Ot ekäm wenca jälleen.
He is complete again.
To hear this chant, visit ChristineFeehan.com/members/.
4. CARPATHIAN MUSICAL AESTHETICS
In the sung Carpathian pieces (such as the “Lullaby” and the “Song to Heal the Earth”), you’ll hear elements that are shared by many of the musical traditions in the Uralic geographical region, some of which still exist—from Eastern European (Bulgarian, Romanian, Hungarian, Croatian) to Romany (“gypsy”). These elements include:
• the rapid alternation between major and minor modalities, including a sudden switch (called a “Picardy third”) from minor to major to end a piece or section (as at the end of the “Lullaby”)
• the use of close (tight) harmonies
• the use of ritardi (slowing down the pace) and crescendi (swelling in volume) for brief periods
• the use of glissandi (slides) in the singing tradition
• the use of trills in the singing tradition (as in the final invocation of the “Song to Heal the Earth”)—similar to Celtic, a singing tradition more familiar to many of us
• the use of parallel fifths (as in the final invocation of the “Song to Heal the Earth”)
• controlled use of dissonance
• “call-and-response” chanting (typical of many of the world’s chanting traditions)
• extending the length of a musical line (by adding a couple of bars) to heighten dramatic effect
• and many more
“Lullaby” and “Song to Heal the Earth” illustrate two rather different forms of Carpathian music (a quiet, intimate piece and an energetic ensemble piece)—but whatever the form, Carpathian music is full of feeling.
5. LULLABY
This song is sung by a woman while a child is still in the womb or when the threat of a miscarriage is apparent. The baby can hear the song while inside the mother, and the mother can connect with the child telepathically as well. The lullaby is meant to reassure the child, to encourage the baby to hold on, to stay—to reassure the child that he or she will be protected by love even from inside until birth. The last line literally means that the mother’s love will protect her child until the child is born (“rise”).
Musically, the Carpathian “Lullaby” is in three-quarter time (“waltz time”), as are a significant portion of the world’s various traditional lullabies (perhaps the most famous of which is Brahms’s Lullaby). The arrangement for solo voice is the original context: a mother singing to her child, unaccompanied. The arrangement for chorus and violin ensemble illustrates how musical even the simplest Carpathian pieces often are, and how easily they lend themselves to contemporary instrumental or orchestral arrangements. (A wide range of contemporary composers, including Dvor?ák and Smetana, have taken advantage of a similar discovery, working other traditional Eastern European music into their symphonic poems.)
Odam-Sarna Kondak (Lullaby)
Tumtesz o wäke ku pitasz belso.
Feel the strength you hold inside.
Hiszasz sívadet. Én olenam gæidnod.
Trust your heart. I’ll be your guide.
Sas csecsemõm; kunasz.
Hush, my baby; close your eyes.
• First verse: A “call-and-response” section, where the chant leader sings the “call” solo, and then some or all of the women sing the “response” in the close harmony style typical of the Carpathian musical tradition. The repeated response—Ai, Emä Ma ?e—is an invocation of the source of power for the healing ritual: “Oh, Mother Nature.”
• First chorus: This section is filled with clapping, dancing, ancient horns and other means used to invoke and heighten the energies upon which the ritual is drawing.
• Second verse
• Second chorus
• Closing invocation: In this closing part, two song leaders, in close harmony, take all the energy gathered by the earlier portions of the song/ritual and focus it entirely on the healing purpose.