from now on - tim reader's blog

As part of the assessment for my choral conducting diploma with ABCD I was tasked with arranging, typsetting and recording a folksong of my choice.

I chose the Royal Blackbird (sometimes just known as The Blackbird) which is Irish in origin. The first stanza, which I set, is below and the full poem, with *a* version of the original melody (not actually the one I worked from), can be found here.

‘Twas on a fine morning for soft recreation,
I heard a fair lady a-making her moan,
Sighing and sobbing with sad lamentation
And crying: “My blackbird most royal is flown;
My thoughts they do deceive me,
Reflection it grieves me,
And I am abandoned with sad misery,
Yet ere death shall bind me,
As true love inclines me,
I’ll seek out my blackbird wherever he may be”.

Many thanks to Pete for suggesting it in the first place.

It’s an Irish folksong, dating back to the 1700s following the expulsion of James II from the throne in 1688. Through a layer of metaphor and symbolism, the later verses reveal an anti-English, pro-Jacobean theme which was strongly felt in Ireland at this time, particularly amongst Catholics. The clouded meaning was to disguise the sentiment so it could still be sung publicly, even in a time of oppression and persecution.

The words of the first verse don’t particularly imply this, and my musical setting of the text therefore embodies a less specific interpretation of loss, grief and despair, the blackbird being a symbol of something precious and personal, now lost. It has a hopeful ending, with a resolve to ’seek out’ this precious thing wherever it may be.

If you wish to use it in any way, you are free to do so without restriction. Follow the download links:

• The Royal Blackbird arr. TimReader (sheet music – pdf)
• The Royal Blackbird – arr. Tim Reader (recording – mp3)

Kind thanks to the Exultate Singers for recording it last night and David Ogden for allowing me to hijack his choir :-)

Muchos gratitude to Ian also for his generous assistance typesetting it.