Sir Orfeo by Alula Down

Sir Orfeo

Learnt from the singing of Archie Fisher.

The story and its song are very ancient - a medieval telling of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. It was thought that the tune to the lyric had been lost until it surfaced by chance in 1947 on the island of Unst - the most northerly island in Shetland: “That a tune in the midst of the 20th century be recovered for this whisper from the Middle Ages was as little to be expected as that we should hear a horn from Elfinland blowing…” (Bertrand Harris Bronson).

In our version we take the story down to its bones, and miss the song’s refrain: skoven arle grön (greens the wood early), hvor hjorten han gar arlig (where the deer run every year). The language is Norn - an old Nordic language last spoken on mainland Scotland in the eighteenth century. The refrain suggests the constancy and connection of the rhythmic progression of the seasons. We played instead with the electronic disconnection and glitch of a message arriving on a mobile phone.

Tracklist

1.	Sir Orfeo	3:26

Lyrics

There was a king lived in the east
He loved a lady from the west
The lord of elven with his dart
He pierced the lady through her heart
Our king has followed where they’ve gone
But only found a great grey stone.
He’s sat him down in grief and woe
And he took out his pipe to play
And he played there for seven years.
And a company drew near
And some did walk and some did run
He spied his lady there among.
Do come you down into our hall
And play you for the Eleven Lord.
And tell to us what will you have
What can we give you for your play?
What I will have I will you tell -
And thats my lady, Isobel…

Credits

released April 14, 2021
Instruments: acoustic guitar & freeze, harmonium, double bass, gong, mobile phone feedback, voice.

This is our contribution to the wonderful compilation Future Folk: Friendly Faces; Different Spaces which is releasing on the Slow Music Movement label on April 15th 2021.

Please check out the whole album here: theslowmusicmovement.bandcamp.com/album/future-folk-friendly-faces-different-spaces

License