Ringed with the Azure World (2023)
(Four Madrigals on Bird Texts)

'Ring’d with the Azure World'
Four Madrigals on Birds

I: The Eagle (Tennyson)
II: The Silver Swan (Anonymous)
III: The Nightingale (Anonymous)
IV: The Blue Bird (Mary Coleridge)

‘Ring’d with the Azure World’ is a set of four, short madrigals on texts about birds. I imagined this little set as a companion piece to my other madrigal set, ‘Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal’ (four madrigals on rose texts).

No I: The Eagle In many ways, harmonically this new cycle begins where the previous one ends; however, the subject couldn’t be more different. Here, the world is one of awe-inspired danger, of terror so subtle in movement and image that it lessens all around it. The colours Tennyson uses to paint the eagle and our vision of it are truly epic. Musically, I attempt to bring two worlds together – major and minor harmonies coalesce to paint the bird and its surroundings.

No II: The Silver Swan The Swan is much used as imagery and allegory in literature, music and art. Here, the poet introduces us to its majesty and beauty before finally pulling the rug from under us. My madrigal begins majestically, opening into a full crescendo before giving way to an obligato in the trebles which represents the poetic ‘rug being pulled’.

No III: The Nightingale This, the shortest of the madrigals at only one minute’s duration is perhaps the most telling in terms of birds and their voices. The poet discusses a number of birds and their songs, arriving at which they think has the greatest ‘bell’. I had fun with this one.

No IV: The Blue Bird The final madrigal is the emotional heart of the cycle and brings together, symphonically, material from the other three, especially the ‘Azure chord sequence’ presented in ‘The Eagle’. The poem is one of grandeur and amazement about a bird’s flight and how blue – the colours of the sea, reflected – can be blue in blue as a bird soars across. Musically, I present two types of material – the sea and the sky and, through interplay between these, our own feelings, I hope, at witnessing such a life-affirming sight. The madrigal ends like a ripple in the ocean, echoing into silence… Paul Mealor, 2024