The Three Ravens (2017)

An arrangement of the Traditional English Folksong

SSA

Duration:
4′

First Performance:
23 March 2017
Juice Vocal Ensemble, King’s College Chapel, Aberdeen, UK

Irish premiere:
26 June 2017
Dulciana, Freemason’s Hall, Dublin, Ireland


Score


Programme note

The Three Ravens is a an arrangement of the melancholy English folksong first published in the book Melismata, compiled by Thomas Ravenscroft in 1611. The folksong has always appealed to me with its enigmatic, and possibly allegorical, description of the ravens witnessing a lover burying her fallen knight. I first heard the song in a free ‘recomposition’ by John Harle for the Simon Schama History of Britain in 2000 and it has stuck with me since. My arrangement slowly builds the musical texture, moving the melody between the different voices until a restrained, reflective homophonic ending.

PAC


Recordings

Tobias Patrick Wolf

Tobias is an award-winning German conductor and composer based in North East Scotland. He is Music Director of the renowned King’s Studio Orchestra (Scotland), the Braeside Singers (Aberdeen) and Principal Guest Conductor of the German Winds. Tobias is PhD researcher at the University of Aberdeen, exploring hybrid composition and performance practice. Sought after as guest conductor for ensembles around the globe, he brings new music to life — for audiences in the concert hall, on radio and television, and across multi-platform online streaming services.

https://www.tpwolf.com
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Three Gaelic Songs (2017)

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Locus iste (2017, rev. 2023)