Celebrating 'The Pearlsong' Through Scholarship and Song
News story and photos by Jeffrey Blackwell
A mystical poem recounting the tale of a Parthian prince sent to Egypt by his parents to recover a sacred pearl from the clutches of a monstrous serpent is the first in a series of important visionary and mystical ancient text translations from the Center for the Study of World Religion’s (CSWR) Texts and Translations of Transcendence and Transformation (4T) initiative.
The Pearlsong, a poem of mysterious origins with fantastical story elements, is most likely an addition to the original early third-century narration about Thomas the Apostle, The Acts of Thomas. It is the first of four planned books in the series, slated to bring attention to little-known literary works or shed new light on well-known works from pre-modern civilizations along the ancient Silk Road between Morocco and China.
“This series has been a dream of mine for many years,” said Charles Stang, co-editor of the 4T series, Director of the Center for theStudy of World Religions, and Professor of Early Christian Thought at the Harvard Divinity School. “We are offering a series that focuses on pre-modern texts, especially visionary and mystical texts that are not always easy to approach without some interpretive aids. And we’re offering those interpretive aids.”
The celebratory release of The Pearlsong was kicked off at an event on Oct. 20 in Williams Chapel at Harvard Divinity School, featuring addresses by Stang, CSWR 4T Research Associate Adam Bremer-McCollum, who is co-editor and translator of The Pearlsong, and Erin Walsh, Assistant Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Literature, Associate Faculty, Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago Divinity School. The evening was also punctuated by the performance of a new musical composition by CSWR Visiting Scholar Jane Sheldon, an Australian American soprano, composer, and sound designer, inspired by the poem.
“We’re staging these events on the conviction that these ancient texts can still speak to us, but they require some translation and not just scholarly translation,” Stang said in his introduction to the nearly 70 people attending the event in person and more than 70 people watching online. “Although we are delighted to have two eminent scholars help open this text, these works are best opened up by artistic engagement.”
The Acts of Thomas is thought to have been initially written in Syriac (an Aramaic language) and later translated into Greek in the early third century. But the poem, also known as the Hymn of the Pearl, which the Apostle Thomas recites while in prison, is included in only one manuscript each of the Syriac and Greek texts.
“The Pearlsong has its share of mysteries and enigmas that keep readers coming back,” said Bremer-McCollum. “The prince narrator tells the entire story. It begins with him as a child, sent on a mission by his parents to Egypt to retrieve a pearl from a mythically giant snake or dragon near the sea. We are not given any details as to why, just described as in the sea, near the breathy snake, like Puff the Magic Dragon.”
The poem, with its linguistic and textual entanglement, is just over 100 lines and recounts the prince’s magical journey, during which he faces peril and significant challenges. He falls asleep and forgets his identity and mission. A letter from his parents awakens him, gives him a spell to put the serpent to sleep so he can retrieve the pearl, and then guides him home.
The finely crafted book, published by the Center for the Study of World Religions and distributed by Harvard University Press, includes the English translation from the Syriac, with the translation and original text on facing pages. It also contains appendices and commentary on Syriac meter, the poem's linguistic features, excerpts from the Acts of Thomas, and more.
The book project took about two years to complete, and the story and its themes are still relevant today, said Bremer-McCollum.
“Just as you can love a great novel or a Star Wars movie, this is a story that I hope, after learning about it, you will reflect on, and find themes that touch our pretty poignant times,” he said. “I mean, there are family connections, being lost, being out of town, and not knowing anybody, and being asleep for a really long time, so people have been wrestling with these things, and sometimes using their language to reflect on our situations can help us get to the other side.”
Walsh said that the book and the series will also add to the scholarship and teaching of ancient languages, translations, and literature.
“This volume not only reflects the breadth and depth of Adam's expertise, but it also reveals his skills as a pedagogue. Whether one has knowledge of any of the languages referenced or not, The Pearlsong readily adapts to the reader, inviting further inquiry,” she said. “I could imagine my undergraduate students reading Pearlsong in translation alongside the commentary, but I could just as easily use this edition in a Syriac translation seminar.”
Jane Sheldon is well-known for creating highly specialized contemporary opera and art music for voice. Her work has been described as “mesmerizing emotional truth.” In her composition for the release of The Pearlsong, she adapted the poem to a piece featuring her operatic voice and piano, which she at times plucked with a guitar pick, and used an electromagnetic device to hold cords. A recording of a flowing creek accompanied the entire piece.
“This task of setting The Pearlsong, it pushed me to do things I don’t normally do,” she said. “In my composing, I’m trying to find sonic expression for highly specific psychological states or altered states. [But] a lot is going on [in this text], and it’s a narrative. So it all seems to affirm that it made sense to tell the whole story. It also seemed to suggest an intimate presentation with me and the piano, which I use for mining sound that ornaments the story.”
Portions of the piece will be available on the CSWR website, along with a free download of the book. A link to the fine print edition is also available.
The next volume of the 4T project, Porphyry of Tyre on Theology and Theurgy, is scheduled for release later this fall, followed by the third volume in the spring and the final book in the summer.
“This series is an entry, whether it’s to go into a specific language from antiquity or a specific kind of text, and learn more about the amazing literary heritage in various languages,” said Bremer-McCollum. “We are very excited about this project.”
~ ~ ~
Portions of the piece will be available on the CSWR website, along with a free download of the book. A link to the fine print edition is also available.