Brooker, D.: String Trios from around the world

Edition for string trio (violin, viola and cello), score and parts, edited by David Brooker. Difficulty: advanced.

This volume includes pieces from four continents, allowing string players to enjoy music from the many styles of folk music from around the world. There are tunes from Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Austria and Russia along with a Yiddish song in Klezmer style. To complete the collection, a much-loved song from China and a pop hit from Africa are joined, from the other side of the Atlantic, by a Caribbean favourite and a folk song from the USA.

Inevitably, the lyrics that go with most of the songs deal with matters of the heart. Indeed, two of them have become closely associated with wedding ceremonies in their respective countries: Ireland’s »Tabhair dom do Lámh« (Give Me Your Hand) takes the view that nothing can possibly go wrong once lovers are united, whereas Austria’s song from the Alps »Der Weg zu mein Dirndl is stoani« (The Path to my Sweetheart is Stony) perhaps displays a rather more realistic view of the course of true love! Another of the love songs is often assumed to be a folk piece but in fact has a much more recent history – »Bei mir bist du schean« was written only just before becoming a big swing-time hit for the Andrews Sisters in 1938. Its Yiddish lyrics offer a straightforward view on courtship but, in »Dark Eyes«, the Ukrainian poet Yevhen Hrebinka is rather more intense on the subject. The tune with which his words of 1843 have become closely associated has a confused origin. It emerged as a popular song around the turn of the 20th century, but it is supposedly based on a much older folk melody. Scotland’s »The Skye Boat Song«, first appeared at around the same time as Hrebinka’s words. It tells how Bonnie Prince Charlie escaped from the Jacobite rebellion in 1746 and many wrongly assume that the song is as old as the events it describes.

»There are many variants of the story behind the beautiful Catalan tune »El testament d’Amèlia«, but you only need to hear the music to know that love has not treated Amèlia kindly. In most versions she tells her story from her death bed, having lost her husband to her own mother. Crossing the world, the lively rhythms of the Caribbean in Jamaica Farewell show us that there might possibly be some mixed feelings involved in its story of the pain of lovers parting. »Jasmine Flower« from China is another song with many different versions. The lyrics simply extol the fragile beauty of the jasmine flower, but the symbolism behind this is far more complex and has evolved over time. The last two pieces in the book are far more straightforward! »Pata Pata« was a huge dance hit when first released in 1957, with the words originally written in the clicking Xhosa language of South Africa. Finally, »Old Joe Clark« is a frequently- performed folk song from North America.

Each of the ninety plus known verses makes less sense than the last, but that is all part of the fun!

»The arrangements in this book keep to the spirit of the original songs whilst making them accessible and rewarding for string players. A few more unusual techniques crop up along the way to add to the interest, but great care has been taken to make the music idiomatic and satisfying to play. There are a few places where notes in small type may be left out, but please do look closely at anything that might look daunting at first, as you will probably find it looks and sounds much harder than it actually is! Finally, as a viola player myself, I have also made sure in all the pieces that it isn’t just the violinist who gets to play the tunes!« – Dave Brooker 2016.

Language: German/English/French.
Universal Edition UE36993.

Content:

• Tabhair Dom Do Lamh (Trad. Irish)
• Der Weg zu mein Dirndl is stoani (Trad. Austrian)
• Bei mir bist du schean (Sholom Secunda)
• Dark Eyes (Trad. Russian)
• Skye Boat Song (Trad. Scottish)
• El testament d’Amelia (Trad. Catalan)
• Jamaica Farewell (Trad. Jamaican)
• Mo Li Hua (Trad. Chinese)
• Pata Pata (Miriam Makeba & G. Ragavoy)
• Old Joe Clark (Trad. North American)