ON THE RADIO: Hervararkviða
Melissa Dunphy’s Hervararkviða, which was written for Sea Tangle: Songs from the North, has gotten a second life in Ohio. It was featured on The American Sound on Radio WOSU in March 2018. A Gender-Bending […]
Program Notes: Six Dickinson Poems (Song Cycle)
By Emily Lau Voice, violin, harp I found Emily Lau’s album, Isle of Lucidity, while searching the internet for voice and harp music. I was so moved by the first track, “I Believe,” that I […]
The Vision of Deirdre
At her birth, a druid prophesies that Deirdre will be the most beautiful woman in the world. He warns, however, that if she is not killed immediately, her beauty will cause the downfall of her […]
Hame Oor Bottachan, Hame Cam’ He
This song was sung at the end of a waulking — a rhythmic, labor-intensive process of cloth-making that involves applying force to cloth, particularly wool, to make the fibers thicker and softer. Waulking songs are […]
The Daughter of Maeve
Queen Maeve, jealous of the love of Fraoch for her daughter, sends him on a deadly quest for rowan berries that grow above the dragon’s mouth. Maeve’s daughter, guided by love, delivers a golden blade […]
Seal Woman’s Sea-Joy
Scotland is full of legends of the selkie, an enchanted being that lives most of her life as a seal and comes to shore every so often to shed her seal skin and to mate […]
Heroic Ossianic Chant (Aillte)
Aillte is a warrior who, while traveling as a mercenary, falls in love with the wife of the powerful King of Lochlin. They run away together, taking refuge with the Fayne, Aillte’s clan in the […]
A Morar Reaper’s Song
Morar is a small village on the west coast of Scotland. Every culture has call and response songs for communal physical labor, and this song has been sung during harvest for centuries. Heiteagan àirin huhuro, […]
The Sea Tangle, or, The Sisters
Two sisters sit out on a reef, reflecting on their childhood. They love the same man, yet he has chosen the younger sister for his bride. The jealous older sister lulls the younger sister to […]
Program Notes: Sea Tangle (Song Cycle)
Sea Tangle Arranged by Marjory Kennedy-Fraser Voice, harp When I stumbled upon this cycle, I immediately noted that there were no recordings of these songs even though they were written in the early 20th century. […]