Ravenscroft: The Three Ravens | Molly Netter, soprano, the Voice of the Viol 8K

The traditional ballad, “There were three ravens,“ Molly Netter, soprano, accompanied by the Voice of the Viol viola da gamba consort. Wendy Gillespie, Elisabeth Reed & Farley Pearce, Elizabethan viols, left to right; David Tayler, renaissance lute. The Voice of the Viol is a program of Voices of Music, directed by Elisabeth Reed. A song in the form of a story, the “Three Ravens“ was arranged and published by Thomas Ravenscroft in 1611. The song featured prominently in the Early Music revival of the 1950s with recordings by Alfred Deller and Richard Dyer-Bennet, among many others. The text shows some similarities to “Twa Corbies.“ Text There were three ravens sat on a tree, Down a down hey down hey down. They were as black as they might be, With a down. Then one of them said to his mate: “Where shall we our breakfast take?” With a down derry derry derry down down. Down in yonder greenfield, Down a down hey down hey down. There lies a knight slain under his shield; With a down. His hounds they lie down at his feet, So well they their master keep. With a down derry derry derry down down. His hawks they fly so eagerly, Down a down hey down hey down. There is no fowl dare him come nigh With a down. Down there comes a fallow doe, As great with young as she might go. With a down derry derry derry down down. She lift up his bloody head, Down a down hey down hey down. And kissed his wounds that were so red. With a down. She got him up upon her back And carried him to earthen lake. With a down derry derry derry down down. She buried him before the prime, Down a down hey down hey down. She was dead herself ere evensong time. With a down. God send every gentleman Such hawks, such hounds and such a leman. With a down derry derry derry down down. *Elizabethan viols* Voices of Music is developing programs for two consorts of viols, one from the Elizabethan period (which you will hear tonight) and an early renaissance consort from around the year 1500 to perform works published by Petrucci, the first music publisher, and his contemporaries. The late renaissance Elizabethan viols are primarily based on the work of John Rose, who was famous by the 1550s for his “vyalls” and other instruments. Although these instruments were from the middle of the century, only the later instruments survive, and it is not known if Rose’s style changed over the years, so these instruments either reflect the practice as early as the 1550s or, more likely, as late as the 1590s, although the changes may have been minor over the years. Notably, the design of the Amati violins from roughly the same time period changed very little. The Rose workshop parallels Elizabeth’s reign as queen, and so these instruments are an excellent choice for this repertory. The English court imported a great many Italian instruments beginning with the reign of Henry VIII, but the Rose instruments were considered preeminent for the viols, even as the lutes and recorders were mainly sourced from Italy and Germany. For the renaissance ideal, the consort was conceived of as a matched set, and all the instruments played tonight were made by one builder, Wesley Brandt, using similar patterns, techniques and timbers based closely on historical models. The close matching gives the ensemble a unique sound and is essential for consort music. Another major difference to the baroque instruments is the strings: wire-wound strings emerged circa 1660 and were unknown to the musicians of the renaissance and early 17th century. Without the “overspun” strings the sound of the instrument and its overtones are markedly different, especially in terms of greater transparency, and this enables each individual part in the early English viols to be heard clearly. Importantly, with wire wound strings, bowed instruments are louder in the bass register, but unwound strings have the opposite, softer sound. In addition, there is no register change as the player crosses strings with the bow: all the strings are the same. Lastly, the early English viols had soundboards that were made of very thin, parallel strips of wood that were heated and bent under tension, so they are similar to a drum: this process of tempering and tensioning the soundboard changes the harmonics of the viol. Entrenched in a multitude of styles from an early age, Canadian-American soprano Molly Netter enlivens complex and beautiful music both old and new. Noted for her “natural warmth” (LA Times) and “clear, beautiful tone” (NY Times), Molly’s voice can be heard on five Grammy nominated albums since 2017. #ravens 8K Video: Lloyd Hryciw and Rob Clevenger Post Production: David Tayler and Andrew Levy Special thanks to Margaret Cohen. Link to Wikipedia article on the text: