I turned a folk song into a chamber opera

[JccOldTime23]

Some of you may remember that I'm a banjo player and studying classical guitar and music composition at East Carolina University. This was my senior year and for my senior composition recital I composed a 40 minute chamber opera. I heavily borrowed from traditional folk songs from The Anthology of American Folk Music (good composers borrow, great composers steal - Igor Stravinsky). The idea was original to be about a 20 minute telling of the story from The House Carpenter, but after researching the history of the ballad, I decided to do a telling of the Scottish Daemon Lover version of the story and mix elements of other ballads into the story. I used a lot of melodies from the ballads that I used, though a lot of times you'll have words from one ballad, mixed with the melody from another. It's a large thing so I'm giving a link to download it from dropbox. I hope some of you are interested enough to listen. If you're not, who can blame you, move along and enjoy your day. The Daemon Lover

Below is a description of each scene.

Act 1
Scene 1
The House Carpenter is building a cabin in the mountains win a demon comes to see him. He says he must give himself or one of his family as a sacrifice. The House Carpenter says to take his wife, because she has no ability to make money for their children.

Scene 2
Jane Reynolds is alone at him and tells the story of her long lost love, James Harris. The House Carpenter returns home and tells her that he has to go out of town on a business trip. Jane Reynolds tries to convince him to stay, but she is unsuccessful.

Scene 3
Jane Reynolds is alone at home when the demon comes to fetch her disguised as her lost love, James Harris. He convinces her to go away with him and leave her children with the House Carpenter.

Act 2
Scene 1
Less than 2 weeks later the demon and Jane Reynolds are at sea. Jane Reynolds begins to have second thoughts about leaving her family for James Harris. The demon grows tired of this and reveals himself to her.

Scene 2
The House Carpenter is living with deep regret for what he’s done to Jane Reynolds. He reveals that she is a witch, and if he hangs himself the spell the demon has on her will be lifted. The House Carpenter hangs himself.

Scene 3
After the House Carpenter hangs himself, Jane Reynolds can feel her witchcraft return to her. She makes the demon a mortal man and punctures the boat. The boat sinks and Janes Reynolds and the demon drown at sea.

Below are the program notes for the piece

When I was fifteen my Grandfather pulled a banjo down from his attic and told me if I could learn to play it I could have it. A few years later I discovered The Anthology of American Folk Music edited by Harry Smith. The music contained on those six CDs opened my eyes to an “old, weird America” that I had no idea even existed. I learned how to play and sing every ballad on it, and it was these songs that gave me confidence to major in music. I’ve felt for the last couple years that the deeper I get into classical theory and technique, the further I’m getting away from these folk songs that have been so important to me. This chamber opera is my attempt to reconnect a little bit with some of these ballads.

“The Daemon Lover” is a traditional Scottish ballad that is known as “The House Carpenter” in America. The story in this opera is basically that song, with a few story elements added that come from other folk songs. These songs include “The Old Lady and the Devil, Butcher’s Boy, The Cuckoo, Omie Wise, and The Drunkard’s Special. The melodies are also taken from folk songs, though often the words are taken from one folk song and sung with the melody of another one.

[Pejorative Miscreant]

Old guy here but new to music and recently started taking guitar lessons. It amazes me how       similar different types of music really is.  Robert Johnson blues and AC/DC have a lot of overlap.  Big difference seems to be in he equipment and distortion.  

[JccOldTime23]

I have finally gotten the video of the performance. Now you can watch it on youtube here instead of downloading the audio. Enjoy.

[Pejorative Miscreant]

This is impressive.  Really have a good appreciation for the talent ndskills it takes to put a composition or song together.  You should be proud of this accomplishment.