BEOWULF - Richard Lambert Music · PDF fileBEOWULF libretto: Roger Harcourt (1976) ... That nothing will avail except the strength of his hands, his bare hands. Except the strength

BEOWULF libretto: Roger Harcourt (1976)

Chorus: In northern Denmark, more than a thousand years ago,

When aged Hrothgar ruled the land, Denmark was ruled in peace.

His people loved him, and his Queen Wealtheouw.

For fifty years they held the reins of power, assured yet gracious,

In loving companionship they ruled.

Through darknesses of winter, locked by the studded portals from the cold,

They feasted with their henchmen, drank away the hours.

Hrothgar and his gracious queen, proud nobles Unferth, Wulfrac,

Wiglaf of the shining spear.

Trumpets brayed their sound, platters steamed with meat,

Splashing goblets drowned in mead toasted the King and Queen.

Hurrah! Hurrah! Loud merriment there was of song, hurrah!

While the roof clanged, sang, it rang – rang to their joy and sprang to the stars, hurrah!

But ever must joy in sadness end.

One day late, there came prowling over the moor,

A monster of hideous mien, Grendel by name, fierce son of a foul mother,

Half wickedly human, half insatiably monster: incorrigible! unenlightened! despicable!

Ugly of aspect and hideous of mien, twelve feet in height and of incredible girth,

Wending his way to the palace with fearsome intent.

With gross paw he strikes the studded door, waves it in the air and strikes again.

The bolts shudder, the jambs strain from their hinge.

With terrific smash Grendel, gross and grim, shatters the portal.

With huge reverberating tread enters the great hall, snatches a sleeping thane,

And gorging as he goes, carries him home for meat.

Morning breaks, loud is the lamentation, the Danes are struck with grief.

Thereafter lies a nightly sorrow, when Grendel, hungry after human flesh,

Treads along the palace path to tear his victim limb from limb.

No man, not one so strong or brave dare tackle the beast.

Alas, alas, no man dare tackle the beast.

Hrothgar: In all our years of peaceful rule there has not been so great a shame.

For fifty years, our happiness unimpaired, through peril and through danger,

We`ve led the land, inspired.

Wealtheouw: ...inspired by love of right, well doing and belief in God,

Always have our people leaned on us,

Reflecting their belief in our concern.

Hrothgar : Inspired by love of right, well doing and belief in God,

Always have our people leaned on us,

Reflecting their belief in our concern.

H + W: Then suddenly, without warning,

Grendel, the beast of olden darkness creeps across the face of earth.

Remorseless and unstoppable. Destruction is his name!

Hrothgar : I am old and past enduring the challenge of the wilds.

My feeble frame desires to rest in peace.

I offer the wisdom of the years, but strength eludes me.

My failing arm can strike its foe no more.

Wealtheouw: My regal gown flows out behind me, in gracious fan-like sweep,

Embroidered all with stars.

I offer the mead cup to the warriors who kneel before their King and Queen.

But now each night my hand trembles, thinking of terrors to come.

H + W: Our palace is haunted by a beast that knows no satisfaction.

Grendel his name, creeping across the face of earth.

No warning! No warning! Away seeps peace and our togetherness.

Hrothgar: I am old and past enduring.....

W: Who will deliver us? Who will deliver us from the challenge of the wilds?

Chorus: But listen, listen to the waves, O King. Hark!

Groaning with the weight of foreign sail. Listen! Hark!

The timbers pressed and curl within the mortices,

With speed she skims the last chain to the shore.

Beowulf: And it is I that leap to land, I Beowulf, with the swift spear of the glittering blade,

The shining lance and the sweet thrust.

I Beowulf, Lord of the curling wave, Prince of a thousand fights.

Master of the creature of violent intent,

The twilight foe that causes the night-time shudder,

Fear in the bowels, the depth-loss of hope.

But hope is my guiding star, and my anchor belief in conquest, virtue my scutcheon.

I flourish my sword with a whirl, my buckler with a shout,

There is confidence in my youth.

Belief in my virtue, trust in my might.

The challenge is here! The challenge is here!

From over the choppy waters of the Baltic,

The messengers and merchants, brave seafarers have sent me word

That Grendel, half-human, half-animal, wreaks havoc with the lives of Danish men.

So I come at the call of the oppressed,

To rid them of the grim flesh-eating monster.

Let come what may, let hap what haps, let be what God wills.

O Grendel of the deadly paw, the challenge is here! The challenge is here!

Chorus: Hrothgar greets Beowulf, takes him by the hand, clasps him to his heart.

Beowulf bows lows; expresses his respect,

Embraces the cloak of the venerable man.

Offers his youth, his vigour, his fearlessness in combat with Grendel.

Hrothgar bows low to Beowulf, Hrothgar accepts, takes him by the hand.

Enfolds him to the heart.

Long live King Hrothgar! Long live him! His Queen Wealtheouw, long live her!

And Beowulf, Beowulf, Protector of the Danes, Long live him! Long live him!

There is feasting of King, Queen and Beowulf, Wulfrac, Unferth and the thanes.

Of King, I say, and prince of soldiers, Beowulf,

Of him the King and Queen and everyone.


The banners in the great hall, emblazoned, sparkle to the stars.

The trumpets, trumpets flare with pride.

Revelry soars in combat with the moon, queen of night.

Oh God! Omnipotent author of our faith, maker of our being and pride of us,

With what deep reverence, what quick spontaneity we applaud your being.

Feasting, drinking, the glimmering goblets shine,

Feasting, drinking. Oh joy! In the long hall rings loud revelry.

Feasting, drinking. Look at the hospitality Hrothgar provides.

Three wild boar steaming hot from the ovens,

Tray upon tray of succulent meat

To fill full the stomachs of the soldier sailors from over the sea.

In the candlelight the mead cups glitter with bubbles to the brim.

Now the entertainers endowed with ancient skill:

Wrestlers tumbling on the patterned carpet,

Jugglers throwing silver balls into the air.

Magic men with tricks that make you not believe your eyes,

Astrologers tell of great deeds to come, fashioning their knowledge from the stars.

Minstrels sing of rousing deeds of old,

Enterprises past that win the heart and mind.

The singing soars, confidence waxes, veins run warm with wine.



W + H: Who will deliver us?

Chorus: Feasting, drinking. Look at the hospitality Hrothgar provides.

Three wild boar steaming hot from the ovens,

W + H: Who will deliver us?

Chorus: Tray upon tray of succulent meat




Long live them all!

H: You come, dear son, with a burden of fame, from a northern land of ice,

Where the panting bear ever seeks his prey,

Where prowling monsters with hidden menace lurk, then pounce.

From those lands you came here to deliver us, deliver us,

Deliver us!

B: From shore to shore is whispered my fame,

From curving harbour to gentle breakwater,

From squally headland to jutting promontory, the sea savours my name.

With monsters of land I have yet to fight, but to all the oppressed my heart goes out,

That is why, wisest of Danes, King Hrothgar, I am here to help you.

H: I am old and past enduring the challenge of the wilds....

B: The sea savours my name....

W: Who will deliver us?

H: .. my feeble frame desires to rest in peace.

B: ...to the oppressed, my heart goes out.

H: I offer the wisdom of the years, but strength eludes me.

My failing arm can strike the foe no more

W: Who will deliver us, deliver us from the challenge of the wilds?

B: .. that is why, King Hrothgar, I am here to help you.

So that you should trust me,

let me tell you of the swimming match I lately made with Breca.

Breca and I, five miles in the Baltic sea we swam,

Test of fibre and endurance, past whirlpool and tidal wave,

Each one to prove his noble manhood.

Dark skies threatened, lowered overhead, up blew the storm.

Black waves lashed and the bitter wind brushed and nipped our naked bodies.

Listen to the squall, the air-whirl, the blustery gale,

Breca cries for help. “Help, O Beowulf, help me. My strength is dwindling,

Monsters from the watery deep wend their way towards me.

Help, O Beowulf, help me!”

Listen to the squall, the air-whirl, the blustery gale,

It is I, Beowulf who swims to help, to Breca tossed like spendthrift on the crushing waves.

My hands prise apart the monster`s teeth,

my arms support his shoulder to give him strength,

My breast becomes a cradle for his falling head.

At sight of me, the monster of the sea thrashes the wave and is gone.

My strength, oh noble King, is yours to command!

Chorus: Away in the haunted fens (Listen!)

Where spindly trees trail their greying roots to the water (Listen! Hark you may hear!)

And straggling bushes gnaw at the sky for light. (Listen!)

The joyless Grendel climbs to the surface of the deep, with murderous intent

To tread his way to the palace with men for meat in his mind.

(Hark! Hark! You may hear. Hark! Hark! You may hear – Listen!)

B: My tale is told, it was a tale of courage, of scorning poor odds and defeating the foe.

Now King, masters all, while darkness descends, awaiting the monster of the deep,

I will lull you asleep with a song of the past:

Far to the north, in the long Arctic wastes, the day never closes.

At midnight the sun slants its rays still to earth, whilst mankind reposes.

For those who have seen the Aurelian lights, the sight never wanes.

The soul`s always touched of the journeying ones,

Kings, masters or thanes.

They travel through desperate ice and harsh cold to see endlessness.

They always return with fresh hope in the heart, for they have been blessed.

To sleep, to sleep, I lull you. On restful pillows recline you.

Alone, let Beowulf protect you. Let you rest.

Chorus: The sailor soldiers sleep. Alone Beowulf rests.

(Hark! Hark! You may hear! Hark! Hark! You may hear! Listen!)

Grendel! Ugly of aspect and hideous of mien, twelve feet in height and of incredible girth,

Wending his way to the palace with fearsome intent.

With gross paw he strikes the studded door, waves it in the air and strikes again.

The bolts shudder, the jambs strain from their hinge.

With terrific smash Grendel, gross and grim, shatters the portal.

With huge reverberating tread enters the great hall...

The silence is broken.

Grendel lumps into the hall, scours the sleeping men with savage eye,

Chooses one to satisfy his hunger, reaches for him with ponderous paw.

Not expecting Beowulf, the young prince,

Oh crown prince to the richest titles of the world, takes hold of the paw and grapples.

Grendel turns in astonishment, breathing deeply, flicks his almighty shoulder

Wheels the paw through the air, turning the body, whacks the gasping Beowulf to the floor.

Beowulf crouches close to the ground, while Grendel regains his balance.

He tenses all his muscles, knowing that weapons will not help,

That nothing will avail except the strength of his hands, his bare hands.

Except the strength of his hands.

Angered at the prince`s insolence, Grendel recoils a moment.

Waits to summon brutish strength, with total monstrous force,

He swipes at the prone human frame.

Nimbly, Beowulf skips aside. Then Grendel crashes to the empty floor.

Quickly, Beowulf treads upon the monster, takes hold of the gigantic paw,

Wheeling it backwards, wrenches it from the socket. With excruciating screech.

The arm is rent from the body.

Wails Grendel in anguish: Aaoh, aaoh, aaoh, aaoh, a roar to waken the dead.

Aaoh! To summon sleeping spirits from their graves. AAoh! Aaoh!

Waving the blood-soaked trophy in his arms, Beowulf presents himself to Hrothgar.

The anguished monster crawls back, crawls back to his lair to die.

Crawls back to his lair to die.

Beowulf: O noble King Hrothgar, wisest man in northern lands, Beowulf has saved you.

The monster is mortally wounded, vanished, never to return.

No more will sleepless nights torment you,

Nor troubled dreams bruise the aching mind.

Hrothgar: The time of fear is gone, today it skipped apart.

God`s mercy bathes us all in light, to give us fresher heart.

To Beowulf God has giv`n great strength with which to fight.

To Beowulf and our God we sing our praise and thanks this night.

Wealtheouw: Let us give thanks to God whose mighty power quells harm,

Gave Beowulf strength to banish ill with this, his human arm.

W + chorus: God`s power lies unrehearsed, still present when unseen,

And when we fear the worst is come, it`s on God`s power we lean.

Chorus: To God and Beowulf praise, for all their help and love,

May Beowulf`s mortal days be marked by blessings from above.

Beowulf: I join my voice in praise of God, for the mercy of his power,

For the power of his mercy.

The monster came upon me,

Gross creature from the fenland crawling from its murky Lakeland lair,

Flinging down the palace portal.

It was I who saved King Hrothgar from the prowler of the fenland,

And I give thanks, give thanks!

Let us hear the call of the trumpet, giving thanks, giving thanks!

Let us hear the voice of the drum,

W + H + B: Giving thanks, giving thanks!

W+H+B + chorus: Let us hear the voice of all music, giving thanks, giving thanks!

W+H+ B: Let us hear the voice of the quiet flute, giving thanks, giving thanks!

W+H+B+chorus: Let us hear the voice of all humans, giving thanks, giving thanks!



W + H: Let us give thanks to him.

All voices: Feasting, drinking, the glimmering goblets shine, Feasting, drinking.

Chorus: Look at the hospitality Hrothgar provides...

All voices: Three wild boar steaming hot from the ovens,

Tray upon tray of succulent meat




Long live them all!

FINIS

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BEOWULF - Richard Lambert Music · PDF fileBEOWULF libretto: Roger Harcourt (1976) ... That nothing will avail except the strength of his hands, his bare hands. Except the strength