Eldorado | 綠韻周年音樂會2023《念》

Eldorado
綠韻周年音樂會2023《念》
@ 循道衛理會國際禮拜堂
04-11-2023
Conductor: Yeung Long Ting, Ronald
Words by Edgar Allan Poe
Music by Andrej Makor
A dramatic Edgar Allan Poe poem is creatively set here by Slovenian composer Andrej Makor. Colorful harmonic choices and bold dissonances bring the text to life with feelings of adventure, bravery, and seeking something beyond the ordinary.
The poem describes the journey of a "gallant knight" in search of the legendary El Dorado. The knight spends much of his life on this quest. In his old age, he finally meets a "pilgrim shadow" who points the way through "the Valley of Shadow". Like the subject of the poem, Poe was on a quest for success or happiness and, despite spending his life searching for it, he eventually loses his strength and faces death.
Lyrics:
Gaily bedight
A gallant knight
In sunshine and in shadow
Had journeyed long
Singing a song
In search of Eldorado
But he grew old -
This knight so bold -
And o’er his heart a shadow -
Fell as he found
No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado
And, as his strength
Failed him at length
He met a pilgrim shadow -
‘Shadow,’ said he
‘Where can it be -
This land of Eldorado?’
‘Over the Mountains
Of the Moon
Down the Valley of the Shadow
Ride, boldly ride,’
The shade replied,-
‘If you seek for Eldorado!’