MODERN FOLK

In my last blog, I wrote about the songs I had been listening to from Ate Doornbosch’s ‘Onder de Groene Linden’ collection. Here, I’m posting recordings of four of the songs that I found the most musically-striking. This blog is a first call for participation from you, the reader, or from anyone in your circle of acquaintances who is compositionally-inclined! I will be recording a CD/LP this August/September dedicated to folk music-inspired pieces for cello and other instruments (I’ll write more about this recording on a later blog…). I would like to see your arrangements of any or all of these songs, written for the following instrumentation: 2 celli and mezzo-soprano. The arrangement(s) that I like the most stand a good chance of making it onto my recording.

Please send all questions, responses, and above all, arrangements to my email address: julia.tom@gmail.com.

I’m very excited to hear whatever new, fresh ideas and interpretations you may have for these old, strange songs from the Dutch countryside. The deadline for entries to be considered for the recording is July 25th, 2018.

Here are the songs:

Er d’r waren eens twee zoetelieffies:

http://www.liederenbank.nl/sound.php?recordid=74364&lan=nl

Here is a transcription of the basic melody (here lacking the tritone accompaniment present in the recording), and the text:

http://www.liederenbank.nl/image.php?recordid=70134&lan=nl

English text, and biography of singers:

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En daar reed eens een ruiter al door zijn straat

http://www.liederenbank.nl/sound.php?recordid=73186&lan=nl

Here is the musical transcription:

http://www.liederenbank.nl/image.php?recordid=73186&lan=nl

The Dutch text:

http://www.liederenbank.nl/text.php?recordid=73186&lan=nl

English text, and biography of singers:

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O lang, o langgewenste dag

http://www.liederenbank.nl/sound.php?recordid=73202&lan=nl

The musical transcription and text:

http://www.liederenbank.nl/image.php?recordid=73202&lan=nl

English text, and biography singers:

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Daar reed er een heer die was wel diridom

http://www.liederenbank.nl/sound.php?recordid=73929&lan=nl

The musical transcription and text:

http://www.liederenbank.nl/image.php?recordid=73929&lan=nl

English text, and biography performers:

*All of these recordings are taken from the Meertens Instituut’s Liederenbank, which sought permission from the original singers before the songs were put online. Not all of the original singers could be found by the Meertens Instituut, but if any of the original singers or their family members see this post, I would be most grateful to hear from them!