The Floors o' the Forest (Jean Elliot)

Описание: The Flowers of the Forest (Jean Elliot)

1. Song title and composer
2. Starting note E♭– E♭ major chord (Mixolydian mode)
3. Hum starting note and tap toe for pulse (this is SLOW)
4. Breathe, get mouth open and ready
5. Sing song through – verse1 (verse2)

Teaching Points

Here’s what you can do to really tell the story of this song and make it special:
1. Go to the accompanist at the piano and tell them your starting note. Hum it at the piano
2. Take the stage with confidence, feet a little way apart, back tall (golden thread) hands by your side
3. Nod at the accompanist for note again, hum it quietly to yourself
4. Tap your toe softly to feel the pulse of song and imagine how the first line goes
5. Breathe in a big circle through your mouth (it relaxes your vocal chords) and at the top of the circle get your mouth ready for the first word
6. This song is used at the most solemn occasions and is about a great tragedy, so make sure that you leave silence before you start singing and have a serious facial expression
7. The song is a lament and is very slow so make sure that you breathe deeply and aim to make each line as seamless as possible with snatch breaths if you need them
8. The opening should be moderately loud so that you can reduce the volume later
9. Sing through the consonants at the end the end of line 2 & 4, milkin and loanin. This should create a humming effect which you should let ring longer than strict time. If you wish to put in the ornament, you should have practised it slowly with h in between each note.
10. Line 3 Noo there’s a moanin should instantly become quieter
11. Take time on the last line and separate Floors o the forest from a wede away. The phrase Floors o’ the forest is full of imagery and refers to dead soldiers. This line has come to be very important at Remembrance Day ceremonies and at funerals
12. Verse 2 should begin quietly and with great sadness. Achieve this musically by extending the ls in lilting and singing as smoothly as possible – this will require good breath support.
13. More h on heartless (can be pronounced hertless) and w on wae.
14. The line sighin and moanin can build in volume a little and should have a sense of aiming towards the note on green loanin; increasing the speed here will give you an opportunity to really pull back on the last line.
15. Leave space in silence before the very last line. This should be very slow and allow the end of the word forest to ring in the air followed by silence. Are a wede away should be slow, quiet and respectful.
16. At the end of the song wait for a moment, acknowledge the judge and then leave the stage with confidence


What this song is about and its background

This song was written about the Battle of Flodden (1513) when King James IV and his army were wiped out by that of Henry VIII (he of “divorced beheaded survived.”). 10,000 Scots died including most of the Scottish nobility. The archers of Ettrick Forest became known as the Floors o the Forest after the Battle of Falkirk Bridge in 1298. It was this company who formed the bodyguard of King James IV at Flodden and their bodies were tragically found surrounding that of their dead king. Every farm and household in lowland Scotland was affected by the slaughter, and this has struck a chord with artists since then. This song features poignantly in the 1932 novel “Sunset Song” in relation to the tragic sacrifices of World War I. Jean Elliott (1727-1805, she knew both Burns and Sir Walter Scott) used the first two lines of an old song she already knew, adding more gravitas to her poem. Pipers have taken up this tune and imbued it with the ancient genre of pibroch to accompany the most solemn of occasions. The Floors o the Forest is used throughout the Commonwealth to commemorate the war dead.

The Flowers of the Forest (The Floors o’ the Forest)

Verse1

I’ve heard them liltin at oor yowe-milkin, [ewe]
Lasses a-liltin before the dawn o day;
But noo they are moanin on ilka green loanin- [every green field]
The Floors of the Forest are a’ wede away. [wilted]
Verse 2

We’ll hear nae mair liltin at our yowe-milkin;
Women and bairnies are hertless and wae;
Sighin and moanin on ilka green loanin-
The Floors o’ the Forest are a’ wede away.