The Lay of the Nibelungs

By: Alice Horton - translator

Narrated by: David Rintoul

Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the finest German medieval epic poems, The Lay of the Nibelungs is perhaps best known now as one of the principal sources for Wagner’s four-part music drama The Ring of the Nibelung. It is easy to see how Wagner was enthralled by the story and the poetry for the power of the tale drives the narrative: intense love, loyalty, jealousy, murder, duty, honour and massacre are all interwoven into a classic.

Many of the figures known to us by Wagner’s opera cycle are here: Alberich, Siegmund, Sieglind, Siegfried, Brunhilda, Gunther and Hagen, sometimes in familiar roles, sometimes very different from expectations. 

The tragedy is driven by the enmity between two women who were originally friends - Brunhilda, who becomes the wife of Gunther, and Kriemhilda, Siegfried’s wife. A feud between the sisters-in-law leads to conflict and mayhem. Hagen has the dark persona which prompts him to commit treacherous murder, leading the protagonists to a final terrible end. 

Unlike the Wagnerian version (he drew in the main from the Volsung Saga version, but also made the saga his own), there is no interference from gods or giants, and apart from the appearance of the ‘hood of darkness’, Tarnhelm, which confers mysterious powers on its wearer, there is little magic. 

But this does not lessen the immense power of The Lay of the Nibelungs, as it moves inexorably forward to its climactic conclusion. The structure of the poem is crucial to the drama of the telling. 

The anonymous poet established a form based on a steady four-line stanza with rhyming couplets. But the strength of it lies in the metre, three metrical feet, a caesura, and another three metrical feet, for the first three lines, adding an extra metrical foot for the last line for emphasis. 

This classic verse translation by Alice Horton, edited by Edward Bell and revised for this recording, is still regarded by scholars as perhaps the most faithful to the 13th century German original. Though modern prose versions are available, they do not have the poetic grandeur befitting such a tale, and Horton’s verse is ideal for an audio recording. David Rintoul brings his decades of experience in classical theatre to bear in his stirring performance.

©2019 Ukemi Productions Ltd (P)2019 Ukemi Productions Ltd

Another Fabulous Grab Bag

While a mere third of the length of Spenser’s Faerie Queene and without that poem’s heady blend of Catholic, Protestant, mystical, mythical and legendary elements, I’m going to reprise my headline for that work: this is indeed another fabulous grab bag.

Though the Nibelung poet blended a mere two elements (that I can see), these are so radically disparate that the effect is fascinating. Here we have an old Norse/Germanic saga replete with mighty men and even stronger-willed women, passion, murder and the inevitable cycle of revenge, told with all the chivalric trappings of a Medieval romance. Lances are shattered. Masses are heard. Yet behind it all broods the relentless, untrammeled fury of the pre-Christian northern stories.

David Rintoul serves it up perfectly. Unfortunately, the “modernized” text eliminates an occasional rhyme, but that’s about the only flaw in this otherwise flawless production.

Beautiful

I could listen to David Rintoul reading junk mail, so having him read this is a particular treat. His voice rises and falls with the narrative, rushing forward into a gallop for the battle scenes, slowing down for the victory parades and love scenes. The characters are all clearly differentiated, at least as far as the steady beat of heroic couplets allows. (An unrelated footnote: Colin Firth won well-deserved plaudits for his performance as Darcy in Pride and Prejudice; but people of a certain age have an even greater fondness for David Rintoul in the same role. People of an even more certain age remember him as the corrupt, mood-setting Jehan in a televised production of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” with Warren Clarke as Quasimodo.)

There's plenty of galloping to be done in the shattering climax to this sad and bloody tale. I’m no fan of Wagner, so I’ve never “done” the Ring cycle, which was partly inspired by this. It's not a complicated story, at least in this telling. Siegfried marries Kriemhild. Serving her family, he helps her brother win the shield maiden Brunhild of Iceland as his wife. But Brunhild develops a hatred for Siegfried and Kriemhild, and she engineers Siegfried’s murder. (Part of this involves the backstory of Siegfried’s fight with a dragon, which plays a major role in the Volsunga Saga, but is only briefly mentioned here. The action of the Lay of the Nibelungs takes place in this mundane world.)

The verse translation is by Alice Horton. I wasn’t able to find out much about it, except that it dates back at least as far as 1898, putting it in the public domain — always a plus for audiobook publishers. It’s a good listen, very clear in its exposition and vigorous in its dialogue; for the most part the rhymes flow naturally, only occasionally seeming forced. (A number of rhymes are visual, a common strategy of the period: for example, “ground” and “wound” — as in “bloody wound” — are deemed to rhyme.) The verse does have a certain quaintness characteristic of the time, when late Victorian translators tried to sound like Thomas Malory. (For example, there are “thees” and “thous” aplenty; “eke” is used in the sense of “even,” as in “his wife and eke his daughter”; “six hundred gallant wights” survive the climactic fire; and Kriemhild mourning the fallen Siegfried feels “mickle sorrow.”) I think if I were reading it on the page I’d be irritated, but David Rintoul’s beautiful voice covers a multitude of archaisms.

The story proceeds rapidly from one “adventure” to another — “adventure” in this case being equivalent to a chapter in the overall story, such as “How Siegfried and Kriemhild Came to Worms” or “How Siegfried Was Betrayed.” Five or six times in every chapter the poet drops in a line reminding the audience that this is all going to end badly and that everybody is going to die. There are many trips back and forth between kingdoms. Most are handled as summaries, but the final trip of the Burgundians to the court of Etzel the Hun, where that final conflagration will occur, becomes an adventurous travelogue full of bridges and plains and armies, some friendly and some not so friendly.

Ukemi Audio is to be commended for their efforts in bringing out some of these great works of literature — until now mostly strangers to the audiobook world — with first-class narrators, and translations that are pleasing to listen to if not the latest and greatest on the market. I had long wanted to re-read this medieval epic, but I'm not sure that I would have if the audio hadn't become available. (Ukemi seems to be peeking at my reading list. Recently they completed their Chrétien de Troyes collection, and they've also published The Lays of Marie de France, a poet I only heard of recently — in the Great Courses discussion of Arthurian literature from Dorsey Armstrong.)

Exceptional

Ending was kinda drawn out and only moderately satisfying, but otherwise absolutely amazing. Didn't feel AT ALL like 11h.

Stupendous

A remarkable reading of a powerful piece. David Rintoul executes a passionate performance with a skillful mix of gravitas, humor, and excitement. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the classic story.