A Special Note about Meter and Performance

The metrical genius and sophistication of alliterative poetry is apparent to anyone who has come into contact with works such as Beowulf. As a performer, the issue which interests me is this: how would such metrical structures have manifested themselves in performance in a pre-literate culture?

Searching for the Lost Voice of My Germanic Ancestors

Medieval Germanic people – in their huts, their fields, their boats, on horseback , around their cooking fires, their pagan shrines, and even in the first Christian monasteries – were singing, listening to song, myth, instrumental music, and long sung tales of their ancestors’ deeds, real and imagined.

Questions from a Singer: Hildegard's music

Bagby sometimes receives questions from students preparing a concert of Hildegard's music, who seek guidance in dealing with such an unusual style and challenge. The following are some typical questions (2010) from a student in Australia (edited here for clarity).

The Popularity of Beowulf

Answer to a New York Times journalist’s question (April 2006): " Unlike tales of knights in shining armor and deeds of chivalry, Beowulf comes from the far reaches of European history, a world of tribes and blood vengeance; it was already 'medieval' in the 11th century, already ancient, terrifying, and able to hold listeners spellbound. That has not changed in a thousand years."

The Harp

The 6-string harp used by Benjamin Bagby was built by Rainer Thurau (Wiesbaden, Germany), based on the remains of an instrument excavated from a 7th century Alemannic nobleman's grave in Oberflacht (south of Stuttgart).

Bagby Comments on His Performance

These comments are taken from the audio transcript of a roundtable discussion of Anglo-Saxonists and medievalists following Bagby's performance of Beowulf at the International Medieval Studies Congress in Kalamazoo, MI, May 2003.

Benjamin Bagby interview for Utrecht Oude Muziek Magazine

Lieve Schaubroek asks questions about Sequentia's long association with a festival we have known since its beginnings, the scene of many discoveries. Our first performance in The Holland Festival (with the Studio der frühen Musik) was our final concert as students, in 1977.