The inspiration for this work is a large book I borrowed entitled ‘Eos’; An enquiry into the theme of lovers’ meetings and partings at dawn in poetry. ‘
There are many examples from literature around the world in the book. In the English chapter Chaucer in the ‘Nonnes Preestes tale’ has the lovers warned by a cockerel, of imminent day. (The bird is often seen as unwelcome, detested and even treacherous to the lovers.)
Shakespeare has in Romeo and Juliet the lark heralding the morn, but Juliet pretends it is a nightingale.
I chose to set an Anglo-Irish ballad ‘The Lover’s Ghost’ in which the cockerel bade the lovers to part, but the lady is a ghostly visitant and the bird is a sign for her to return to the grave.
I wanted to set the mood for the choir piece with natural woodland and bird sounds from my archive of environmental recordings. I’ve used sounds recorded at Dawn in Barmby Moor and Londesborough churchyards,and in Warter, sounds in Bratt wood Nunburnholme and on the estuary at Bernaray in the Western Isles. Deliberately dream-like, the inclusion of water bird sounds and a church bell create a recognised but unreal soundscape. This coalesces (the sound is filtered) to a Bb and related harmonics before we hear the first ‘cello Bb introducing the choir.
I have had it in mind for some time to write a piece for choir and ‘cello where the ‘cello is not a solo instrument, but is rather an added voice to the overall texture. A very good recent example of this writing is in Eric Whitacre’s ‘The Sacred Veil’.
In my work the cello underpins the choir, and previews/reiterates phrases heard in the choir.
The choir piece itself is structured as follows; After an overlapping textural opening we hear the first verse divided amongst voices in the choir. This is followed by an extension musically, of the line ‘ night should be never never day’ . The verse following flatters the bird and implores him not to announce day, this leads to a climax followed by the return of the opening overlapping textural idea, but now a tone down reflecting a more sombre mood. The final section is more elemental as the spirit reveals her true nature.
We are left with a reiteration of ‘night should be never, day’. The final Eb/Ab in the choir is then taken up by a return of prerecorded natural sounds balancing the opening section, and emphasising this tonality. This is chiefly achieved through the use of a comb filter. However, many of the sounds are now slowed down and there is a sound I programmed on my Korg DW8000 synthesiser, representing the spirit lover leaving for the churchyard.
Here is the closing 2 minutes :