundreds of people in a spell as ever a man has... That is much too rare an experience in theater.” — The New York Times |
|
There will be a free pre-concert talk at 10:30 a.m. at the Laurel Forum, in UNCA’s Karpen Hall, sponsored by the UNCA Humanities Program. Coffee and Donuts will be provided. Call 258-1028 for info. |