tonos Music of the Wild Geese

Róisín O’Grady - Soprano Eamon Sweeney - Baroque Guitar

Antoine Watteau (1684-1721)

St Canice’s Church, Northside Music Festival, 5 Aug 2010

www.tonos.ie Kindly supported by Dublin City Council Arts Office & St Canice’s Church Committee

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The past is a foreign country: they do things differently

there.

Leslie P. Hartley (1895-1972) British novelist

Kindly supported by Dublin City Council Arts Office & St Canice’s Church Committee

tonos The Spanish word ‘tonos’ translates literally as ‘tone.’ With regard to seventeenth-century Spanish music it suggests a scale or mode, as might be implied by a guitar chord. The term originates in Ancient Greece where it described a musical concept pertaining to the placement of scale patterns at different pitches. In modern Greek ‘tonós’ indicates the stressed syllable of a word. We also like that the resonance of the word resembles ‘sean-nós’, literally ‘old-style’ in the Irish language.

Róisín O’Grady In addition to her work with Tonos, soprano Róisín O’ Grady regularly performs as a soloist with choral societies and orchestras throughout Ireland and the UK and in recital with harpsichordist, Malcolm Proud.She holds degrees in both Music and Italian from University College Cork, a Masters in Performance at The Cork School if Music and studied at postgraduate level with soprano Margaret Marshall O.B.E. in The Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow. Róisín has performed widely with The National Chamber Choir of Ireland throughout Ireland and Europe including engagements with The National Sym-phony Orchestra, the RTE Concert Orchestra and The BBC Ulster Orchestra. Róisín performs regularly as a soloist throughout Ireland and Scotland in oratorio and recital. Oratorio performances include Handel’s Messiah (with The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra), and Dixit Dominus, Saint-Saens’ Christmas Orato-rio, Schubert’s Mass in G, Schumann’s Requiem, Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G Minor, Allegri’s Miserere, J S Bach’s Jauchzet Gott and Wedding Cantata, Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate, Haydn’s Little Organ Mass and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater.

Eamon Sweeney Eamon Sweeney began his musical studies on the violin at the age of eight, moved to rock guitar in his teens, received a BMus in Classical guitar in his twenties, and was, more recently, awarded the first mu-sicology PhD to be accredited by DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama. His doctoral thesis investigated the five-course guitar’s role as a continuo instrument in the court of Louis XIV, a hitherto unexplored area of French Baroque music and early guitar performance practice. Eamon teaches and performs extensively on early, classical, and electric guitars, and has given lectures and seminars on early guitar performance at International Guitar Festivals in Ireland, Scotland, and England. He lives and works in Co Wicklow.

Etienne Moulinié: Non ha sott’il ciel (1629)

The ‘Flight of the Wild Geese’ refers to the departure

of an Irish Jacobite army under the command of Patrick

Sarsfield from Ireland to France, as agreed in the

Treaty of Limerick on October 3, 1691, at the end of the Williamite War in Ireland. More broadly, the

term ‘Wild Geese’ is used in Irish history to refer to Irish soldiers who left to serve in continental European armies in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries or even, poetically,

Irish soldiers in British armies as late as the First World

Irish Traditional (17th century) Thugamar Féin an Samhradh Linn

Gaspar Sanz (mid-17th–early 18th century) Canarios This song belongs to one of the oldest song types in the Irish song tradition. ‘Thugamar Féin an Samhradh Linn’ translates as ‘we brought the May garland with us’ and song celebrates the blossom- ing of summer. This song was almost certainly sung in Ireland during the Elizabethan era and it is reported that it was sung to welcome James Butler, Earl of Ormonde, when he landed in Dublin in 1662. Gaspar Sanz, a virtuoso guitarist-composer, published one of the most important guitar books of the seventeenth century and it contains the bulk of the Baroque guitar music performed today. The ‘Canarios’ chord sequence first appeared in the late sixteenth century and has served as an inspira- tion for composers ever since. It was believed to have come from the Canary Islands and this version by Sanz is one of the most famous of Baroque guitar compositions.

Thugamar Féin an Samhradh Linn Bábóg na Bealtaine, maighdean an tSamhraidh The Mayday doll maiden of the summer Suas gach cnoc is síos gach gleann Up every hill down every glen Cailíní maiseacha gealgáireach gléasta Graceful girls all dressed in white Thugamar féin an samhradh linn We brought the summer with us Samhradh samhradh bainne na ngamhna Summer summer milk from the calves Thugamar féin an samhradh linn We brought the summer with us Samhradh buí na nóinín glégeal Yellow summer of the bright daisies Thugamar féin an samhradh linn We brought the summer with us . Thugamar linn é ón gcoill chraobhaigh, We brought it from the branches of the forest Thugamar féin an samhradh linn, We brought the summer with us Samhradh buí ó luí na gréine Summer golden in the setting of the sun Thugamar féin an samhradh linn. We brought the summer with us Cuileann is coll is trom is cárthain Holly and hazel and elder and rowan, Thugamar féin an samhradh linn We brought the summer with us; Is fuinseog ghléigeal Bhéal an Athá And brightly shining ash from Béal an Átha Thugamar féin an samhradh linn. We brought the summer with us. José Marín (1618–1699) Aquella sierra Nevada Ya no puedo más senora Sepan todos due muero De amores y de ausençias José Marín was a Spanish composer, singer and priest. He sang tenor in the royal chapel of King Felipe IV from 1644 to 1649. After travelling to Rome, for ordination, and then to the Indies he returned to Madrid and in 1657 was charged with robbery and murder and subsequently defrocked. Between 1680 and 1694 Martin Garcia de Olegue, organist at Trinitarian convent in Madrid, copied a manuscript of fifty-one secular songs composed or arranged by Marín, in a version for voice and five-course guitar. These songs are taken from that collection.

Aquella Sierra Nevada Aquella sierra Nevada That Snowy Range que densa nube pareçe which looks like a thick cloud con el rigor del estio becomes brown rock en pardo escollo se buelbe. in the heat of high summer. Aquel árbol que desnudan That tree which is stripped los rigores del diciembre by cruel December sus desojados cogollos has its leafless buds revived galán abril reverdeçen by gallant April Aquel río que el inbierno That river whose pure streams manchó su pura corriente were soiled by winter con el calor del verano turns liquid silver líquida pláta se vierte. in summer’s warmth. Aquel ruisenñor que triste That sad nightingale largo silençio enmudeze rendered dumb by long silence a la hermosa primavera sings again in merry glades revive en selbas alegres in sweet springtime. Estribillo Refrain Fatigada esperança remedio mortal Tired hope, mortal remedy, qué me quieres, qúe me quieres ya? what do you want of me now? Déjame morir, morir sin esperar Let me die, die without hope pues en nada ay firmeça si no es en mi mal. for there is no constancy except in my misfortune

Ya no puedo más señora Ya no puedo más señora I can resist no more my lady que en las lides de mi pecho for in the torment of my bosom vanamente resistida which I fought in vain vençio la pena al silençio. pain has overcome silence. Ardo y quieres que oprimido I burn, and you would that, thus oppressed, aún no respire el silençio I should not even breathe the silence; si te disgustan los humos if smoke repels you porqúe ocasionas los fuegos. why do you light fires? Perdona tú si atrevido Forgive me if, breaching a la ley de tu respeto the law of your respect, mis tristes desconfianzas my dolorous mistrust tomaran nombre de zelos. should take the name of jealousy. Estribillo Refrain Y aunque sea vivir morir de amores And although to live may be to die of love, ni dar prisa al vivir que tiempo corre. I shall not live life helter-skelter, for time flies. Sepan todos que muero Sepan todos que muero Know ye that I die de un desdén que que quiero of a disdain that I adore Quiero un desdén a paçible I long for a quiet disdain y si ay ángeles acá un angel que quiero está and if there be angels here, an angel that I love is más alla de lo imposible beyond the impossible. quiero sufrir lo in sufrible de amar y no perecer, I should like to suffer the insufferable in love and not perish, de sem brar y no cojer pues e de morir primero. sowing and not reaping after, and dying first. Sepan todos que muero Know ye that I die de un desdén que quiero. of a disdain that I adore

De amores y de ausençias De amores y de ausençias A poor wretch bemoans se queja un desdichado love and absence. Con palabras de fuego With words of fire, suspiros de llanto. sobbing sighs. Yo triste no esperava Unwitting, I did not expect del tiempo afortunado in a fortunate time venturas que tampresto reverses which so quickly llegan a desengaños. lead to disenchantment. Divertirme procuro I try to distract myself, y en mis tristezas paso and pass my best years con número de penas in misery lo major de mis años. and pain without end. está marchito el gusto for ‘tis vain to search Estribillo Refrain Amor en astremos tales Love, in such extremes, no quiero tus placers por tus pesares. I do not want your pleasures for the pain they bring.

Francisco Corbetta Autre Chaconne(1615–1681) Caprice de Chaconne Etienne Mouliníe O che gioia(1600–1669) Non ha sott’il ciel Non speri pietà Espagnol, je te supplie Louis XIII, Roi de France Chansons de Bougies(1601–1643) These instrumental pieces by Corbetta are taken from La guitarre royalle dedieé au Roy de La Grande Bretagne (Paris, 1671). Corbetta was the one of the most celebrated and influential guitarists of his time. He travelled widely and was court guitarist to Louis XIV of France and Charles II of England. To appreciate the esteem in which he was held we can refer to the following passage, taken from the 1681 Mercure Galant [journal of the royal court at Versailles]: During the same period we have lost a man, who by the marvels of his guitar has filled the whole of Europe with his reputation. This is M. Francis Corbet… our great Monarch [Louis XIV] honoured him with his esteem and liberality... These four songs by Mouliníe are taken from Airs de cour avec la tablature de lúth (1629). Moulinié was the musical director to Gaston d’Orléans, Louis XIII’s younger brother. The work was published in France but with many songs in Italian. Moulinié’s inclusion of guitar-accompanied songs reflects the instruments popularity in France during the 17th century; Louis’ XIII & IV both played guitar. Louis XIII was also a keen composer; Chansons de Bougies is one of his most remembered and best loved works.

Alfabeto Spanish guitar-chord tablature: Gaspar Sanz (1674)

O che gioia ne sento mio bene O che gioia che sento mio bene O my beloved, what joy I feel Che lo strale d’amor t’ha ferito. That the arrow of love has injured you O soavi mie’affanni, mie pene O my worries and sorrows O tormemto mio caro e gradito O my beloved and welcome torment Hora si, che son lieto, E contento. Now yes I am gay and happy. O che gioia…. O my beloved...Hora si, che felice mi chiamo Now yes I can call myself happy Ch’amor punse il tuo cor si crudele, Love has punctured your cruel heart, Disperato morir piu non bramo, I no longer desire to die desperate Piu non sparga lamenti, o querele, May my boredom no longer spread sorrows Ogni noia E sparcita , ogni stento. and complaints. O che gioia…. O my beloved...

Non ha sott’il cielNon ha sott’il ciel Under the sky Cupid does not have a Un servo Cupido di me piu fedel. More faithful servant than me Mio core mi’alma My heart and my soul carry it’s Ne porta la palma Per tutto so fa, Glory everywhere Ch’un servo Cupido piu fidel non ha. Because Cupid does not have a More faithful servant than me. Troncar non si puo One cannot cut that heart string Quel laccio d’amore che l’alma lego. That tied the soul. Ma vita serena, But a happy life Fa dolce catena, contenta sara Makes a sweet chain Ch’un cor piu gioioso Cupido non ha. It will be happy That Cupid does not have a happier heart. Non speri pietá Non Speri pietá Let those who follow beauty chi segue penando. not hope for pity. Serena beltá Di fuga dia bando By escaping ai risi mentiti they may ban fake smiles ai sguardi vivaci to the vivacious begl’occhi rapaci. And rapacious eyes. E primo di fé And first of faith l’ingrato crudele the cruel ungrateful che nega mercé, who denies pity, di piant’e querele, that fierce tyrant si burla, si ride so full of deception quel’fiero tiranno makes fun of sighing and complaints. Si pieno d’ingranno. Non credo mio cor! I don’t believe my heart! Amando trovare By loving merced’in amor finding pity in love. Per Terra, e per Mare By land and by sea. S’encorra veloce He makes his way fast sprezzando Cupido by scorning cruel crudel e infido. and treacherous Cupid.

Robert De Visée Suite in d minor: Prelude, Allemande, (fl. late 17th century) Courante, Sarabande, Gigue Jean–Baptiste Lully Amor trop indiscret(1632–1687) Robert De Visée was one of the greatest guitarists of his time. He was chamber musician to Louis XIV, entertaining the King in his private rooms. Jean-Baptiste de Lully was a French composer of Italian birth, who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV. The young Lully had an exceptional musical talent, playing the guitar and violin and dancing, skills that brought him to the attention of the young King. He composed music for court spectacles, including ballets in which the King danced and played guitar. Amor trop indiscret comes from the royal Ballet des Muses (1666). Trop indiscret amour Trop indescret amour, denoir trop rigoureuse! Love too carefree, duty too demanding! Je ne sçay le quel de vous deux I know not which of the two of you me cause le plus de martire. causes me more heartache. Mais que c’est un mal dangereux But what a perilous ill it is d’aimer et ne le pouvoir dire. to love when you cannot confess it.

Henry Purcell Lillibulero (1659–1695) If music be the food of love Fairest Isle When I am laid Henry Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements in his compositions but devised a distinct English style of Baroque music. He died at his house in Dean’s Yard, Westminster, in 1695, at the height of his career; he was in his mid-thirties. Lillibullero was published in Purcell’s compilation ‘Music’s Handmaid’ of 1689 as ‘a new Irish tune.’ A French version of the tune is known as the Marche du Prince d’Orange, attributed to Louis XIV’s court composers Philidor the Elder and Jean-Baptiste Lully. The lyrics, said to be by Lord Thomas Wharton, refer to the Williamite war in Ireland 1689-91. The words are placed in the mouths of Irish Jacobites and satirizes their sentiments, pillorying the supporters of the King James II. It was boasted that it had ‘sung James II out of three kingdoms’. If music be the food of love is one of the composer’s most famous works. This setting was produced in 1692 with words by Colonel H. Hevin-ingham. Fairest Isle, with words by John Dryden (1631–1700), is taken from the semi-opera, King Arthur, first performed in 1691. The soprano, Charlotte Butler, who performed in the original production later ap-peared at the Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin. When I am laid is Dido’s dying lament from the opera, Dido and Aeneas (1689).

LillibuleroHo, brother Teague, dost hear the decree? Oh by my soul it is a TalbotLillibullero bullen a la Lillibullero bullen a laWe are to have a new deputy And he will cut every Englishman’s throatLillibullero bullen a la Lillibullero bullen a laLero Lero Lillibullero Now Tyrconnell is come ashoreLillibullero bullen a la Lillibullero bullen a laLero Lero Lero Lero And we shall have commissions galoreLillibullero bullen a la. Lillibullero bullen a la.

Espagnol, je te supplie Espagnol, je te supplie, Spaniard I implore thee, Laisse-moy viure en repos; In peace let me be; Tes yeux pleurent de la suie, Thy tears art sooty, Tes soupirs sentent les aulx. Thy sighs garlicky.

Ouy, j’ay veu vostre visage , Yes, thy face I have seen, Il me souvient qu’a Paris I recall then in Paris Vous sentiez plus le fourmage Thou smelt more like cheese Que le Muse e Lambre grís. Than musk and ambregris.

Vostre amitié san seconde, Thy unequalled friendship Reßemblera le Soleil, Shall be like the sun, Qui fait tout le tour du monde That never met his peers, sans rencontrer san pareil. Whilst round the world he’s spun.

A pauvre seignor,don cancre, Ah my poor Lord, Don foolish, c’est plu stot le desespóir It rather looks like despair Qui vous fit suer de l’ancre; Had thy sweat turn’d into ink Car vostre linge est bien noir. For thy clothes art beyond repair.

A voir vostre contenance , Judging by thy bearing, Ce qui vous tient au collét The matter that held thee Vous á fait venir en France, Led thee to our country, Sans finance, e sans valet. With no servant and no money.

Le remede qu’on ordonne The prescribed remedy Au mal qui vous fait mourir, For the disease that kills thou, Ce n’est pas moy qui le donne, Won’t be coming from me, C’est au Roy de vous guerir. For the King shall cure thou.

Chansons de BougiesTu crois, ô beau soleil, qu’à ton éclat You believe, o beautiful sun, that to your brightnessrien n’est pareil, nothing is similar,en cet aimable temps que tu fáis le printemps. in this nice time when you make the Spring.Mais quoi, tu pâlis auprès d’Amaryllis. But what, you become pale with Amaryllis.

Ores que le ciel est gai durant ce Now that the sky is cheerful during thisgentil mois de Mai, kind month of May,Les roses vont fleurir, les lys épanouir. the roses will bloom and the lilies will blossom.Mais que sont les lys aux yeux d’Amaryllis. But what are the lilies to the eyes of Amaryllis.

De ses nouvelles pleurs l’aube With its new tears the dawn va ranimer les fleurs; will refresh the flowers;Mais que fait leur beauté but what does their beauty à mon coeur attristé mean to my saddened heart quand des pleurs je lis aux yeux d’Amaryllis. when I see tears in the eyes of Amaryllis.

INTERVAL

If music be the food of loveIf music be the food of love, Pleasures invade both eye and ear,sing on till I am fill’d with joy; so fierce the transports are, they wound,for then my list’ning soul you move and all my senses feasted are,with pleasures that can never cloy, tho’ yet the treat is only sound.your eyes, your mien, your tongue declare Sure I must perish by our charms,that you are music ev’rywhere. unless you save me in your arms.

Fairest Isle Fairest Isle, all isles excelling. Gentle murmers sweet complaining,Seat of pleasure and of love, Sighs that blow the fire of love,Venus here will choose her dwelling, Soft repulses, kind distaining,And forsake her Cyprian grove. Shall be all the pains you prove.Cupid from his fav’rite nation, Ev’ry swain shall pay his duty,Care and energy will remove; Grateful ev’ry nymph shall prove;Jealousy that poisnous passion, And as these excel in beauty,And despair that dies for love. Those shall be renowned for love. When I am laidWhen I am laid in earth, Remember me!am laid in earth, Remember me!may my wrongs create, But ah!no trouble no trouble in thy breast. Forget my fate!

Toirdhealbhach Ó Cearbhalláin Carolan’s Farewell to Music(1670–1738) Traditional Irish Siúil a rún(18th century) Thomas Connellan (c1640–1698) Molly St. George Toirdhealbhach Ó Cearbhalláin (Turlough O’Carolan) was a blind, itinerant harper, composer and singer whose great fame is due to his gift for melodic composition. He was the last great Irish harper- composer and is considered by many to be Ireland’s national composer. Carolan’s Farewell to Music is reputed to have been his last composition, written in the knowledge of his imminent death.Siúil a rún is a traditional Irish song from the eighteenth century. It is about a young woman and her love, who has gone into exile with the Wild Geese. The song exists in many forms – this bilingual version owes much to a seventeenth-century Gaelic song, Siúil a ghrá. Molly St. George: This beautiful harper air was composed by Thomas Connellan, a celebrated harper-composer of the seventeenth century. He was born at Cloonmahon, County Sligo, and died in Scotland.

Siúil a rún Siúil, siúil, siúil a rún, Walk, walk, walk, O love, Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin Walk quickly to me, softly move; Siúil go doras agus ealaigh líon Walk to the door, and away we’ll flee, Is go dté tú mo mhuirnín slán And safe may my darling be.

I wish I was on yonder hill I’ll dye my petticoats, I’ll dye them red, ‘Tis there I’d sit and cry my fill, And ‘round the world I’ll beg my bread, And every tear would turn a mill Until my parents shall wish me dead, I’ll sell my rock, I’ll sell my reel, But now my love has gone to France, I’ll sell my only spinning wheel, To try his fortune to advance; To buy my love a sword of steel If he e’er comes back, ‘tis but a chance.

Santiago De Murcia Jacaràs(died after 1732)De Murcia described himself as Master of Guitar to the Spanish Queen, Maria Luisa Gabriela de Savoy. She was the first wife of Felipe V, a grandson of Louis XIV of France, who succeeded to the Spanish throne in 1700. The term, jácara, originally designated ‘a gathering of ruffians and rogues, … the picaresque woman; ... the noisy and high-spirited...’ This ‘theme & vasriations’ version of the jacaràs dance comes from a manuscript of De Murcia’s dating from c. 1732, discovered in Mexico in the mid-20th century.

Juan Arañes (died after 1649) Chacona: A la vida bonaJuan Arañes was a Spanish composer, active briefly in Italy. A la vida bona, was the first chacona for voices by a Spanish composer to appear in print. Writers from the time (such as Cervantes) indicate that the chacona was associated with servants, slaves and Amerindians. It was often condemned for its sug-gestive movements and mocking texts, and was said to have been invented by the devil. A la vida bona celebrates life and pleasure.

Chacona: A la vida bona Un sarao de la chacona One evening in the month of roses se hizo el mes de las rosas, a dancing party was held, huvo millares de cosas it afforded a thousand pleasures, y la fama lo pregona. as was famed both far and wide.

A la vida, vidita bona, Here’s to the good, sweet life, vida vámonos a Chacona. my sweet, let’s dance the chaconne.

Porque se casó Almadán When Almadan was wed se hizo un bravo sarao, a grand old party was thrown, dançaron hijas de Anao the daughters of Aneus danced con los nietos de Milán. with the grandsons of Milan. Un suegro de Don Beltrán The father-in-law of Bertran y una cuñada de Orfeo and Orpheus’s sister-in-law començaron un guineo began a Guinea dance y acabólo un amaçona which was finished by an Amazon, y la fama lo pregona. as was famed both far and wide.

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