Beowulf

Cantata Dramatica’s commission for 2015-16 was Beowulf, composed by Louis Mander, with libretto by Nick Pitts-Tucker.  Nick Pitts-Tucker writes:

"The story of Beowulf is the Anglo Saxon version of the heroic deeds of a Swedish warrior who made his name in Denmark, fighting awesome trolls, and then, in old and distinguished age, rolling out for one last fight with a fire breathing Dragon.

Louis Mander first suggested the poem to me as a suitable subject for a dramatic cantata.  My wife did Anglo Saxon at Cambridge and jumped at the chance to have "Beowulf" set to music so I set to, reading several translations simultaneously, and then making a verse précis of the story.  I also introduced some extra female parts to balance the rather muscular content of the original."

Composer Louis Mander writes:

My inspiration for the composition of the score came immediately and was catalysed by Nick Pitts-Tucker’s evocative and highly expressive libretto. I wanted to expose a number of key character motifs that I could vary and recall through the whole three act arc to provide a subconscious narrative coherence. Once I had composed and honed these leitmotifs, it was my intention to source a couple of traditional Danish folk melodies that I might weave into the score. There is one Danish folk melody used in the Act One Intermezzo, then two further Scandinavian folk songs are enjoyed in the Scene Five ‘Mead’ chorus. The other melodic material is my own, with Scandinavian inflected contours.

The drama is played out with through-composed aria, duet, ensemble and accompanied recitative, but also spoken word, sometimes with instrumental underscoring, and oftentimes purely spoken, without accompaniment. There are also a number of purely instrumental episodes which convey the presence of the supernatural characters in the story. The scoring is richly textured, and the percussion includes a full battery of tuned and un-tuned instruments.

The first act is impetuous and full of vitality. The second act is intrepid and athletic. The third and concluding act is bittersweet, elegiac and otherworldly.

The opera was performed at Chilmark Barns on 28 and 29 August, 2016