Muhly FOUR TRADITIONAL SONGS

ScoresOnDemand

Muhly, Nico Four Traditional Songs

Score for sale (North America): https://www.halleonard.com/product/viewproduct.action?itemid=14043617 Score for sale (UK, Europe and other territories): http://www.musicroom.com/se/id_no/01112214/details.html?kbid=1296 Information about the work and materials for hire: http://www.musicsalesclassical.com/composer/work/48041

Chester Music Limited Part of the Music Sales Group

These arrangements were commissioned by Carnegie Hall and Wigmore Hall. The world premiere was given by Iestyn Davies and Kevin Murphy in Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York City on December 15, 2011, and at Wigmore Hall, London on May 7, 2012.

COMPOSER’S NOTE I selected these four songs after spending many hours obsessing over Alfred Deller’s Vanguard recording of British folksongs. One in particular struck me as heartbreakingly poignant: his unaccompanied rendition of the Bitter Withy. I tried to imagine what a highly stylized but understated accompaniment might sound like, and that forms the fourth song in this collection. The Cruel Mother, about a woman who kills her children and is then visited by their ghosts, is a particularly gruesome murder ballad, and works over a large vocal range. Searching for Lambs has a wonderfully irregular footprint, which required very little interference from me, and A Brisk Young Lad is one of the most unforgivingly sad ballads in the catalogue. This collection is dedicated to Iestyn Davies.

PERFORMANCE NOTE A brief note: as the songs are all, loosely, narratives, the performers should take enormous liberties with tempo and dynamics. The indicated dynamics in the piano part are just suggestions and should be subject to vigorous and joyful replacement.

Nico Muhly 2011

Duration: c. 15 minutes

for Iestyn Davies

Four Traditional Songs transposed for Baritone

1. A BRISK YOUNG LAD arr. Nico Muhly (2011)

q = 96

Baritone

mp

3 4

A

brisk

young lad,

3 4 Piano

3 4

court

-

ed

me,

he

my heart with a

free

good

sim.

(l.h.)

p

he

7

stole

a - way

my

lib - er

-

ty,

he

stole

ped. sim.

p

14

will,

he

has

it

now and he’ll

keep

Copyright Š 2011 St Rose Music Publishing Co. and Chester Music Limited.

International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved.

it

still.

mp

pp sub.

revised May 2015

3 40

wide

and

deep,

set

mar

-

ble stones

at my

head and

feet,

and a

p

sim.

46

tur

-

tle white

dove

carve

o

-

ver a

-

bove

to

let

the world

mf

p

51

know that I

died

of

p

love.

sub. ppp

mp

pp

4

2. SEARCHING FOR LAMBS q = 144 but flexible

5 4

As

I went out

one May morn- ing,

one May morn-ing

be - time

I

5 4 mp

5 4 5

met

a

ma - id

from home had stray - ed just

as

the

Sun

did shine

What

9

makes you

ri - se

so

soon my dear?

Your

jour - ney to pur - sue?

mf

your

mp

13

pret-ty lit - tle feet

they tread so

sweet, strike off the

morn - ing

dew.

I’m

6 34

Sun doth shine,

how pleas-ant

is

the

air

I’d

ra - ther

rest

on a

mp dim. al fine

38

true love’s breast

than

an - y

oth

-

er

where.

For

I

am

thine

and

(dim.)

42

thou

art

mine,

no

man

shall

un - com - fort

thee

We’ll

(dim.)

45

join our

hands

pp dim.

in

wed-ded bands

and

mar-ried we

will

be.

ppp

7

3. THE CRUEL MOTHER q. = 60

6 8 There was

a

la - dy lived

in York,

all

a - lone and a

lo

-

ney,

a

5

3 8 farm - er’s son,

9

3 8

he

court - ed her

all

down by the green - wood

si

-

de.

6 8 He

court - ed her

3 8

6 8

3 8

6 8

for sev’n

long years,

all

a - lone

and a

pp dolciss., pedal ad lib.

13

lo

-

ney,

17

at

last

she had

3 8 si

-

de.

a

by him,

pitched her knee

6 8 p (r.h. sempre tenuto)

3 8

all

down by the green - wood

6 8 She

3 8

child

6 8

a - gainst

a tree,

13 122

3 8 gate

you shall

not en - ter in,

all

down by the green - wood si

-

de.”

There

mp

127

6 8

3 8

6 8

3 8

6 8

6 8 is

6 8 6 8

a

fire

be - yond

Hell’s gate,

all

a - lone and a

lo

-

ney, and

severe

ff

131

there

you’ll burn both ear - ly and late,

all

down by the green-wood

sff

si

-

de.

p

14

4. THE BITTER WITHY q = 76, but very flexible

2 4

molto rubato

As

it

be - fell

on

a bright hol - i - day, small

hail from the sky did

fall,

Our

5

Sav-iour asked his moth-er dear

if he might go and play at

ball.

At

ball, at ball, my

10

own dear Son, it’s

time that you were gone,

and don’t let me hear of

an - y mis - chief

at

15

night when you come home.

So

up the hill and down the hill our sweet young Sav - iour

20

ran,

un - til

he met three rich young lords,“Good morn- ing” to each

one.

“Good

pp

17 62

home your child for drown’d is ours each

one.

So

Mar - y mild fetched home her child and

sf

pp

67

laid him a-cross her knee

73

Ah

Slowly

bit - ter

77

and with a hand-ful of with -y twigs, she gave him slash-es three.

with - y, ah

bit - ter

with - y, you’ve caus - èd

me

to

smart,

at

the

and the

rit.

wil - low shall

be

the

ver - y

first

tree

to

per - ish

ppp

heart.