Greensleeves

Greensleeves (English for "green sleeves ", literally " green dress " ) is a traditional English folk song and tune. It is based on the basic musical form of romanesca. The exact addressee of the song is unknown; originally it must have been dedicated to a girl or a woman with a green dress. The subject-matter in dispute, it has the broken love between the narrator and "Lady Greensleeves "; maybe that's why it has such a melancholy, character.

History

A much-cited legend claims to be of King Henry VIII (1491-1547) was composed for his second wife, Anne Boleyn. However, Henry comes as a composer out of the question, because the song is composed in an Italian style, which spread to England until after his death.

They probably circulated as the most popular music of their time, in the form of handwritten pages long before they appeared in print. 1580 was at the London Stationer 's Company under the title A New Northern Dittye of the Lady Greene Sleeves (A new northern song about Lady Greensleeves ) listed. From this pressure is no known copy was preserved. In the surviving A Handful of Pleasant Delights collection ( A handful of enjoyable pleasures ) from 1584 is the piece under the title A New Courtly Sonnet of the Lady Green Sleeves. To the new tune of Green Sleeves contain (A new courtly sonnet about Lady Greensleeves. Among the new tune of Green Sleeves ).

In Shakespeare to 1602 entstandenem stage play The Merry Wives of Windsor is the role of Mistress Ford twice, without explanation, based on the melody of Greensleeves. The most famous quote is also from the above piece, namely Falstaff's reputation:

"Let the sky rain potatoes! Let it thunder to the tune of Greensleeves! "

" If the sky rain potatoes! Is it to the tune of Greensleeves thunder! "

All of these quotes suggest that the song at the time was very well known.

Imitations and variations

Greensleeves has spawned a large number of imitations and variations.

In Ferruccio Busoni's opera Turandot (premiered in 1917), a women's choir sings for the solution of the riddle at the beginning of Act 2, the melody of Greensleeves.

The most vocal interpretations of the piece goes back to the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) and Ralph Greaves. The Italian orchestra conductor Mantovani had such a great success that he named his residence after the title with his recording of the title full of enthusiasm.

• In Vaughan Williams' opera Sir John in Love ( 1935) a fantasy on Greensleeves occurs, the edited Greaves.
• In John Gay and Johann Christoph Pepusch The Beggar's Opera Greensleeves is included in the song Tyburn Tree singing Macheath under the gallows.
• The English Christmas carol What Child is This? by William Chatterton Dix (1837-1865) follows the tune of Greensleeves. Of this there is a version of the Moody Blues and Joan Baez. Under the title Bébé Dieu the song found its way into the French language. By Jochen Rieger there is a German version under the title Who is the child.
• The melody is with another text ( Home in the Meadow ) as a theme in the Cinerama film " The West Was Won " ( How the West was won, 1962) used. Also in the cartoon series Charlie Brown ( A Charlie Brown Christmas ), the TV series Jericho, and under the direction of Miklós Rózsa, Laurie Johnson, John Williams, Ennio Morricone or Peter Thomas, there are recordings of the title with the use in movies.
• Dorco German published in 1965 a Germanized version on his first album. The title of this version was: For when we were both still children.
• Of the Lords there is a published on March 19, 1966 Beta version.
• Vicky Leandros sang the melody in 1966 with a new text entitled Young Love on her first album songs and folklore.
• Jeff Beck published in 1968 an instrumental version on the album Truth.
• John Coltrane took a jazz version of the piece on the album Africa / Brass.
• Leonard Cohen released on his 1974 released album New Skin for the Old Ceremony, a version of the play, entitled Leaving Green Sleeves.
• There is a version of The Band.
• Marianne Faithfull released her version in 1964 on the B - side of their debut single, As Tears Go By.
• George Martin used the melody in 1967 framed by him last part of the Beatles single All You Need Is Love.
• A punk rock version appeared on the 1982 album Slime Yankees raus!
• Loreena McKennitt released in 1991 on her album The Visit a version of Greensleeves.
• Roy Black sang the song on the album In the Land of the songs of 1970.
• Freddy Quinn sang the piece in German with the title Time Goodbye on the album Everywhere it's nice of 1973.
• Hildegard Knef and Bernd Stelter paraphrased the song with their own text.
• There is a hard rock version of the band Rainbow. Years later, Ritchie Blackmore took this song in the repertoire of its still existing band Blackmore 's Night.
• Richard Anthony sang in 1962 under the title " Loin " ( far away) a French version.
• From Ritchie Blackmore, there is a rock song with your own text on the first album of Rainbow in 1975 with the song 16th century greensleeves.
• 2010 composed Sergio Drabkin, arranger of the Rastrelli Cello Quartet, Variations on the Theme of Greensleeves Joel Blido, cello, and Louise Engel, cello. The variations are decorated in different styles (classical, jazz, rock, etc.)

Text

The traditional verse of Greensleeves deal with the wailing of a lover. There are many variations of text that often differ only by the syllable density. The first printed version begins:

The fact that in the original English version instead of the letter v, the letter u is, is not an error but is that the English alphabet Tudor had only 24 letters and the sounds were u and v are both written as u ( analog was true for i and j).

Another well-known German version of the text comes from the playwright Peter Hacks.