"Cordelia's Lament" was inspired by the Welsh legend from the Mabinogion in which Gwyn ap Nudd, leader of the wild hunt and lord of the dead (and of the Tylwyth Teg, the Welsh fairies), abducts  Creiddylad.  If you are interested in Welsh legend, you can read the Mabinogion online at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5160 and elsewhere.  

Lyrics:

Captured
Dragged by red-eared hounds the living dread
Beneath the hill
Standing before the huntsman of the dead

 	Take me back to the bright country
	Give me back to the sunlight
	My golden lover will fight you to win me

Warmth has left the land while I'm held captive in your lair.
Cold white sun of darkness won't you free me?
Caress like bone, dark as a crow your hair.

May the first the shining light prevailed.
Six months more, his strength had waned.
An annual duel till time has failed.

	Only then can the champion
	Carry me from my father's lands
	Oh, I'll ever remain a maiden.

Sleep comes—troubled dreams beneath an elder tree.
I see his face:  Black are his eyes,
Dark as the years to be.

Cordelia's Lament

Art created using the online program "Silk."  

DulceMuse--Amber

Art thanks to Silk's online program.  That's a cornamuse, BTW.  And not a "corn amuse" as auto-correct would have it.   

DulceMuse--Chatoyance

DulceMuse--Obsidian

The Sword Queen (Sovereignty’s Song)

(The People--refrain)
Listen well, Lady, a battle’s begun:
Towns-folk are gathered to persuade you.
Will you take up your sword?
Shall we stay or run away?
We’re waiting for your answer.
Can you hear them approaching?
Will our land endure this day?

(The Queen)
Well I know the danger we face,
A leader-less land.
If the king were alive, our foes
Would never molest us at home.
But the king has been dead
For seven years;
(His sword returned without him.)
Our sons are too young to fight them.

Oh, I never thought I’d see a day so evil!

Now will our enemies learn
What we are made of:
Go and bring the towns-folk to the hall.
I’m ready to answer to them.

You say our enemy’s here, their army at hand.
Undefended and ruler-less, they don’t know
We still have a chance to beat them.
Though the king has fallen, still my sword will defend you.
(Go now, and bring me my sword.)

Oh, I never thought I’d see a day so evil!

Go tell our kinsmen
While the blood of the kings of old still flows
I tell you
Never surrender!


The Queen of Swords


      Hidden deep, the root endures,
      Through the root we'll be reborn,
      Those destroyed, restored,
      Soon be reborn through the root.
      Those who fell soon will rise once more,
      Await resurrection from the root.
      In the ground, the yew tree awaits resurrection

1.  The yew stood for centuries,
     Till fools hacked it down,
     But then, to their amazement,
     From the root, a new tree had regrown. 

2.  The history books stated
     The old ways were gone,
     Until it was later discovered,
     In the hills, tradition still lives on.

3.  The dictator silenced the folk singer's song,
     So now, pick up your instruments,
     Gather round, we'll sing that freedom song.


The Yew Tree (Resurrection)

Adularia (DulceMuse)

DulceMuse
Featuring Oliver Kersbergen on synth
Katje Janisch kalimba, psaltery, vocals, whistle

1. Blessed

From my new album 'Musette' by DulceMuse.  Visit Bandcamp for more information.

4. Whirligig Reverie

A fairy falls in love with a mortal man, but their relationship follows the usual course.  

The Hunter and the Fairy

Visit http://www.katjejanisch.bandcamp.com.