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about
I constructed this song by taking four different traditional folk songs from regions around Southern Cyprus. All four songs were based on the themes of " The Lament of the Mother of God". My goal was to create a single musical arrangement that featured the best lyrical content from the four original songs.
The Moirolóϊ or Lament of the Virgin, very widely known throughout parts of Greece and Cyprus, is a long medieval rhyming poem of literary origin. Influenced by relevant passages in the Gospels and by Church hymnography, it is an anthropocentric narrative lament for the sufferings of Christ on the way to his crucifixion and death, as observed through the eyes and felt by his tragic mother. Chanted by women around Christ's tomb in the manner and style of the mundane dirges they know so well, it expresses their compassion and identification with the maternal, human nature of the Virgin.
While there are local differences in some features of the song or in its melodic treatment, the structure and form of the moirolóϊ as well as its performance bear impressive similarities to those sung in lands as far apart as Lower Italy, Pontos, and Cyprus.
lyrics
A voice from heaven could be heard,
Like great archangels speaking
My Lady we have heard your prayers
Now listen to us closely
The crowd has seized your precious Son
And hauled him to the blacksmith
Then on to Pontius Pilatus’s court
Whence they mocked and beat Him
St. John came to Her door so swift
And knocked upon it gently
Where is my cherished Son, She said?
Your own glorious teacher…
Do you not see that naked man,
On yonder’s cross He hangs
Who wears a garment steeped in blood,
And thorns upon his head?
That man is your beloved Son
And he’s my teacher too.
My lips won’t frame the words dear John,
Tongue-tied I cannot speak,
Nor could my heart contain itself,
If what I see is true
Then to the cross they went with speed
To see their own beloved
A cloud of anguish followed them
And darkened them with sorrow
The Virgin, when she saw her Son,
Fell to the ground and fainted,
SOLO
They fetched some water in a crock;
Hot and heaping over
And with rose oil they bathed her in,
Until they had revived her.
Once her senses were restored,
She spoke with fragile voice
How can I carry on like this
Now that my Son is dead
The Holy Virgin heard a voice
As though her Son were speaking
A radiant dawn from deep with in
Still shrouded by the night
Dear Mother, go back home in peace,
And morn with my disciples
Abide till Holy Saturday,
And on that day await me.
credits
from Pascha Dawn,
released March 18, 2024
Lead Vocals: Graham Sparkman
Backing Vocals: Graham Sparkman
Bass Craig Nelson
Percussion: KV Balakrishnan, Dunnie, Mc João, FP do Trem Bala, Intence, Beth Carvalho, Keita Ogawa
Synthesizers: Graham Sparkman, Edmond Clare, Blair Masters
Hammer Dulcimer: Ethan Gibbs
For twenty years, Graham Sparkman has actively been involved with multiple aspects of the music industry. Although he
primarily works within the scope of audio engineering and music production, Graham has years of experience as a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, arranger and composer.
Graham was born and raised in the small Appalachian town of Hazard, Kentucky....more
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