She Moved Through The Fair
SATB choral/piano score
PEL2101-Choir and Piano
Full score and instrumental part
PEL2101-FS/IP
A WORK FOR SATB CHOIR AND PIANO WITH OPTIONAL CELLO
PEL2101 'She Moved Through The Fair" is a beautiful arrangement by Paul Halley of selected verses from two traditional Celtic folk songs, woven together in quintessential Halley style. The subject of love is the underlying theme, as in many folk songs, and Halley evokes the sound and patter of a country fair as the stories unfold.
The first theme, 'She Moved Through The Fair' is an Irish folk song from County Donegal for which a number of versions exist. In this ballad, the 'narrator' sees his lover move away from him through the country fair, saying it will not be long until their wedding day. She returns as a ghost at night, repeating that it will not be long until their wedding day, presaging the narrator's own death. The melody is Mixolydian, giving it an air of some antiquity. The lyrics, ascribed to Padraic Colum, were first published in Hughes's 'Irish Country Songs', published by Boosey & Hawkes in 1909. Four verses of this folk song are included here.
The second theme, 'The False Knight Upon The Road', is a traditional folk song from Nova Scotia, although variants of the song exist in many Celtic cultures, of which Nova Scotia has a rich heritage. This particular ballad features a ‘riddling’ exchange between a child and a ‘false knight’, the devil in disguise. Throughout any exchange, the boy is described as standing fast and the devil is unable to dumbfound him. This appears to be the condition that will save him. The devil’s attempt to gain power over people by means of riddles is a motif found in many folktales. Three verses are included in this arrangement. A version of this folksong as sung by Ben Henneberry, was recorded by musicologist, Helen Creighton, in 1943, Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia.
Commissioned by the Durham Philharmonic Choir, Whitby, Ontario, Robert M. Phillips, director, in celebration of the choir’s twenty-fifth anniversary. The work was premiered at a May 2018 'Celtic Celebration' concert by the Durham Philharmonic Choir in Whitby, ON.
Texts
She Moved Through The Fair
1 My young love said to me, "My brothers won't mind,
And my parents won't slight you for your lack of kind."
Then she stepped away from me and this she did say:
"It will not be long, love, till our wedding day."
2 She stepped away from me and she moved through the fair,
And fondly I watched her go here and go there.
Then she went her way homeward with one star awake,
As the swan in the evening moves over the lake.
3 The people were saying no two were e'er wed,
But one had a sorrow that never was said,
And he smiled as she passed with her goods and her gear,
And that was the last that I saw of my dear.
4 I dreamt it last night that my young love came in,
So softly she entered, her feet made no din;
She came close beside me, and this she did say,
"It will not be long, love, till our wedding day."
- excerpted from ‘’She Moved Through The Fair’ - Trad. County Donegal
This version attributed to Padraic Colum. In this song, the narrator sees his lover move away from him though the fair, saying it will not be long until their wedding day. She returns as a ghost at night, repeating that it will not be long until their wedding day, presaging the narratorʹs own death.
1 "Oh what have you in your bag, oh what have you in your pack?"
Cried the false knight to the child on the road,
"I have a little primer and a piece of bread for dinner,"
Cried the pretty little child of only seven years old.
2 "What is whiter than the milk, what is softer than the silk?"
Cried the false knight to the child on the road,
"Snow is whiter than the milk, down is softer than the silk,"
Cried the pretty little child of only seven years old.
3 "What is longer than the wave, what is deeper than the sea?"
Cried the false knight to the child on the road,
"Love is longer than the wave, hell is deeper than the sea,"
Cried the pretty little child of only seven years old.
- excerpted from ‘The False Knight Upon The Road’ - Trad. Nova Scotia
This traditional ballad features a ‘riddling’ exchange between a child and a ‘false knight’, the devil in disguise. Throughout any exchange, the boy is described as standing fast and the devil is unable to dumbfound him. This appears to be the condition that will save him. The devil’s attempt to gain power over people by means of riddles is a motif found in other folktales.
