Dear Jon, I'm afraid you cannot have your cake and eat it. You say that songs such as the Willow Song lack validity. I take this to mean that one cannot be absolutely sure that the Willow Song as copied in Lbl Add 15117 is the same melody and/or accompaniment that was sung on stage for the earliest performances of _Othello_. We know that the words sung by Desdemona are not quite the same as those in Lbl Add 15117, but was the music the same?
That setting of the Willow Song is one of the earliest we have. It is contemporary with Shakespeare (copied some time between the first performance of _Othello_ in 1604 and the first print in 1622), and is the most likely candidate. It's the nearest we can get. Caution is an admirable quality when studying things in the past, yet it is unreasonable to dismiss the Willow Song under the guise of caution one minute, and then, without any historical justification, propose something totally different: "a simple melody to fit the song, and if it was accompanied it would have been with simple chords (as the Greek poets were accompanied by a bit of a "strum") so as not to diminish the sound of the words." That is mere conjecture. I also disagree with your implication that a lute (unless it is uncharacteristically strummed) is inappropriate for the stage. Having played the lute (unamplified and not strummed) on stage for the RSC in Stratford, I can confirm that it is neither inappropriate nor inaudible. Evidence for lutes being played on the stage at Shakespeare's time is not hard to find. For example, the First Quarto of _Hamlet_ (1603) gives: "Enter Ophelia playing on a lute". -o-O-o- The Willow Song has been discussed on this List before, and the messages may be accessed via the Lute List archives at Dartmouth College: On 28th September 2000 Doc Rossi asked for words and music, and was assisted by Rainer aus dem Spring. On 20th November 2001 Peter Martin said he wanted a copy of the words, because he couldn't decipher the facsimile of Lbl Add 15117 reproduced in Peter Warlock's _'The English Ayre_ (1926). The following day he posted the facsimile on his web-site ( http://www.silvius.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/willow.jpg), but it would appear that the facsimile is now no longer there. All the words of the song in modern English and a transcript of the version in Lbl Add 15117 were provided by me on 20th November 2001. The following day I provided the words as sung by Desdemona in _Othello_, Act 4, Scene 3, line 41 onwards. Best wishes, Stewart McCoy. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jon Murphy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "richard BROOK" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 4:26 AM Subject: Re: willow song > With all due respect to the members of this list who have offered sources > for Shakespearean songs I have my doubts as their validity. Much of our > knowledge of Shakespeare's text comes from later folios. My guess is that > the actor (remember, no women on stage at the time, who played Ophelia found > a simple melody to fit the song, and if it was accompanied it would have > been with simple chords (as the Greek poets were accompanied by a bit of a > "strum") so as not to diminish the sound of the words. Remember, they had no > microphones in those days, the actor had to carry the house, and the words > were the play. > > Best, Jon > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "richard BROOK" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2003 6:10 AM > Subject: willow song > > > > I am interested in locating a version of the 'Willow Song' from (I > > believe) Othello, that has the verses and lute tablature. Any help would > > be appreciated. > > > > Dick Brook [EMAIL PROTECTED]
