Madrigal Week: Chase Them Away!

Some madrigals feature stories of ordinary life. I remember one madrigal that was fun to sing especially when the second line of text comes in--Vechhie Letrose.

Composed by Adrian Wilaert (1450-1599), it's a short text that tells of a person getting rid of "spiteful old hags" in the neighborhood. Imagine yourself walking down the street and seeing all sorts of people along the way--office workers, students, vendors, street children, traffic police, or people simply going to markets and other establishments. We mind our own business until suddenly something or someone catches our attention--the graffiti along the walls, the beggars begging, pedestrians bumping you unintentionally or otherwise, and worse--snatchers! If you could get a chance to get even with them or even go after them, imagine yourself running after them with a baseball bat or a broom stick or even shouting at the top of your vice and say "spiteful old hags, you good for nothing!"

Of course it's just a fantasy. The song I'm about to feature talks about someone shooing away someone (or even something) that irritates him or makes him spiteful. Not to condone any negative forces here, but this song is a delight to sing because once the second line is sung, you could imaging the movement of the voices as though they were chasing someone. The rendition is quite fast indicating a running motion. So if you feel like shooing something away--maybe a negative force in your life--then just sing along and chase them away. Oh, and try to keep up! ;-)

VECCHIE LETROSE

Vecchie letrose, non valete niente                                 Spiteful old hags, you are good for nothing,
Se non a far l'aguaito per la chiazza.                             Only for lying in wait in the thicket.
Tira, tira, tir'alla mazza,                                                Beat, beat, beat with your canes,
Vecchie letrose, scannaros'e pazze!                              Spiteful old hags, murderous and mad!

Madrigal Week: Fiery Passions

It's true that we tend to listen to songs that we can relate to. We're not interested on whether the C note is the one that should be sung, not the G note or that one's pitch is somewhere near the middle C. During the Renaissance period, the Madrigal style of singing not just centered on the notes but also on the text that goes with the notes. They call it word painting.

The idea behind word painting is that composers choose the words or the text of a song that would express the emotion or the story that they want the song to convey. For example, if you'd like to portray the image of a sunrise, you'd probably have notes that tend to rise up and the text that is used (like "sun rises") would be set into song that portrays the rising of the sun.

Songs that express emotion are quite appealing--joy, despair, hope, peace, love, justice, gratitude, and so many others. But the strong emotions are the ones that draw much attention. Such compositions that express a wide range of emotions also tend to be creative, diverse, and filled with various lines of poetry and music that blend together towards a genius work of art. One such composer is known to have created a compilation of madrigals that expresses various types of emotions--Carlo Gesualdo.

Carlo Gesualdo's tragic love story is a real story that we often see dramatized in some Shakespearean play or modern day telenovelas. Upon catching his unfaithful wife having relations with another man, all hell breaks loose and Gesualdo murders both his wife and her lover there on the bed where they're making out. Imagine the range of emotions involved in this tragic tale--unrequited love, furious anger, green-eyed jealousy, hurt pride, emotional anguish--the list of extreme heart-felt emotions is endless. Gesualdo decides to tell all and his outlet is the madrigal.

I shall feature one of these madrigals entitled "Dolcissima Mia Vita." Here I present the Italian and English translated text. The text presents a lover's heart that's all fired up with burning love. This love consumes his heart to the point that death is better than to not have loved the one desired. The counterpoints that happen in the line "Credete forse on'ardo..." portrays that fiery passion happening inside the lover's heart.

Dolcissima mia vita,                                                        Sweetest life,
a che tardate la bramata aita?                                         why do you withhold the relief which I long for?

Credete forse ond' ardo,                                                Perhaps you think that my burning desire will end,
sia per finir perche torcete il guardo?                              because you turn away whenever I see you?

Ahi, non fia mai che brama il mio desire                          Alas, this cannot be,
o d'amarti o morire.                                                       I must either love you or die. 

Madrigal Week: Why I Love Choral Music

A friend of mine asked me, "What is your (musical) genre?" She knows that I used to sing with the choir and she knows about this blog. I figured I'd tackle this question because my blog is about choral music--this is my musical inclination.

I speak about this from the point of view of personal experience. I don't claim to be its expert. I am not here to do a critique of any performance of a choral group. My goal is simply to share to the world what choral music has done for me. I think it's good that aside from watching movies and TV shows or listening to mainstream pop music on the radio, it would be nice if people would also take interest in choral music. That is why I'd like to share my personal experience about it.

I love to sing and there are many ways to do this; there are many musical outlets available. The outlet I chose is choral singing. I appreciate how individual voices are able to unite themselves and sing harmoniously. Each singer in the choir is different--each has their own personalities, attitudes, and lifestyles. But it's amazing how they can come together, utilizing their different voice range and talents for the sake of singing one song.

Just as there are several types of music that we listen to on the radio, choral music has several genres as well. One of them is the Madrigal. A Madrigal is an a capella style of singing that was popular during the Renaissance period. This type of singing is also characterized as polyphonic--different voices singing in different ranges singing two or more musical lines depending on the arrangement. In other words, the singers are divided amongst groups according to their range--some will sing the high notes (soprano), some the low notes (bass), and some the middle range (alto and tenor). They each sing their lines accordingly but when they join together to sing the entire song, they blend smoothly and harmonize fantastically. To me, the unity of these voices is just breath taking, like you're flying and it feels free, relaxing and soothing to the soul.

Today, I wish to share a Madrigal with you. This is one of the Madrigals I've sung when I was with the choir. The song is entitled "Hard By A Crystal Fountain" composed by Thomas Morley.  I chose this particular rendition that you are about to watch because you could see that choral singing does not always mean having many individuals singing. With Madrigal style, I often see smaller groups of singers sing this style. Here are the words and the video for your enjoyment.

HARD BY A CRYSTAL FOUNTAIN

Hard by a crystal fountain,
Oriana the Bright lay down asleeping.
The birds they finely chirped, the winds were stilled;
sweetly with these accenting the air was filled.
This is that Fair, whose head a crown deserveth,
which Heav'n for her reserveth.
Leave, shepherds, your lambs keeping,
upon the barren mountain,
and nymphs attend on her and leave your bowers,
for she the shepherd's life maintains and yours.

Then sang the shepherds and nymphs of Diana:
Long live fair Oriana! 

My Madrigal Challenge

To be honest, I can't read notes on my own. I'd need a keyboard or a piano or a MIDI or an NWC File in order for me to learn a song. While I was still in the choir, this has been quite a struggle especially if the choral piece that we're learning is a Madrigal. To know more about Madrigals, you may go to this webpage: Music from the Renaissance and Baroque.

I've heard that if a choir can sing a Madrigal with all the necessary emotions, counterpoints, and word painting, then the choir can sing any kind of choral music--from classics to modern down to contemporary and avant-garde choral pieces.

One of the first Madrigals I've learned--with so much difficulty that is--is Thomas Vautor's "Sweet Suffolk Owl." Glancing at the musical score, I was completely lost in its counterpoints and the right timing as to when the line begins and ends. Incidentally, almost everyone in the choir was having difficulty with the piece--not all of us read notes either. But being determined to learn how to sing it, I resorted to listening to how other choirs sing it. My choirmaster appreciated the effort, but warned me not to completely copy another choir's style and interpretation. The latter is what mainly differentiates one choir from another even if they sing the same choral piece.

As I searched in YouTube for renditions of the song, I realized that choirs sing this piece in various tempos from as fast as a minute and 44 seconds to as slow as two minutes and 32 seconds. Among these choirs, I chose the group that sang the song in just a little over two minutes. For me, it's not too fast and not too slow. Also, I like the way the choir's voices blended and each lines presenting a counterpoint without completely overpowering one voice over the other. Although the words aren't that clear, I can say that this is one of the renditions of "Sweet Suffolk Owl" that I really like. I shall post the words of the song here for your reference.

Sweet Suffolk owl, so trimly dight

With feathers, like a lady bright;

Thou sing'st alone, sitting by night,

'Te whit! Te whoo!'

Thy note that forth so freely rolls

With shrill command the mouse controls;

And sings a dirge for dying souls.

'Te whit! Te whoo!' 

Whilst listening to this choral piece on tape (yes, that was a long time ago!), I merely wanted to make sense of the notes I see on paper. You may think it's cheating because I don't read notes. With the many resources at our disposal, I'd say it would be best to take advantage of the opportunities that we have. Besides, it's because of this experience with singing "Sweet Suffolk Owl" that I truly appreciated learning to sing a Madrigal.