Program Notes

It is one of the quintessential American fiddle tunes. Like many, it clearly has its origins in Irish or Scottish folk music and was probably brought across by immigrants in the early 19th century. It is most associated with the Appalachian mountains and the string band traditions. Betsy

Suo Gan

Wales is fondly known as “The Land of Song” and just like Ireland has St. Patrick, so Wales has St. David, whose patron saint day is celebrated on March 1st every year. In school, this day is celebrated with an Eisteddfod (Eye-steth-vod) - a festival and competition of cultural arts, music, dancing, poetry and prose. It would be near impossible to have an Eisteddfod without hearing Suo Gân, (See-oh Can), the beautiful Welsh Lullaby, in some musical form whether it be a solo, a duet, a choral or ensemble piece or in any orchestral or instrumental version. The song is over 200 years old and just like it transcends the yearning of a mother’s love for her baby, hearing Suo Gân, will bring back “Hireath”, (heareyeth), to any Welsh person who hears it. Hireath has no real translation but simply means a nostalgia or longing for the Welsh homeland. Sheila

El Coqui is about the tree frog, called a coqui, that lives on the island of Puerto Rico. The coqui frog comes out at night and sings a song that sounds like, “coqui, coqui.” The lyrics mean, “El Coqui sings a sweet song at sunset. He is singing as sleep comes to me. When I wake all alone in the moonlight, El Coqui sings goodnight from the tree.” Betsy

Farewell to Tarwathie is a traditional early 1850s Scottish folksong written by George Scroggie, a miller from Federate, near Aberdeen, Scotland. The. Tarwathie is also in Aberdeenshire, northwest of the whaling port of Peterhead. Whaling in the 1800s was a challenging trade which required a tough breed of fishermen. Yet a song like Farewell to Tarwathie reminds us that even the toughest of people might be touched by gentleness especially when separated from loved ones.

Betsy

Shosholoza is a Nguni call-and-response song originally sung by mine workers to express the challenges of working in the mines in South Africa. The word shosholoza means go forward. It is used as a term of encouragement and hope for the workers as a sign of solidarity. The sound “sho sho” is an imitation of the sound made by the steam train. “Stimela” is a Nguni word for steam train. In contemporary times, it is sung to show support for any struggle. The meaning of the words are “Go forward from those mountains on this train from South Africa.”

Betsy

J’entends Le Moulin is a French Canadian folksong from Quebec. In Canada, English and French are both official languages. Quebec is primarily French speaking. Windmills have been used for centuries to grind corn and wheat. Windmills are also used to produce electric power by pumping water. In this song the words, “tique, tique, taque” imitate the sound of the windmill when the wind blows. The meaning of the lyrics are, “I hear the windmill, tique, tique, taque. My father had a fine house built.”

Betsy

In September, 2015, the world was shocked by the image of a small boy’s lifeless body washed up on a beach in Turkey. As thousands of desperate refugees, fleeing war and devastation, poured into Europe from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa, the global community was challenged to respond, sometimes with open arms, sometimes with vitriol and rejection. Now, more than ever, the Buddhist adage seems relevant: “hatred never ceases by hatred, but by love alone is healed.”

Ruth Huber, December, 2015

Ever clever, composer Jacob Narverud came up with a highly rhythmic celebratory composition. The title translates “We are one,” the theme being that all human beings have much in common. The energetic djembe sets the tone, the piano adds its own rhythmic design, and the singers deliver the message, at times sounding as though there should be a campfire at the center of their circle. Great fun, a profound message, and an intriguing piece, this is a winner! Betsy

The plena is an early 20th century Afro-Puerto Rican rhythm from the southern part of the island. The Plena was a “sung newspaper,” communicating significant community events. It became popular among sugarcane workers at plantations in the coastal regions. Our “Plena” is a fun song celebrating contagious rhythm and dance. The words mean “Plena, let’s dance. Plena, Puerto Rican, with lots of flavor. It’s played with hand drum, guiro, and drum. Let’s dance the plena, with lots of flavor.” Betsy

This touching, heartbreaking song was written by composer Kurt Bestor, who had been a missionary in Serbia in the 1970s. He describes it as having been “channeled”— both the melody and lyrics — as he thought about how the children on all sides of the conflict suffered as a result of the Bosnian war. The words near the end of the song are in Croatian. Arranged by Andrea Klouse especially for children’s choirs, it is even more relevant today because of the hundreds of thousands of refugee children throughout the world. We dedicate the song to them. Nancy Loch Lomond is a traditional Scottish folksong first published in 1841. It is thought that the subject of the song was a captured Scottish rebel Highlander who knows that it is unlikely that he will again spend any time with his true love by the shores of Loch Lomond, the setting for this song. Loch Lomond is the largest Scottish freshwater lake, which is overlooked by the mountain, Ben Lomond. Listen for the sound of bagpipes!

Betsy

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Ikan Kekek is a Malay folksong about pony fish. The message of the song is to remind us to keep searching for beauty and magic in everyday life. The meaning of the lyrics are, “The pony fish, the croaker fish, wait a second, my dear younger ones. Let’s go home together. There is a herring, its body long and striped, with more bones than flesh. It will taste good if cooked in a sour, spicy broth.” “Mak iloi, iloi” and “mak ilai-ilai” are nonsense syllables. Betsy

Songwriter Weng Ching-Hsi wrote the melody of “The Moon Represents My Heart” while he was studying at Berklee College of Music in Arizona in 1973. After returning to Taiwan, he picked the songs that he thought were good and gave them to his friend Sun Yi to write the lyrics while the bad songs (such as this one) were to be thrown into the trash can. Sun, however, discovered this song among Weng’s discarded works and within one hour, completed the lyrics. It wasn’t made famous though until 1977 by the Taiwanese singer, Teresa Teng. At that time, such romantic songs had been nonexistent in mainland China as they were considered bourgeois and decadent.

“The Moon Represents My Heart” is considered to be one of the most famous and beloved Mandarin classic pop songs, and Chinese people everywhere are familiar with it. This song is particularly special to me because my husband (who isn’t Chinese and doesn’t speak Mandarin) and I sang it together at our wedding many, many moons ago. Lily

Dynamite is a song recorded by South Korean boy band BTS in 2020. It is an upbeat disco-pop song with 1970’s elements of funk, soul, and bubblegum pop. It was written with the intent to soothe listeners during the Covid-19 pandemic, talking about joy and appreciation for the little things that make life valuable. Betsy

Arirang is a well-known Korean folksong. The exact origin of the song is unknown but “Arirang” is said to be the name of a mountain pass in Korea. It is believed that the song originated over 600 years ago in Jeongseon, where boatmen, crossing the river while fighting against tough currents sang Jeongseon Arirang. The song was inspired by the story of a woman’s unrequited love. There are many interpretations, translations, and versions of this song, but the basic meaning of this song is about the love between two people and how they are longing for each other. The song is about deep sorrow and longing for someone or something, which doesn’t have to be related to love between two people. Betsy

Thank You to Flo Galvez and Ken True, on the staff at UCC Campbell, for their assistance in providing the space and equipment to rehearse and bring you this concert.