"Goblin Market" [Polly Pen]

"Goblin Market" [Polly Pen]

First line of lyrics: All ripe together

Pen, Polly; music (born 1954)

Lotti, Antonio; additional music (Italian, 1667-1740). Brahms, Johannes; additional music (German, 1833-1897). Ives, Charles; additional music (American, 1874-1954)

Rossetti, Christina Georgina; text (English, 1830-1894)

Pen, Polly; additional text (born 1954). Harmon, Peggy; additional text. Baker, Theodore, Dr.; additional text (American, 1851-1934). Gay, John; additional text (English, 1685-1732). Morgenstern, Christian; additional text (German, 1871-1914)

Knight, Max; translation of Christian Morgenstern text (American, born in Austria, died 1993)

Kaye, Annie; piano-vocal score musical preparation. Yurman, Lawrence; musical editor and additional arrangements

1985 [debut performance]

New York: Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

genre: musical theatre|fantasy musical|chamber opera

solo: female voice

instrumentation: piano|violin|cello|percussion

initial sharps/flats: two sharps

initial time signature: 3/4

origin: United States

female composer|male arranger|female arranger|male translator

English

Rossetti poem(s): "Goblin Market"|"Mirage"|"Old and New Year Ditties"|"Song" ("Two doves upon the selfsame branch")

Work contains multiple Christina Rossetti texts

Work contains texts by multiple authors

Notes about the text: The words of Rossetti’s poem “Goblin Market” are both spoken and sung in this piece of musical theatre. In addition to the musical score that Pen adds to much of Rossetti’s text, co-writers Polly Pen and Peggy Harmon also introduce new textual elements which include original dialogue adapted from Rossetti’s poem, lyrics based on other Rossetti poems [“Mirage,” “Old and New Year Ditties,” and “Song” (“Two doves upon the selfsame branch”)], as well as lyrics from other writers including Dr. Theodore Baker, Christian Morgenstern (translated by Max Knight), and John Gay.

Composition history: Commissioned by Douglas Aibel, the artistic director of the Vineyard Theatre, New York.

Performance instructions: Two female voices.

Performance history: Debuted at the Vineyard Theatre, New York in 1985; on 13 April 1986 moved to Circle in the Square, New York.

Recordings: Pen, Polly. Goblin Market: A Musical. Lyrics by Peggy Harman, adapted from the poem by Christina Rossetti, orchestration by James McElwain, performance by original Off-Broadway cast Terry Klausner and Ann Morrison, orchestra conducted by Jan Rosenberg, London, Jay Records, 1986.

Notes: The vocal score includes sections 1.“Come Buy, Come Buy” Lizzie, Laura 1’46”; 2. “Overture” Orchestra 3’23”; 3. “We Must Not Look” Laura, Lizzie 3’18”; 4. “Mouth So Charmful” Lizzie, Laura 3’18” (Music by Antonio Lotti, Lyrics by Dr. Theodore Baker); 5. “Do You Not Remember Jeanie” Laura, Lizzie 1’48”; 6. “Sleep, Laura, Sleep” Lizzie 3’31” (Lyrics by Christian Morgenstern, trans. Max Knight); 7. “The Sisters” Lizzie, Laura 2’22” (Music by Johannes Brahms); 8. “Some There Are Who Never Venture” Laura, Lizzie 3’19” (Lyrics by John Gay, additional lyrics by Polly Pen and Peggy Harmon); 9. “Mirage” Laura 1’41”; 10. “Passing Away” Laura, Lizzie 3’06”; 11. “Here They Come” Laura, Lizzie 4’11”; 12. “Like a Lily” Laura, Lizzie 3’12”; 13. “Lizzie, Lizzie, Have You Tasted” Lizzie, Laura 3’54”; 14. “The Sisters” (Reprise) Lizzie, Laura 2’44” (Music by Johannes Brahms); 15. “Two Doves” Lizzie, Laura 2’39”; 16. “Closing Music” 1’48”

Format 1: vocal score

112 pages

Format 2: libretto

38 pages

In reference to the published works below: Ives DM271

Reference: Ives, Maura. Christina Rossetti: A Descriptive Bibliography. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2011.

Cataloguer: Mary Arseneau, University of Ottawa

Vocal score and libretto: "Goblin Market." DPS Dramatists Play Service, https://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=1892. Accessed 9 July 2018.

This score is copyright protected. A score can be consulted here: "Goblin Market." DPS Dramatists Play Service, https://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=1892. Accessed 9 July 2018.

Record: CRM-goblinmarket-pen

File(s): CRM-goblinmarket-pen-p40.jpg; CRM-goblinmarket-pen-libretto-frontcover.jpg; CRM-goblinmarket-pen-libretto-backcover.jpg

Protected by copyright. For permissions and performing rights, contact Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

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