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MICHAEL MCGLYNN (b. 1964), arr.
“Dúlamán”
Dublin-born Michael McGlynn,
who cites traditional and medie-
val music as his chief inspirations,
is best known as the composer for
and director of the highly success-
ful vocal ensemble Anúna, which
he founded in
. His works have
been widely recorded by Anúna
and performed by hundreds of
choirs worldwide, including Chan-
ticleer (“Dúlamán” appears on the
Chanticleer albums
A Portrait
and
Wondrous Love
, his arrangement of
“Stille Nacht” can be heard on the
group’s
Christmas with Dawn Up-
shaw
, and “Agnus Dei” is featured on
And on Earth, Peace: A Chanticleer
Mass
).
McGlynn shares the following thoughts about his setting of “Dúlamán,” a
popular Irish text: “ is traditional Irish text tells of a marriage involving
the king of seaweed. Texts such as this were sung by people as they gathered
seaweed from the barren west coast of Ireland. It was then laid on the land,
and eventually this land was used for planting crops.”
A níon mhín ó, sin anall na r shúirí,
A mháithairin mhín ó cuir na roithléan
go dtí mé.
Refrain
Dúlamán na binne buí Gaelach,
Dúlamán na farraige,
Dúlamán na binne buí Gaelach.
Rachaidh mé chun ’lúir leis a’ dúlamán
Gaelach,
Ceannódh bróga daor’ arsa dúlamán Gaelach.
Bróga breátha dubh’ ar a’ dúlamán
Gaelach,
Bearéad agus triús ar a’ dúlamán Gaelach.
A ’níon mhín ó, sin anall na r shúirí,
A mháithairin mhín ó cuir na roithléan
go dtí mé.
Tá ceann buí óir ar a’ dúlamán Gaelach,
Tá dhá chluais mhaol ar a’ dúlamán
Maorach.
Oh gentle daughter, here come the wooing
men,
Oh gentle mother, put the wheels in motion
for me.
Refrain
Gaelic seaweed of the yellow peaks,
Seaweed from the ocean,
Gaelic seaweed of the yellow peaks.
I would go to Dore with the Gaelic seaweed
“I would buy expensive shoes,” said the
Gaelic seaweed.
e Gaelic seaweed has beautiful black
shoes
e Gaelic seaweed has a beret and trousers.
Oh gentle daughter, here come the wooing
men,
Oh gentle mother, put the wheels in motion
for me.
ere is a yellow gold head on the Gaelic
seaweed,
ere are two blunt ears on the Gaelic
seaweed.
JAC.SON HILL (b. 1941)
In Winter’s Keeping
Jackson Hill, born in Birmingham, AL, was a Morehead Scholar at the
University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, where he earned his PhD in
musicology. He studied Buddhist liturgical music in Japan on a Fulbright
Fellowship at the Chishaku-In in Kyoto and has made a specialty of Japa-
nese traditional music. Since
, Hill has taught at Bucknell University in
Lewisburg, PA, where he is Presidential Professor of Music.
In Winter’s Keeping
was composed for Chanticleer in
and employs a
number of sonic and stylistic devices reminiscent of Japanese traditional
music: pentatonic harmony; pas-
sages limited to the notes of the
kumoijoshi
kyoto tuning; vocal
slides, portamentos, and ornamen-
tation suggestive of Buddhist chant;
and textures that de ne a sense
of
stasis
and suspended time.
e
composer treats the syllables of the
Japanese text at times as abstract
sounds and at other times as highly
in ected symbols and visual imag-
es, subject to elaborate, descriptive
word-painting.
When Emperor Tenji asked his own
court to express an opinion about which season was most beautiful, spring
or autumn, Princess Nukata answered with one of the nest poems collect-
ed in the th-century
Manyoshu
anthology.
Fuyo-go-mori
Haru sarikureba
Naka-zarishi
Tori mo kinakinu
Saka-zarishi
Hana mo sakeredo
Yama o shigemi
Irite mo torazu
Kusabukami
Torite mo mizu
Akiyama no
Konocha o mite wa
Momichi o ba
Torite so shinofu
Aoki o ba
Okite so nageku
Soko shi urameshi
Akiyama so are wa
Long hidden deep in winter’s keeping,
Spring bursts forth from its slumber.
e once-silent birds
Commence their song.
e incipient buds
Now bloom in bright array.
Yet in the hills the growth is so thick with trees
Our delights are out of reach.
So thick the weedy grass
We cannot nd the owers to pick them.
But in the hills in the autumn-time
We gaze upon the rich-colored foliage.
e leaves of brightest gold
Longingly we take for picking.
e stubborn leaves that are still green
Regretfully we leave behind.
ere is a melancholy in our delight:
Oh, the beauty of the golden hills!
STACY GARROP (b. 1969), arr.
“Járbă, máré járbă”
e folk music of Eastern Europe,
lled with dance rhythms and the
unique harmonic language of its
native countries, is rich and var-
ied.
e Romani people comprise
a large portion of the present-day
population in Serbia, Hungary, and
Romania, and they have contrib-
uted to the canon of folk music in
each country they inhabit.
eir
songs o en tell of daily life—sim-
ple, charming, or otherwise.
e
folk song “Járbă, máré járbă” comes
from the Romani people in Hunga-
ry and has been recorded by many
popular gypsy artists and ensembles, including Gothart, Zoltán Horváth,
Finisterrae Tatri & Walkin Brass, and Luminescent Orchestrii.
Award-winning composer, arranger, and professor Stacy Garrop arranged
this popular tune for Chanticleer in
. Garrop, a Chicago-based com-
poser and San Francisco Bay Area native, composes and arranges for
choirs, singers, chamber ensembles, and orchestras. Her choral works have
been performed around the United States and she has received commis-
sions from the Fromm Music Foundation, the Barlow Endowment, the
Detroit and Albany Symphonies, and the Kronos Quartet, among others.
Michael McGlynn
JDFNVRQ +LOO
Stacy Garrop
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