THE SONG OF HIAWATHA
Longfellow's narrative verse The Song of Hiawatha sold 50,000 copies following its release in 1855. The poem became very popular ... for the first time in literature, Indian themes gained recognition. The appeal of Hiawatha for generations of children has given it a place in literary history.
Hiawatha, a legendary chieftain of the Iroquois, supposedly lived in about 1570. He is credited with having unified the Five Nations of the Iroquois for their protection against the stronger Algonquin people. According to legend, Hiawatha employed miraculous powers to protect his people from the evil forces of nature. He also instructed the Iroquois in the arts of medicine, agriculture, and navigation.
l. Hiawatha's Wedding Feast
• Introduction
• You shall hear how Pau-Puk-Keewis
• And when all the guests had finished
• He was dressed in shirt of doe-skin
• First he danced a solemn measure
• Then they said to Chibiabos
• 'Onaway! Awake, beloved!'
• Thus the gentle Chibiabos
• Very boastful was Iagoo
• And they said, 'O good Iagoo'
ll. The Death of Minnehaha
• Introduction
• O the long and dreary Winter!
• Into Hiawatha's wigwam
• Forth into the empty forest
• In the wigwam with Nokomis
• Over snow-fields waste and pathless
• And he rushed into the wigwam
• Then they buried Minnehaha
• 'Farewell!' said he, 'Minnehaha!'
lll. Hiawatha's Departure
• Introduction
• Spring had come with all its splendour
• From his wanderings far to eastward
• Only Hiawatha laughed not
• By the shore of Gitche Gumee
• From the brow of Hiawatha
• It was neither goose not diver
• Then the joyous Hiawatha
• Then the generous Hiawatha
• The the Black-Robe chief, the Prophet
• Heavy with the heat and silence
• From his place rose Hiawatha
• On the shore stood Hiawatha
• And they said, 'Farewell for ever!'
Chorus of the Welsh National Opera
