SKU: HL.402083
Concert Ayre for
Baritone and Chamber
Ensemble. Composed by
Iain Bell. Vocal.
Softcover. Duration 480
seconds. Chester Music
#CH85602. Published by
Chester Music
(HL.402083).
ISBN
9781705160114. UPC:
196288056850. 9.0x12.0
inches.
The
anonymously-penned 'Tom
O'Bedlam' is one of the
best known examples of
c.17th mad-song poetry.
Part saga, part
stream-of-consciousness,
Tom recounts his descent
to madness by virtue of
his libidinous lifestyle
and speaks of his life
begging on the streets of
London. The text conveys
wit, anger, sexual
bravado, fear and
boastfulness but each
strophe is capped with
the shameful, pitiful
refrain of Tom's begging
call Any food, any
feeding?. These
contrasting moods lend
themselves wonderfully to
a musical setting,
offering both singer and
chamber orchestra the
opportunity to express
the whole gamut of
musical coloring, from
the most intimate
utterances of Tom's
begging call, to his rage
all, illustrated richly
by the chamber orchestra
within which each player
plays a 'solo', active
part in the
storytelling.