Yoolis

>Yoolis: A 14th Century Carol Variation (1995) is based on an English carol dating from the late 1300’s. The language and rhyming scheme suggests that the carol probably originated in the North Midlands area of Great Britan, perhaps Norfolk or South Lincolnshire. It is a narrative where the Christ-child asks his mother to sing a story about himself at bedtime, as other mothers do.

What attracted me to this music was the haunting beauty of the melody, and this piece amplifies and heightens the melody. Accordingly, I have retained the melody and narrative throughout, and added an “atmosphere” around the music. This “atmosphere”” consists of melodic echos, reverberations, fragments and overtones, all related to or derived from the original melody, but combined in a new way. As such, the surrounding sound becomes an envelope or container for the melodic line that compliments the original music, as well as creates a contemporary context for hearing.