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Work Overview
Do Na Chaill is translated from Scots Gaelic to "for what you lost". The text for this work is from a broadside ballad entitled "Will-o-the-wisp", published in 1869 by The Poet's Box, Glasgow, author unknown.
The narrative is from the perspective of the sprite as it gleefully draws people into the murky marshes to an untimely death. Unlike many modern, lighter, versions of the character, this one is malevolent and plays tricks on its unwitting victims, and the ballad serves as a warning to travellers not to stray from the path.
The backing track is narrated by Katia Molino, representing the wisp, and is in the original English printed in The Poet's Box. The soprano, singing segments of the text in Scots Gaelic, represents the lost traveller who is fooled by the false lights among the marshes, and eventually drowns. The ensemble is both the atmosphere of the misty night, echoing the wisps movements, as well as the emotions of the traveller. A deid bell (dead bell) plays on the recording, which is ominously interspersed throughout the work, and is also represented by the crotales, as the work ends with a Dirge.
Thank you to Ronald McCoy from the Scottish Gaelic Society of Victoria for the Scots Gaelic lessons, translations, and instructive audio recordings.
Work Details
Year: 2024
Instrumentation: Soprano, 2 flutes (alto & bass), bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion (crotales, glockenspiel, snare drum, low temple block, suspended cymbal, gong).
Duration: 13 min.
Difficulty: Advanced
Commission note: Commissioned by Ensemble Offspring.. Commissioned by Ensemble Offspring for the Noisy Women Commission 2023
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