Slane

Musical Work for Solo Cello in Four Movements; Allegra Montanari, Cello Tune; 0:00 Aggressively; 0:50 Leisurely and Pleasant; 3:01 Carefree and Easy; 5:02 Grave; 7:20 The Psalter Hymnal Handbook (1988) describes SLANE as an old Irish folk tune associated with the ballad "With My Love on the Road," found in Patrick W. Joyce's Old Irish Folk Music and Songs (1909). Subsequently, it became a hymn when David Evans set the Irish sacred text "Be Thou My Vision" to an arrangement of the original tune; the arrangement was then published in Church Hymnary (1927). SLANE is named for a hill in County Meath, Ireland, where St. Patrick built an Easter fire in defiance of the pagan king Loegaire in the 5th century. Here, the composer explores the distinctive motivic material from the hymn’s four phrases to create four short movements. Each movement is thus tied to one of the original phrases so that the entire work functions as a variation of the hymn. The work begins with a presentation of the original tune. SLANE is dedicated Allegra Montanari who premiered the work.