New recording of The Lay of the Last Survivor

Video and audio recordings of a new performance of my song The Lay of the Last Survivor have now been released – its first professional performance and the first time it has been performed the way I originally intended. Janneke Ferwerda (soprano) and Tijana Kozarcic (harp) sang and played beautifully in the rich acoustics and visual surroundings of the Auburn Uniting Church, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia:

Higher quality audio recordings of The Lay of the Last Survivor than in the video are now available to stream or download on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon etc.:  Spotify  Apple Music  Amazon  YouTube

The Lay of the Last Survivor is a passage in the ca. 8^th century Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, the lament of the last remaining member of a society whose “heroes” valued fame, wealth and fighting above all. The ultimate futility of those values is movingly conveyed in this reflection on the beauty, joy and vividness of life lived in the intensity of the moment – “the joy of the hall” and harp, “the swift steed” trampling the courtyard – before death took all.

13 centuries later, this passage from Beowulf still seems relevant.

I wrote this setting of The Lay of the Last Survivor at a time of loss in my own life and, with my other music for Beowulf in the back of my mind (Fame, Gold & Shadow), it just seemed to flow forth naturally.

Many thanks to Peter Lamshed of Salvage Films (www.salvagefilms.com), who took the videos (except for a brief segment). Any shortcomings in the way they have been assembled and edited are entirely my responsibility. Many thanks also to Will Dillon, who made the higher quality audio recordings, and to Alan Chuck and Auburn Uniting Church for the use of the church and facilities.

Neil Buckland

The Lay of the Last Survivor

Hold now, earth, now heroes may not,

the possessions of men! Truly, from you formerly

the valiant obtained it. Death in battle has taken off,

savage deadly evil, every man

of my people, of those who gave up this life,

saw the joy of the hall;

I have no one who bears a sword

or polishes the plated vessel,

precious drinking-cup; the nobility has gone elsewhere.

The hard helmet adorned with gold must be

bereft of its plates; the polishers sleep

who should burnish the battle-mask;

and likewise the coat of mail, which in battle survived

the bite of iron weapons over the shattering of shields,

crumbles with the man.

There is no joy of the harp at all,

mirth of the glee-wood, nor does a good hawk

swoop through the hall, nor the swift steed

trample the courtyard. Evil death,

death has despatched

many of the race of men!

(translated by David R. Evans, from his unpublished book Fame, Gold & Shadow; if you watch the video to the end you will see The Lay of the Last Survivor in the original language with parallel translation in David’s calligraphy, as it appears in his book; alternatively, go to https://bucklandmusic.com.au/wp-content/uploads/The-Lay-of-the-Last-Survivor-David-R-Evans-transl-calligraphy.pdf. For selected illustrations from Fame, Gold & Shadow: https://bucklandmusic.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Illustrations-from-Fame-Gold-Shadow-by-David-R-Evans.pdf)