Slept Unwell for SATB and electronics by Bekah Simms published on 2017-07-20T11:21:29Z “Slept Unwell” is a deconstruction of an obscure Newfoundland folksong collected by Sir Ernest Macmillan. As a Newfoundlander, it intrigued me that I had never heard this “familiar” tune – how might it be made even more unfamiliar? How does a 21st-centruy eye interpret the text? To me, the image of dying surrounded by birds as death bells is evocative, but far less pleasant than the melodic material of the original song would suggest. In a way, because the song is more less "dead" in the region where it was collected, the material of "Slept Unwell" is most like the dissection of a musical "corpse" - some original elements remain, but the grotesque is also present. "Come all you fair maids like me a-dying It's now I'm taking my last farewell, And all you small birds round me flying Let your sweet notes be my passing bell. I’ve gone – and slept unwell" Sara Schabas, soprano Shauna Yarnell, mezzosoprano Sean Clarke, tenor David Roth, baritone Genre contemporary classical
