Kerry Andrew choral sampler

28 Composer’s note An

28 Composer’s note An earlier version of this piece was commissioned in 2004 by The Cavendish Singers to be performed after the First Lesson in the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at Westminster Cathedral. I chose to create a lullaby from the perspectives of two individuals—Mary, mother of Christ, and Adam, representing the sins of Man—and sourced three separate early English texts set at the cradle of the baby Jesus. The first lullaby is the earliest known example of the ‘lullay’ song, which appears in several versions in the 14th and 15th centuries and is exceptional in that it is the song of a human mother; the second lullaby is addressed to Christ by a penitent; and in the third I envisage Adam, or Man, as the observer. Texts and translations These texts and translations may be reproduced as required for programme notes. for online perusal only Lullay, lullow, little child, Into uncowth world icommen so ertow! 1 Against my fadris will I ches An apple with a rueful res; Wherefore mine heritage I les, And now thou weepest therefore. 2 Lullay, lullow, little child, This woe Adam thee wracht When he of the apple ate, And Eve it him betacht. 1 An apple I took of a tree, God, it had forboden me; Wherefore I should dampened be, If thy weeping nay wore. 2 This endris night I saw a sight, A maid a cradle keep, And ever she song and said among: ‘Lullay, my child, and sleep’. 3 Lullay, lullow, little child, You have come unknown into the world! Against my father’s will I chose An apple with a rueful rush; Wherefore I lost my heritage, And now therefore you weep. Lullay, lullow, little child, Adam wrought this woe on you When he ate the apple That Eve brought to him. An apple I took from a tree; God had forbidden me to do it. Wherefore I should be damned, If you did not weep. On a recent night I saw a sight, A maid keeping a cradle, And ever she sang and said: ‘Lullay, my child, and sleep’. 1 Adapted from Carleton Brown (ed.), ‘Miscellaneous lyrics before 1350’, Religious Lyrics of the 15th Century (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1957). 2 Adapted from Carleton Brown (ed.), ‘Lyrics from the Commonplace Book of John Grimestone, 1372’, Religious Lyrics of the 15th Century (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1957). 3 Adapted from Clement A. Miles, Christmas in Ritual and Tradition (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1912). Translations by Kerry Andrew

29 Adam and the Mother Anon. 14th/15th cent. adap. Kerry Andrew (see p. 2 for details) KERRY ANDREW SOPRANO 1 Lilting q. = 50 Lul SOLO or TUTTI mp SOPRANO 2 ALTO - lay, lul - p mm mm mm mm p mm mm mm TENOR p mm mm mm mm BASS p mm for online perusal only mm mm mm for rehearsal only Lilting q. = 50 p con Ped. mp © Oxford University Press 2009 OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, MUSIC DEPARTMENT, GREAT CLARENDON STREET, OXFORD OX2 6DP The Moral Rights of the Composer have been asserted. Photocopying this copyright material is ILLEGAL. Printed in Great Britain