The Discoverie of Witchcraft
composer: David Campbell (music ), Ben Jonson (words)
Line-up:
David Campbell: guitars, keyboards, vocals
Ange MacIvor: vocals, saxes, keyboards
Aaron Clark: drums and percussion
Claude Prince: bass
Rick Barkhouse: electric piano solo on part 5
Parts 1-7
Part 1: Convent
Convent is the opening part of "Discoverie of Witchcraft" and is an aggressive rocker. It uses a 12-tone approach and is based on a tone-row that is broken into sub-sets and permutated quite a bit. It is about the gathering of the witches and the lines "Dame Dame, the watch is set" are used to request the leader's presence. The setting is a hill in France and the first batch of the 12 hags await their mistress (Dame).
Part 2: Hags 1
The first of the three hag pieces, it introduces the main themes and the typical lyrical content taken wholly from Ben Jonson's "The Masque of Queens" in a mostly tonal acoustic guitar setting. The musical approach is akin to a nocturne being slightly spooky and meant to evoke an outdoor midnight gathering.
Now that the Dame has arrived, the already gathered witches (Hags) recount what they had been doing prior to their convening (gathering wolves' hairs, killing babies, mutilating animals, peeling flesh of of hanging men and other such delightful past-times). The ambience has crickets, wind and a distant but rapidly approaching storm.
Part 3: Mad Night
Mad Night is the third part of "Discoverie of Witchcraft" and is another aggressive rocker that uses a 12-tone approach. This piece has whispered lines that again, like all the lyrics in Discoverie, are taken from Ben Jonson's "Masque of Queens". Here the next witches are making their way to the convent to report in.
Part 4: Hags 2
Like Hags 1 this is another account of devilish mis-deeds, this time by the witches that have just arrived. The music here is the first variation of the original theme with a similar acoustic nocturn approach. Again the windswept French countryside ambience plays.
Part 5: Invitation to the Dance
So now the last batch of witches arrives and they do a sprightly dance. Originally I had a scherzo-type waltz in mind, but Aaron decided to swing it and this is how it ended up. It is jazzy but still has lots of crunch. Guest Rick Barkhouse turns in a great solo on electric piano.
Part 6: Hags 3
The last witches recount their adventures (torturing animals mostly) and once they are all accounted for, they begin their orgy, hmmm.
Part 7: Cavort
Like the title suggests, the witches cavort and dance and the music is a barely contained frolic in 3/4 which has switched gears, after a long 12 tone goose-egged synth intro, to aggressive and riffy guitar and bass with Ange's synth lead above..
The Discoverie of Witchcraft
Part 1: Convent
Dame dame, the watch is set.
Quickly now we all are met.
From the lakes and from the fens,
from the rocks and from the dens,
from the woods and from the caves,
from the church-yards and the graves,
from the dungeon, from the tree,
that they died on, here are we.
Part 2: Hags 1
I have been gathering wolves' hair,
the mad-dog's foam and the adder's ears.
The spurgings of a dead man's eyes,
and all since the evening star did rise.
I last night lay all alone on,
the ground to hear a man-drake groan
I plucked him up though he grew full low.
And as I had done the cock did crow.
Under the cradle I did creep,
by day and when the child was asleep,
I had a dagger; what did I with that?
Killed the infant to have her fat.
Part 3: Mad Night
The owl is abroad, the bat and the toad,
and so is the cat-a-mountain.
The ant, the mole sit both in a hole,
and frog peeps out of the fountain.
The dogs do bay and timbrels play,
the spindle now is turning.
The moon is red, the stars have fled,
but all the sky is burning.
Part 4: Hags 2
A murderer yonder was hung in chains.
the sun and wind had shrunk his veins.
I bit off a sinew I clipped his hair.
I brought off his rags that danced in the air.
I have been choosing out this skull.
From charnel houses that were full.
I from the jaws of the watcher's bitch,
did snatch these bones and them leaped the ditch.
Part 5: Invitation to the Dance
(art by Socar Myles)
Part 6: Hags 3
The scritch-owl's eggs and the feathers black.
Blood of the frog and the bones in his back.
The worm in the mouth of the dog's remains.
I killed a black cat and here are the brains.
I went to the toad breeds under the wall.
I charmed him out and he came at my call.
I scratched out the eyes of the owl before.
I tore the bat's wings; what would you have more.
Yes I have brought to help our vows,
horned poppy and cypress boughs,
the fog-tree wild that grows on tombs,
and juice that from the larch-tree comes,
basilick's blood and the viper skin.
And now our orgies let's begin.
Part 7: Cavort
screams and noises and the occasional Hoo-Har.
Recorded at Fiction Music and A&R studios from February to August 2009.
