A Prayer, a Charm and a Riddle

Programme Note

A Prayer, a Charm and a Riddle is a cycle of three short settings of Old English texts. The prayer, ‘Cædmon’s Hymn’, is the oldest surviving Old English poem. According to Bede, Cædmon was an illiterate cow-herder who received divine inspiration allowing him to compose this Christian hymn. ‘For a Swarm of Bees’ is one of 12 surviving Old English metrical charms, which are in a sense Anglo-Saxon magic. This one, as the title suggests, was designed to ward off swarms of bees. The so-called Exeter Book, a 10th-century manuscript housed in Exeter Cathedral, contains almost 100 riddles. The solutions to many of these riddles are a subject of debate, but we do know the solution to the present riddle: a one-eyed garlic seller.

Year: 2022
Duration: 5′
Instrumentation: Soprano

I – Cædmon’s Hymn
II – For a Swarm of Bees
III – One-eyed Garlic Seller

Media

A recording of ‘Cædmon’s Hymn’ by Stephanie Lamprea can be found here.

Performances

8th December 2023
Khairunnisa Diyana Md Noor (Soprano)

Experimental Theater, Universiti Malaya

25th November 2023
Khairunnisa Diyana Md Noor (Soprano)
Kuaka Lumpur Performing Arts Centre

12th April 2020
Stephanie Lamprea (Soprano)
Online release of recording of ‘Cædmon’s Hymn’