By Melissa Dunphy (b. 1980)

When I first conceived of this album, I wanted to include music based on some of J.R.R. Tolkien’s stories of Middle Earth. Tolkien estate only grants a select few permissions to use his material for music-writing, I therefore cast my net wider and found the Icelandic Edda, which were one of Tolkien’s influences as he built his world.

One such poem tells the story of Hervor, a Viking princess whose father had been the owner of an enchanted sword named Tyrfing. He dies before she is born, and she grows up a wild tomboy. Her foster father finally tells her of how her father died protecting Tyrfing, and she immediately sets off to recover the blade herself, dressing as a man and joining a pirate crew.

Tyrfing has been created by the dwarves to grant its wielder success in battle, but it comes with a price: any time it is unsheathed, it must be sheathed again in warm human blood. It also tends to corrupt its owner, much like Frodo’s ring.

Hervor will not be deterred. Now captain of her own ship, she finds the haunted island where her father and Tyrfing lie; she calls forth her father’s ghost to demand the sword as her birthright. After some argument, the shade acquiesces, but Hervor must retrieve the sword from within a ring of fire. She emerges triumphant, and goes on to wield Tyrfing with more wisdom and caution than anyone before.

Dunphy has adapted sections of this epic poem into three parts, each with Hervor speaking to a different character. Both Dunphy and I were interested in exploring Hervor’s relationship to gender, and this is brought out both in vocal range and in use of instrumentation.

Lyrics
Shepherd, no, I shall not flee!
Shelter I’ll deny.
Bring me to the burial mounds
where the sons of Arngrím lie.

I command a Viking ship,
Hervarth is my name, my
crew and vessel bide off-shore.
Shepherd, no, I shall not fly!

Ghostly grave-fires fright’ me not,
Though your island blazes.
Long-dead men shall never see
Hervarth quit or quaver!

Shepherd, here’s a necklace dear–
I will give it to thee.
Guide me to the graveyard here.
Wherefore do you run from me?
Shepherd, fly! I shall not flee.

Coping with the coward
But seeks to embolden me.
Brave, I seek my destiny!

Credits
from Sea Tangle: Songs from the North, released December 21, 2016
Maren Montalbano, mezzo-soprano
Rebecca Harris, violin
Elizabeth Huston, harp