Poetry with ancient flair

Benjamin Bagby performs “Beowulf” Renaissance ‘ Baroque Society Synod Hall Saturday, 8 p.m…. Benjamin Bagby performs “Beowulf” Renaissance ‘ Baroque Society Synod Hall Saturday, 8 p.m. (412) 361-2048 $15

When Benjamin Bagby performs “Beowulf,” the melodic Old English conjures up scenes of roaring fires and flowing mead.

Even without understanding the words, listeners can appreciate the poem by experiencing centuries’ worth of storytelling technique.

Bagby will assume the role of a medieval bard this Saturday at Synod Hall by telling a portion of “Beowulf” in its original language.

Written between 700 and 1000, the epic poem follows the titular character as he defeats mythical monsters in Scandinavia. The story was passed down through oral tradition and performed by a scop – that is, an Old English poet or minstrel – with an accompanying harp.

Bagby discussed what it takes to commit to something that so few people do or understand. “I think for a text like ‘Beowulf’ it takes a great love of medieval literature and storytelling,” he said.

Bagby studied medieval music at Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. While his love for “Beowulf” sparked in grade school, he didn’t take an interest in the poem’s original form until he began his studies in music performance.

“I began to look ever further into the past for forgotten treasures and things which had been performed but were not being performed,” Bagby said. “That’s when ‘Beowulf’ was sort of re-awakened in me.”

Staying true to the scop’s tradition, Bagby developed musical accompaniment for the lyric meter. A replica of a 7th-century harp provides the perfect complement to the rolling rhythm of the text.

“We have to always bear in mind that the ‘Beowulf’ poem is not a piece of literature, it was never intended to be read,” he said. “It was always intended to be listened to.”

With a combination of singing, speaking and something in between, Bagby works through roughly a third of the epic. Starting at the beginning, the scop sets the stage with the introduction of the characters.

“It’s dramatically extremely condensed,” Bagby said. In addition to the rapid narrative, the portion features a highlight of the piece: “I chose it probably because of the very famous character of Grendel, the monster who is defeated by Beowulf in single-hand combat.”

The enormous task of memorization was aided by the structure of the story. Like a Homeric epic, “Beowulf” features patterns and formulae that were intended to help the scop perform the poem.

“There are certain formulae [that] are repeated whenever a certain character is introduced,” Bagby said, which is not to say that “Beowulf” sticks to a rigid, linear format. “It’s extremely experimental in many ways, even post-modern in its use of language and time and the shifting of scenes, for instance.”

While English supertitles will pop up during the performance, Bagby demonstrates that narrative isn’t the only aspect of storytelling. An artful combination of gesture, expression and tone help to convey meaning – along with music, of course.

“You’ll never hear a tune that you’ll go home whistling on your way out,” Bagby laughed, “but there are certainly melodic formulae which are repeated, varied, inverted and are constantly evolving.”