PROGRAM NOTES
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), The “Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon” remains one of the best-loved playwrights and poets of all time. His plays continue to speak to modern audiences with a timeless reflection of the human condition in all its comedy, tragedy, rivalries, and romantic entanglements. Shakespeare’s words and wit have been a source of inspiration for composers throughout the centuries. In this concert Echoing Air will explore the musical manifestations of Shakespeare’s genius chronologically from the Elizabethan Age to the present. Featured selections include songs from the plays themselves as well as popular tunes and songs specifically referenced in his plays. These might be sung by a small group, often a trio of male voices, or played by instruments such as the harpsichord, lute, viola da gamba, recorders, Renaissance flutes, shawms, crumhorns, or violins. In Shakespeare’s time, all cast members were male, as the acting profession was thought too “unseemly” for women. Women were finally welcomed to the theatrical stage at the time of the Restoration, around 1660.
Settings from Shakespeare’s Time
We open with a verse of “When that I was and a Little tiny Boy” sung to a traditional tune. The simple but haunting melody is followed by a brief, more rollicking vocal trio “Three Merry Men” from George Peele’s satirical play “The Old Wives’ Tale”. Next, Desdemona’s song from Othello, “The Willow Song”, is sung to a tune that may have been used in the original productions. Another brief, rather raucous vocal trio follows, “We be Soldiers Three”, composed by Thomas Ravenscroft. Ravenscroft was known for capturing the music of the street: the folk songs, the cries of vendors, “freeman’s songs” etc. On this one, you will get to hear the countertenors sing in their lower vocal registers.
“My Hope is Decayed”, an instrumental piece by Thomas Hume for lyra viol, evokes a more reflective mood. (Like the guitar, the viola da gamba, or viol, has frets, making it easier to play resonant chords; this style of playing is called lyra viol.) Hume was a soldier and relished his military activities, but his other great love was playing and composing for viola da gamba.
William Cornysh’s “Ah, Robin” is the basis for a dialogue in a scene in Twelfth Night, though it is not quoted in full. Cornysh lived approximately 100 years before Shakespeare, so you might notice a more “medieval” sound with more open harmonies and slightly different scale structures, or modes in the melody.
The harpsichord piece, “Robin”, by John Mundy, consists of variations on the tune called “Bonny sweet Robin” or “Robin is to the Greenwood gone”. The song is referenced in both Hamlet and The Noble Kinsman. The ability to ornament or decorate a tune was an integral part of both Renaissance and Baroque music. A common technique is called “divisions”, in which progressively faster and more intricate passages of notes are played. In Mundy’s version, notice that you can still make out the tune, even in the highly ornamented final variation. John Mundy, a graduate of Oxford, served as organist both at St. George’s Windsor and at Westminster Abbey.
Thomas Morley and Robert Johnson are the only composers from Shakespeare’s time whose settings of his words survive to this day. Morley, a student of William Byrd and graduate of Oxford, served as organist at St. Paul’s in London. He was a prolific composer of English madrigals. Shakespeare settings include the well-known “It was a Lover and his Lass” and “O Mistress Mine”. Robert Johnson was a lute player (lutenist) and is remembered primarily as a lute song composer. These songs are intended to be sung accompanied by a written-out part for the lute (though harpsichord, harp, or lyra viol can be substituted). His settings of Ariel’s songs from The Tempest are known to have appeared in staged productions of the play during Shakespeare’s life. Notice how he changes to the triple meter in “Where the Bee Sucks”, creating a jolly effect. Contrast this with the more somber “Full Fathom Five”.
The next two selections are referenced or partially quoted in Romeo and Juliet. As there was more than one tune called “Heart’s Ease”, it is not certain which is referenced. It was likely this dance tune. “When Griping Grief” appeared in a publication called “The Paradise of Daynty Devises” in 1576. Words and music are attributed to Richard Edwards, who was a generation or two older than Shakespeare. The melody has some jarring intervals that are challenging for the singer.
Settings from the Baroque Period
The English Baroque correlates to the Period known as the Restoration. The middle decade of the 17th Century saw the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland under the iron fist of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. During this period, there was no organ music in churches, no theatre, and no court to support the training and livelihood of musicians. Many composers and performers went abroad to further their careers. Following the fall of the Commonwealth some 10 years later, the Stuart line was restored to the crown. Music was once again able to thrive, with a wealth of compositions for the Court, the Church, and the Theatre as well as music published for amateurs.
Henry Purcell is the most famous composer from this period and is regarded as one of the finest setters of the English language. His style incorporates international aspects of the French and Italian. It is also known for its sometimes eccentric melodies and dissonances in service of the text. His settings of two of Ariel’s songs from The Tempest are both rather straight-forward, but charming. The violin and chorus parts have been adapted for the recorders.
Maurice Greene was born the year after Purcell died. He flourished during the reign of George I of House Hanover. Greene received his early musical training with Jeremiah Clarke. He served as organist both at St. Paul’s and at the Chapel Royal, and he was appointed Professor of Music at Cambridge, where his most famous student was William Boyce. His setting of “Orpheus with his Lute” is melodious and graceful. The section in triple time suggests the movements of sea waves.
Purcell’s The Fairy Queen is a semi-opera based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Among the dances included is this Chaconne (“Dance for a Chinese Man and Woman”). A chaconne is characterized by a repeating bass line pattern called a ground bass, above which the other parts create the harmonies and dance-like motion of the piece. In this Chaconne, the viola da gamba is not relegated only to the ground bass, but enjoys its own melodic interplay with the recorders, and even has some virtuosic playing toward the end.
Pelham Humfrey was apparently very proud of his musical training in France and was rather smug about it. Like Purcell, he was closely involved with the Court after the Restoration, serving as court composer and Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal. Sadly, he passed away at the young age of 26. He was a very promising composer with a gift for melody, as heard in his setting of “A poor soul sat sighing” (aka “The Willow Song”). His setting of “Where the Bee Sucks”, like that of Robert Johnson, sets the “merrily, merrily” section in triple meter and changes from minor to major for an upbeat finish.
Settings from the Classical Period
The Baroque Period is defined as ending in 1750 with the death of Johann Sebastian Bach. The next few generations of composers are considered to be of the Classical Period (think Mozart). Music of this time tends to be less dense harmonically with simpler melodies and longer phrases. The fortepiano became increasingly popular as a solo instrument and for accompanying singers and instrumentalists. Many compositions were designated “For Keyboard” rather than specifically harpsichord or fortepiano. The violin family had existed since the 16th Century and was generally more suited for orchestral work and soloistic performance due to a larger, more penetrating tone than the viol family. Innovations to the transverse flute also gave it a brighter tone that would carry in a larger room and balance the louder stringed instruments. The harpsichord, viola da gamba and recorder did not disappear, but their use was limited commercially, being mostly for intimate settings and personal use.
John C. Smith was a student of George F. Handel, Johann Christoph Pepusch, and Thomas Roseingrave. He served as artistic director at Covent Garden Royal Theatre until 1772. As a composer, he produced many operas and oratorios. Several of his operas were produced at Drury Lane in London, including The Fairies with libretto by David Garrick based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. From it we hear Shakespeare’s words that the Fairies sing over the sleeping Titania. Violin parts are here adapted for recorders.
Richard John Samuel Stevens is remembered largely for the glees he composed. Glees are part songs, generally unaccompanied, and usually homophonic throughout (without the dense polyphony that characterized madrigals from earlier times). The top voice was generally sung by a countertenor (not unlike many Barbershop quartets of today). His setting of “Sigh no more, Ladies” is in this style. He set no less than 15 of his glees to texts of Shakespeare.
Thomas Arne was to the English Classical era what Henry Purcell was to the English Baroque. His “Rule Brittania” is still well-known. He worked both at Drury Lane and Covent Garden as a composer for theatrical productions. His musical output was prolific. Compositions include numerous art songs, instrumental chamber works, odes, cantatas, and several operas. His setting of Shakespeare’s “Blow, Blow thou Winter Wind” and “The Owl/When Icicles Hang” are both charming. Instrumental parts are adapted for the recorders, and you will hear some bird sounds here.
Settings from the Modern Era
During the late 18th and 19th Centuries, the modern piano came into its own. Composers began exploiting the beauty and range of this new instrument to make it an equal partner in art songs as well as in orchestral writing. Although there are many lovely examples of settings of Shakespeare’s texts from the Romantic Period of the 19th and early 20th Centuries, most could not be played on the harpsichord. Recommended for listening are “Let us Garlands Bring” by Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) and the collections “Three Shakespeare Songs” and “Five Shakespeare Songs” by Roger Quilter (1877-1953). Today we will present a setting of “Orpheus with his Lute” by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958). Of his two settings of the text, this one has a more “lute-like” accompaniment that is more amenable to the harpsichord.
The countertenor voice, harpsichord, viola da gamba, and recorders would see a resurgence in popularity in the latter part of the 20th Century as composers and concert-goers found themselves enchanted by the timbres of the more intimate instruments. For a 1962 production of The Tempest, Sir Michael Tippett set Shakespeare’s “Songs for Ariel” for countertenor accompanied by wind instruments, harp, harpsichord, and optional percussion. He later arranged the piece for countertenor and harpsichord (or piano). You will hear many dissonant and percussive sounds as well as eerie melody evoking Ariel’s magical qualities.
“Arden Songs” was commissioned by Echoing Air in 2024. The composer, John Berners (b. 1962) is a professor at the University of Indianapolis. Take, O Take those Lips Away” omits the harpsichord (in favor of finger cymbals) so that the listener can better focus on the duetting of the countertenors and wind instruments, creating a sort of “Medieval” effect. Under the Greenwood Tree uses the instruments in a more percussive way and includes some bird-like calls from the recorder.
The final piece on the program is from English composer John Gardner. An Oxford alumnus, Gardner taught at the Royal Academy of Music for about 30 years. He was a prolific composer in a variety of musical genres. This song comes from a commissioned set, originally called “Six by Four” (Six Shakespeare settings for 4 players: countertenor, harpsichord, Baroque cello, and recorder). For a subsequent performance he wrote a second recorder part, and the collection became “Six by Five”, the version we will be presenting. “When that I was and a Little Tiny Boy” is the finale of the set, just as it was the Epilogue to the Shakespeare play Twelfth Night. It is rhythmically engaging and fun, and… “We’ll strive to please you every day!”
Program Notes by Jeffrey Collier, April 2025