Tonos
Tonos
Róisín O’Grady, soprano
Eamon Sweeney, baroque guitar
Irish Baroque group, Tonos, comprises Róisín O’ Grady (Soprano) and Eamon Sweeney (Baroque Guitar). They specialise in a unique blend of Irish and European music from the 16th, 17th & 18th centuries – mixing musical flavours and featuring music from such diverse sources as Claudio Monteverdi, Turlough O’Carolan, John Dowland, Jean-Baptiste Lully and Henry Purcell, and the wider Traditional Irish, Celtic & Spanish Traditions. They particularly enjoy juxtaposing Early Irish music with works by contemporaneous English and Continental masters: highlighting common threads and distinct differences. They are also inspired by the employment of Irish harpers at many European royal courts during the Renaissance and Baroque periods: investigating the manners in which Irish and European music from the period may have cross-fertilised.
Concert programmes are often structured around a particular historical theme, for example, The Wild Geese or The Flight of the Earls. In the concerts quotes from early literary sources are employed (The Annals of the Four Masters, English State Papers, various dramatic & poetic sources): the better to flesh out the narrative and deepen the atmosphere.
Tonos' music appeals to a large cross-section of the concert-going public: audiences who enjoy Early Music, Irish Music, Vocal Music, Guitar Music, and Classical Music. While a Tonos concert is always accessible to the general public, Róisín and Eamon’s performance practice is historically-informed and also attracts those with a specialist interest.
The Spanish word ‘tonos’ translates as ‘tone.’ With regard to seventeenth-century Spanish music it might indicate a scale suggested by each guitar chord. However, the term originates from Ancient Greece where it described a musical concept pertaining to the placement of scale patterns at different pitches. In the modern Greek language ‘tonós’ indicates the stressed syllable of a word, while the resonance of the word resembles ‘sean-nós’, meaning ‘old-style’ in the Irish language.
Soprano Róisín O’ Grady studied at University College Cork where she took her B.A. (Hons, Music and Italian) in 2000 and B.Mus (Hons) in 2001. In 2004, she completed the one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Concert Singing at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow, under the vocal guidance of soprano Margaret Marshall O.B.E. She received a First Class Hons. M.A. in Performance at the Cork School of Music in 2008. She was a member of and a soloist with The National Chamber Choir of Ireland for over two years.
Róisín has extensive concert experience including; Vivaldi’s Gloria, Beatus Vir and Magnificat, Handel’s Solomon, Samson, Dixit Dominus, Ode on St. Cecilia’s Day and Messiah, Charpentier’s Mess de Minuit, Schubert’s Mass in G, Schumann’s Reqiuem, Haydn’s Little Organ Mass, Creation and Nelson Mass, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G Minor, Allegri’ Miserere, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Matthew Passion, Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate, Durufle’s Requiem, Saint Säens’ Christmas Oratorio, Fauré’s Requiem, John Rutter’s Requiem and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. She has performed with choral societies and orchestras throughout Ireland and Scotland including The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, The Irish Baroque Orchestra and The Orchestra of St. Cecilia. With Tonos she has performed in The John Field Room, NCH, The National Gallery of Ireland, Sligo Festival of Baroque Music and has been broadcast in concert by Lyric FM. She also performed at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival in 2008, and regularly performs with harpsichordist Malcolm Proud. Recent recitals include The Hugh Lane Gallery and Galway Cathedral Recital Series.
Eamon Sweeney has harboured a love for Early and Folk music from a young age. He began his musical studies on the violin at the age of eight, and first picked up a guitar in his early teens. Initially influenced by Rock music, he subsequently studied Guitar with acclaimed Irish guitarist, Dr John Feeley, and received a BMus (1st Class) in Guitar Performance from DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama and Trinity College Dublin.
In 2006 Eamon was awarded the first musicology PhD to be accredited by DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama. His doctoral thesis investigated the five-course guitar’s role in the court of Louis XIV, a hitherto unexplored area of French Baroque music and Early Guitar performance practice. Eamon teaches and performs extensively, giving concerts, lectures, seminars and workshops, including for Walton’s Guitar Festival of Ireland, Dundee Guitar Festival, Bath International Guitar Festival, Sligo Festival of Baroque Music, DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama. He has been frequently broadcast in concert on RTE Lyric FM.
In addition to his work with Tonos, Eamon enjoys performing in a variety of musical settings on Classical and Electric guitars. He is committed to music education and music in the wider community, including Early Years Music, Music in Healthcare settings, Guitar-group coaching and Community Music workshops.
Reviews
"O'Grady has a beautiful voice, full of emotion... Sweeney was the perfect complement. "
Classical Guitar Magazine
Sample Programmes
Christmas Programme
Music of Spain
Mateo Flecha (1481–1553) Riu, riu chiu
E la don don, Verges Maria
Luys de Narváez (fl. 1526–1549) Guardame las vacas Anonymous (16th century) Yo me soy la moreñica
Rey, a quien reyes adoran
These four carols were first published in Cancionero de Upsala (Venice, 1556), a collection assembled by musicians in the service of the Duke of Calabria. Mateo Flecha taught the Infantas, Maria and Joanna, daughters of Philip II of Spain (1527-1598). Mateo directed the chapel choir of the Duke of Calabria which led to the inclusion of his works in the Cancionero… Toward the end of his life Mateo Flecha became a monk of the Cistercian Order, living in the Monastery at Poblet, where he died in 1553. The words ‘Riu, riu, chiu’ refers to the sound of a nightingales’s song.
Luys de Narváez, was Spanish court viheulist and composer, to Philip II. Gaurdame las vacas was a famous and beloved chord sequence –a very popular ground upon which to perform variations. Yo me soy la moreñica is a rather deceptive title for a carol reputed to be about the Virgin Mary. While its text does not identify her by name, it speaks of ‘sin...that was never found in me, and of the ...rose without thorns.’
Riu, riu, chiú
Riu, riu, chiú Riu, riu, chiu
La guarda ribera The river bank protects it,
Dios guarde el lobo, de nuestra cordera As God kept the wolf from our lamb
El lobo rabioso la quiso morder The rabid wolf tried to bite her
Mas Dios poderoso la supo defender But God Almighty knew how to defend her
Quizole hazer que no pudiesse pecar He wished to create her impervious to sin
Ni aun original esta uirgen no tuuiera Nor was this maid to embody original sin
Este uiene a dar a los muertos uida He comes to give life to the dead
Y uiene a reparar de todas la cayla He comes to redeem the fall of man
Es la luz del dia aqueste mocuelo This child is the light of day
Este es el cordero que San Juan dixera He is the very lamb Saint John prophesied
Yo ui mil garcons que andauan contando A thousand singing herons
Por aqui bolando haziendo mil sones I saw passing, flying overhead, sounding
Diziendo a gascones, gloria sea en el cielo A thousand voices exulting, "Glory be in the
Y paz en el suelo pues Jesus nasciera and peace on earth, for Jesus has been born."
Muchas profecias lo han profetizado, Many a prophecy told of his coming,
y aun en nuestros dias lo hemos alcancado. and now in our days have we seen them fulfilled.
A Dios humanado vemos en el suelo God became man, on earth we behold him,
y al hombre nel cielo porqu’er le quisiera. and see man in heaven because he so willed.
E la don don
E la don don, Verges Maria, Ding, dong, Virgin Mary,
e la don don, Ding, dong,
peu cap desanque que nos dansaron. How we will dance!
O garçons, aquesta nit una verges na parit Oh, people this night a virgin gave birth
un fillo qu’es tro polit que non aut au en lo mon. to a child so fine, there’s no equal on earth.
Digas nos qui t’ho la dit que verges n’haja parit Tell us who told you that a virgin gave birth,
que nos mai havem ausit lo que tu diu, giranthom. for we never heard such a thing, good sir.
Vin Perot i a Diu verai, i a la Verges sa mai Peter comes near and to God and the Virgin
un sorron li portarai que sera ple de coucom. he brings a bundle that is full of treats.
Ara canta tu Beltran per amor deu Sant Infan Now Father Beltran will sing for love of the Holy Child
i aprés cantara Joan i donar nos han coucom. and after, John will sing and then they’ll give us sweets.
I be cantare sus dich per Jesus mon bon He will sing his song for Jesus my good friend
amich que nos sauvara la nit de tot mal who will guard us from all harm while we
quan hom se dorm. sleep through the night.
Yo me soy la moreñica
Yo me soy la morenica,
I am the dark girl,
yo me soy la morena.
I am the dark girl,
Lo moreno bien mirado,
The darkness on reflection,
fué la culpa del pecado, Was the result of the sin,
quen en mi nunca fué hallado,
That was never found in me,
ni jamás se hallará.
Nor will it ever be.
Soy la sin espina rosa,
I am the rose without thorns,
que Salomón canta y glosa, That Solomon sings of,
Nigra sum sed formosa,
I am black but beautiful,
y por mí se cantará.
And people will sing about me.
Yo soy la mata inflamada
I am the bush in flames
ardiendo sin ser quemada, burning without being burnt,
ni de aquel fuego tocada,
not even touched by that fire,
que a las otros tocará.
That will touch others.
Rey a quien reyes adoran
Rey a quien reyes adoran King, whom Kings adore,
señal es qu' es el qu' es, only he that always is,
Trino y uno, y uno y tres. Three in one and one in three.
Y en aquesto s'eche el sello, The one and only,
qu' este's el que siempre es, He that always is,
qu' este's el que a sido y es, He that is always there,
Trino y uno, y uno y tres. Three in one and one in three.
Music of England
William Byrd (1539–1623) From Virgin’s womb
Lullaby, my sweet little baby
Anon. (16th century): The Coventry Carol
John Francis Wade (1711–1786): Adestes fideles
William Byrd was an English composer and one of the great masters of European Renaissance music and, although a staunch Roman Catholic, contributed to the canon of Anglican Church music. He wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard, and consort music. ‘From Virgin’s womb’ was published in Songs of Sundrie Natures (1589) and was set by Byrd in a traditional form. The beautiful ‘Lullaby…’ was published in Psalmes, sonets, & songs of sadness and pietie (1588). ‘The Coventry Carol’ dates from the 16th Century. The carol was performed in Coventry as part of a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The only manuscript of the text to survive into modern times was burnt in 1875 and different versions of the words exist. The music to ‘Adeste Fideles’ was attributed to many composers, including Handel, and the text to various individuals including St Bonaventura and the 13th Century King John IV of Portugal. However, it was first published with text and music by Wade in his Cantus Diversi (1751) and again in Evening Offices of the Church (1760).
Lullaby, my sweet little baby
My sweet little Baby, what meanest Thou to cry?
Be still, my blessed Babe, though cause Thou hast to mourn,
Whose blood most innocent to shed the cruel king has sworn;
And lo, alas! behold what slaughter he doth make,
Shedding the blood of infants all, sweet Saviour, for Thy sake.
A King, a King is born, they say, which King this king would kill.
O woe and woeful heavy day when wretches have their will!
Lulla, la-lulla, lulla, lullaby.
From Virgin's womb this day did spring
From Virgin's womb this day did spring
The precious seed that only saved man,
This day let man rejoice and sweetly sing
Since on this day [our Saviour]2 first began,
This day did Christ man's soul from death remove
With glorious saints to dwell in heaven above.
Rejoice, rejoice, with heart and voice,
In Christ his birth this day rejoice.
This day to man came pledge of perfect peace,
This day to man came love and unity,
This day man's grief began for to surcease,
This day did man receive a remedy
For each offence and every deadly sin
With guilty heart that erst he wandered in.
In Christ his flock let love be surely placed,
From Christ his flock let concord hate expel,
Of Christ his flock let love be so embraced,
As we in Christ, and Christ in us, may dwell.
Christ is the author of sweet unity,
From whence proceedeth all felicity.
O sing unto this glittering glorious king,
O praise his name let every living thing,
Let heart and voice like bells of silver ring
The comfort that this day to man doth bring,
Let Lute, let Shalm, with sound of sweet delight
These joys of Christ his birth this day recite.
The Coventry Carol
Lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.
Lullay, Thou little tiny Child.
By, by, lully, lullay.
O sisters, too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day;
This poor Youngling for whom we sing,
By, by, lully, lullay.
Herod the King, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day;
His men of might, in his own sight,
All children young, to slay.
Then woe is me, poor Child, for Thee,
And ever mourn and say;
For Thy parting, nor say nor sing,
By, by, lully, lullay.
Adestes Fideles
Adeste Fideles
Laeti triumphantes
Venite, venite in Bethlehem
Natum videte
Regem angelorum
Venite adoremus…
Dominum.
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem,
Come and behold him, born the king of angels:
O come let us adore him…
Christ the lord!
God of God, Light of light
Lo, he abhors not the virgins womb
Very God, begotten, not created
Sing choirs of angels, sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of Heaven above
Music of France
Francisco Corbetta
(1615–1681) Caprice de Chaconne
Traditional Çà, bergers, assemblons-nous
Il est né, le divin Enfant
This instrumental piece by Corbetta are taken from La guitarre royalle dedieé au Roy de La Grande Bretagne (Paris, 1671). Corbetta was the one of the most celebrated and influential guitarists of his time. He travelled widely and was court guitarist to Louis XIV of France and Charles II of England. To appreciate the esteem in which he was held we can refer to the following passage, taken from the 1681 Mercure Galant [journal of the royal court at Versailles]:
During the same period we have lost a man, who by the marvels of his guitar has filled the whole of Europe with his reputation. This is M. Francis Corbet… our great Monarch [Louis XIV] honoured him with his esteem and liberality...
The 16th century carol, ‘Ça, Bergers, assemblons nous’, is reported to have been sung aboard the ship of Jacques Cartier's, the French explorer of Cananda, on Christmas Day in 1535.‘Il est né, le divin Enfant’, originating from Provence, is one of the most beloved chants de Noël in France.
The music is from the 17th century.
Çà, bergers, assemblons-nous
Çà, bergers, assemblons-nous, Here, shepherds, let us gather,
Allons voir le Messie; Let's go see the Messiah;
Cherchons cet Enfant si doux, Let's search for this Child so sweet,
Dans les bras de Marie. In Marie's arms.
Je l'entends, il nous appelle tous, I hear Him, He is calling all of us,
Ô sort digne d'envie Oh enviable fate!
Laissons là tout le troupeau, Let us leave there all the herd
Qu'il erre à l'aventure, May it wander to adventure,
Que sans nous, sur ce côteau, Without us, on this hill,
Il cherche sa pâture. May it seek its pasture.
Allons voir dans un petit berceau Let's go see in a little cradle
L'auteur de la nature. The creator of nature
Que l'hiver par ses frimas May winter by its cold weather
Ait endurci la plaine, weather Have hardened the plain,
S'il croit arrêter nos pas, If it believes it will stop our steps
Cette espérance est vaine. This hope is in vain.
Quand on cherche un Dieu rempli d'appas, When one seeks a God full of charms,
On ne craint point la peine. One does not fear pain.
Dieu naissant, exauce-nous, Nascent God, answer our prayer,
Dissipe nos alarmes ; Dispel our alarm;
Nous tombons à tes genoux We fall at your feet
Nous les baignons de larmes ; We bathe them in tears;
Hâte-toi de nous donner à tous Make haste to give all of us
La paix et tous ses charmes. and all its charms.
Il est né le divin enfant
Il est né le divin enfant, He is born the divine child,
Jouez hautbois, résonnez musette. Play oboe, sound musette.
Il est né le divin enfant, He is born the divine child,
Chantons tous son avènement. Let's all sing his accession.
Depuis plus de quatre mille ans For more than four thousand years
Nous le promettaient les prophètes, We've promised by the prophets,
Depuis plus de quatre mille ans For more than four thousand years
Nous attendions cet heureux temps. We've been waiting for this happy time.
Une étable est son logement, A stable is his lodging,
Un peu de paille est sa couchette, A bit of hay is his little bed,
Une étable est son logement, A stable is his lodging,
Pour un dieu quel abaissement. For a god such a humble thing.
O Jésus, ô roi tout puissant, O Jesus, o all powerful king,
Tout petit enfant que vous êtes, Such a little child you are,
O Jésus, ô roi tout puissant, O Jesus, o all powerful god,
Régnez sur nous entièrement. Rule completely over us.
Music of Ireland
Traditional The Wexford Carol
The darkest midnight
Ruairí Dall Ó Catháin Tabhair dom do lámh
(fl. early 17th century)
Aodh Mac Aingil
(1571–1626) Dia do Bheatha
The ‘Wexford Carol’ is a traditional religious Irish Christmas carol originating from County Wexford, and specifically, Enniscorthy (whence its name), and dating to the 12th century, making it one of the oldest extant Christmas carols in the European tradition. ‘The darkest midnight…’ is set to a traditional Irish air with text by the priest Willaim Deveraux (1669–1771) and first published in 1728. ‘Tabhair dom do lámh’ was composed by the harper Ruairí dall Ó Catháin who spent most of his life in Scotland and who is reputed to have attended the Scottish Court of King James in 1602. Tabhair dom do lámh (‘give me your hand’) was written as proof of his reconciliation with Lady Eglinton in 1603. The O Catháin Clan were participants in the events before and after the Flight of the Earls in 1607The lament, Caoineadh Uí Neill, mourns the loss of the great Ulster Chieftain, Hugh O’Neill. The beautiful nativity poem, Dia do Bheatha a Naoi Anocht, was composed by Aodh Mac Aingil (Hugh of the Angels). Simple and direct in style, it was set by Seán Ó Casaide to an old Irish air in the Petrie collection. Mac Aingil who was born at Saul, Co Down in 1571, tutored Hugh O’Neill’s children, and was subsequently sent by O’Neill to Spain to seek assistanceHe was appointed Archbishop of Armagh and primate of all Ireland by Pope Urban the III in 1626, but died before he could travel to take up the office.
The Wexford Carol
Good people all, this Christmas time,
Consider well and bear in mind
What our good God for us has done,
In sending His belovèd Son.
With Mary holy we should pray
To God with love this Christmas Day;
In Bethlehem upon the morn
There was a blest Messiah born.
The night before that happy tide
The noble virgin and her guide
Were long time seeking up and down
To find a lodging in the town.
But mark how all things came to pass:
From every door repelled, alas!
As long foretold, their refuge all
Was but a humble oxen stall.
Near Bethlehem did shepherds keep
Their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep;
To whom God’s angels did appear
Which put the shepherds in great fear.
“Prepare and go”, the angels said,
“To Bethlehem, be not afraid;
For there you’ll find, this happy morn,
A princely Babe, sweet Jesus born.”
With thankful heart and joyful mind,
The shepherds went the babe to find,
And as God’s angel has foretold,
They did our Savior Christ behold.
Within a manger He was laid,
And by His side the virgin maid
Attending to the Lord of Life,
Who came on earth to end all strife.
The Darkest Midnight
The darkest midnight in December, no snow nor hail nor winter storm
Shall hinder us for to remember,the babe that on this night was born
With shepherds we are come to see this lovely infant's glorious charms
Born of a maid as the prophets said the God of love in Mary's arms.
Have you not heard the sacred story, how man was made those seats to fill
Which the fallen angels lost in glory, through their presumption, pride, and will
They thought us mean for to obtain such glorious seats and crowns in heaven
So through a cheat they go Eve to eat the fruit to be avenged on man.
Ye blessed angels join our voices, let your guilded wings beat fluttering o'er
While every soul set free rejoices and every devil must adore
We'll sing and pray that God always may our friends and family defend
God grant us grace in all our days, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Dia do bheatha
Dia do bheatha ‘Naí anocht, Welcome infant child tonight,
Do ghabh i d’ Dhiagacht daonnacht, Born in godly humanity,
Dár saoradh, a Chnú chroí, Saving us, beloved of my heart,
A bhrú mhaoth-ghlan Maighdine. In your pure compassionate bosom.
Íseal ann do bhí ár bhFlaith Gentle and simple our heaven
I gcró cumhang an asail; In an ass’s stable;
Fáilte roimh a theacht dá thoil, Welcome for his willing coming,
Nuair a d’fhág sé neamh um Nollaig. Leaving heaven at Christmas. time.
Links
For further information on availability or artist fees, or to discuss a booking please contact the Performance Programmes Manager by emailing performance@musicnetwork.ie or telephone: 01 6719429.
