Beautiful and Powerful Sí Women
Composer: Mary Alice Druhan
Publisher: CAMco
$10.00
| Movement/Section | Duration: 4.25 |
|---|
-
This edition is available in both physical book and digital PDF formats; carefully choose from the options above before adding to your cart.
(PDF products will be delivered via email within one business day)This edition consists of a score and parts. A full-color version of the cover art by Elena Cole is available separately as a high-resolution digital image file which includes one (1) print license per purchase as well as license for personal use in recital/concert programs which feature the piece and/or for digital projection during performance of the piece.
This work is scored for two B-flat clarinets and bass clarinet (doubling on B-flat clarinet for two movements), or 3 B-flat clarinets.
From the composer:
'Inspired by tales from Irish folklore, this collection features the actions of powerful, cunning and beautiful female spirits.
The story of Dearg Due (translated as “red bloodsucker”) is a sad tale of a young and beautiful Irish woman who fell in love with a poor farmer. Her greedy father found the suitor unacceptable and instead of blessing their love, he forced her into an arranged marriage with a wealthy but abusive man. In her grief, she would later commit suicide and legend says that she arose from the grave to seek revenge on her father and husband. The spirit is said to rise once every year to suck the blood of her male victims. This Dracula-inspired Irish Sídhe appears to have arisen more recently from modern lore. The first movement showcases the youth and vibrance of the Dearg Due as she dances upon her victim’s graves.
In Irish lore, the Banshee is storied to be either an old female spirit or fairy. Some tales say that the feared spirit rode alongside the Dullahan (the Irish Headless Horseman) in a black cart pulled by six black horses. Other legends portray that each Irish family has a Banshee of their own. Regardless of the interpretation, the wail of the Bean Sí (translated as “Banshee”) is agreed upon as a foretelling of impending doom, most often the death of a family member. The second movement loosely incorporates the “Musical notation of the ‘Banshee’s Cry’ from Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (Yeats, 1888)” into a modern setting of impending doom.
Best described as a powerful fairy, the Leannán Sí is a cunning muse. Her beauty is said to have inspired poets and musicians, ultimately costing them their lives. In Irish lore, the Leannán Sí is said to have seduced men with her intelligence, creativity, and magic but that she ultimately abandoned them. Desperate for her love, they would die from depression, after which she would bring their bodies back to her lair. She is storied to have collected the blood of her men in a giant red cauldron which is said to be the source of her beauty and power. In the third movement, performers spin out elements of the fairy’s intelligence, creativity and magic into a complex contrapuntal web while the three voices also take turns sounding off individual notes of the traditional “A Sidhe Love Song” to lure men with a spinning siren song.'
-
Performer / Ensemble Link Comments -
Pages: 3
Pages (score): 7
Publisher Code: C2114
UPC: 9790800216237
ISBN:
ISMN: Paper: 9790800216237;PDF: 9790800216244
Length: 30.5 cm
Width: 23.1 cm
Thickness: 0.231 cm
Weight: 148 g
