TOWIEme che odo?

[Despina dello Stagno]

A Modest Proposal

Has anyone else noticed the serendipitous equivalence of Essex and Italian demotic argots? I should like to propose, as a small step in the dragging of the madrigalists into the twenty-first century, a substitution in all published lyrics of "O.M.G." for "Ohime" Thus (from Monteverdi's "Orfeo":

"A te ne vengo Orfeo, messagiera infelice, Di caso piu infelice e piu finesto La tua bella Euridice."
"O.M.G. che odo?"
"La tua diletta sposa e morte."
"O.M.G."

("To you I come, Orfeo, unhappy messenger, with tidings more unhappy and more baleful. Your fair Euridice...."
"Ohime, what do I hear"
"Your beloved spouse is dead",
"I'm like: "O.M.G.!!!!!""

This substitution would be most helpful in the aforesaid Monteverdi's works (esp. Book VII I.I.R.C.), but could be applied universally as part of the crusade to make this music more relevant.
But "Aha," I hear you say. "Ohime is always, and necessarily, set as a declining phrase".
Were the penultimate note to be transposed down an octave, one would then have achieved a setting incorporating upspeak.

Simples.

[french frank]

Despinetta, cuor' mio, have you taken early retirement or just come back from a very long holiday abroad?

[Despina dello Stagno]

Ciao, mia cara francese (that's enough woppiness/ E.F. Benson (ed.))

I do hope you haven't heard the rumours of my developing an ungovernable predilection for prison food. I am still on a very long holiday as a broad.

The truth is more prosaic than either of the above. Having fallen off the whirligig of this board (and predecessor), I lost the will to climb back on. However there are a lot of sucking bees on this board, so there lurked I. I hope, now back, to contribute for a while.

The principle reason for my absence is not appropriate for this space. The secondary reason was pressure of time. I have been developing my own web-site of self-edited early music pieces. This is vastly labour intensive, and incompatible with lurking. I promised myself that when I reached a target of 1500 downloadable pieces I would take things a bit easier. I have now so done.
Here is a link (I am rather proud of it, but won't push it unnecessarily) to the full catalogue, via the items of particular interest to residents of BANES (I am transplanted from Winchester). All playback is free, some sheet music costs. http://www.notamos.co.uk/general-bath.shtml

[french frank]

Well, welcome back anyway! Looks like a very interesting resource - though I believe you've made up some of the unlikely names e.g. Elway Bevin - and John Smith.

[Despina dello Stagno]

There is no levity on that site at all, I assure you (with the exception of the name, which is a gruesome pun).
Elway Bevin is an extraordinary life: the link between Tallis (his teacher) and Child (his pupil). Three generations who provided music from the Reformation (well almost) to the reign of William III (Child outlived Purcell, H.). Almost eliding eras as thorouhly as gazing on the photograph (if real) of Constanze Mozart.