Higgins: The Faerie Bride for female voice, male voice, chorus & orchestra Study Score

The Faerie Bride is a cantata for two singers and orchestra inspired by the Welsh myth of the Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach. The Welsh 'lady of the lake' myths are just one of many 'watery wife' tales from northern Europe that include the Mermaids of Ireland, the Kelpie of Scotland, and the Selkie of the Shetlands and Scandinavia. However, in each of those the women are portrayed as either malevolent, has something magical stolen from them, or is captured by a man and kept in human form. The Faerie myths of Wales are unique in that the woman sets very clear conditions under which she agrees to marry the man (they shall not strike her three blows or hit her with clay) the breaking of which would result in her returning to the lake forever. The Welsh myths are empowering, with strong female characters who set their own agenda. There is no coercion, theft, or kidnap but rather misunderstandings and cultural differences. The Faerie Bride is about compromise and respect in relationships, suspicion and fear of the outsider, and the societal pressures to conform in insular communities, something this faerie refuses to do. © Gavin Higgins