The Strings He Framed of her Yellow Hair

Daniel Nolan
The Strings He Framed of her Yellow Hair
For two male voices
Daniel Nolan
This short work combines fragments from two versions of the ballad Two
Sisters as found in Francis Childs collection of English folk ballads. This
particular ballad is fascinating as some many different versions exist across
many different languages and cultures. This quality allows me to explore not
just the narrative content of the ballad but also look at the act of story telling
and how subtle variations in wording can change meaning.

Text

He made a harp of her breast-bone

He set it down upon a stone,
And it began to play its lone.

He made a harp of her breast-bone,

Whose sounds would melt a heart of stone.
The strings he framed of her yellow hair,
Whose notes made sad the listening ear.

He laid this harp upon a stone,

And straight it began to play alone.