Song of Amergin©
by Carmen Keys
I was inspired to write music for this poem because we had to memorize it for the Oak
Grove assignment. For the month that I did this, I was absolutely
obsessed with this piece! I worked on it feverishly. The first
thing that came to me was actually not the melody, but the opening
theme of the keyboards. It brought to mind the gray, restless
energy of the sea. I was trying to get into the mind and place of
Amergin as he sang the words into the wind. The melody came as I
experimented by singing the words in different ways, until it
seemed to fit. This took many, many, MANY sessions.
Once I had the
singing and keyboard backgrounds for the first half, I improvised
with my pennywhistle in two different layers. There was a lot of
cutting and pasting as I liked some parts of different sessions
better than others.
All elements of this composition have a meaning and a purpose. I
see the voice as Amergin, the keyboards as the sea, and the
pennywhistles as the wind. The hardest parts to put together were
the choral parts. Basically that started with the alto part, and I
experimented with the soprano and alto II parts to fit with it. As
all the voices were sung by me, it took several tracks to do this.
The vocals are broken down into several parts. The solo singing in
the first half signifies the voice of Amergin alone as he chants
his invocation into the wind. He does not shout, but begins with
quiet confidence that builds up to a crescendo. The choral part in
the second half is the "question section", after Amergin has melded
with the One; and the One speaks as many. The invocation has been
sung, and now who dares challenge? I saw the line "enchantments of
wind" as the one that finally breaks the spells of the Tuatha de
Danann. After that, there is the duet section where Amergin
blesses the land to ensure it is bountiful. The key here changes
to major, instead of the restless, brooding minor. The opening
keyboard theme is also here in the major key. The last two lines "A
fishful sea, a fruitful land" are echoed by the wind to close the
song.
Lyrics
I am the Wind on the Sea,
I am the Ocean Wave,
I am the Roar of the Sea,
I am Bull of Seven Fights,
I am Hawk on Cliff,
I am Dewdrop,
I am the Fairest of Flowers,
I am Boar for Boldness,
I am Salmon in Pool,
I am the Lake on the Plain,
I am a Mountain in a Man,
I am a Word of Skill,
I am the Point of a Weapon,
A weapon fierce in battle,
I am One who fills the Head with Fire.
Who makes smooth the rugged mountain?
Who knows the ages of the Moon?
Who knows the place of the Sunset?
Who calls the Cattle from House of Tethys?
On whom does Tethys smile?
Who is the Troop?
Who is the One who places infection on Blades?
Enchantments on the Spear?
Enchantments of Wind.
And again, Amorgen said:
A fishful sea!
A fruitful land!
An outburst of fish!
Fish under wave,
In streams of birds,
A rough sea!
A white hail
With hundreds of salmon,
Of broad whales!
A harbour song--
"An outburst of fish,
A fishful sea!"
Song of Amergin copyright © 2003 by Carmen Keys, all rights reserved. Go Back
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Carmen Keys is also known as Owlflightwoman. She is 26 and lives in Oregon, USA with her wonderful cat. She likes reading, journal writing, gardening, crocheting, and playing. She is presently a student studying anthropology. Carmen is also an artist and musician who emphasizes portraiture, and sings, composes and plays several instruments. Carmen is an animist pagan in spirit. You can visit her webpage at http://owlflightwoman.tripod.com/.