Project Mauve started life as a conversation over cheese scones at Birmingham New Street railway station. The aim was to bring music, art and poetry together. From this, Ruth Carlyle and Nic Carlyle commissioned David Barton to set Edgar Allan Poe’s Annabel Lee, followed by Ruth’s poem The Reply of Annabel Lee. In each instance, the songs have been recorded by Ruth Carlyle and David Barton, with illustrations by Nic Carlyle. Commissions for settings of Ruth’s Now Breathe and Anne Brontë’s Night followed. Two previously unpublished settings of poems by Robert Browning, Meeting at Night and My Star, complete the collection.

Annabel Lee Replies

'By Woodland Ways' is a song cycle for voice and piano by Ruth Carlyle (words) and David Barton (music). It is performed in this recording by Ruth Carlyle (voice) and David Barton (piano).

The song cycle describes a journey into and out of a forest, escaping enchantment to travel beyond. The last song, 'Wayfarers' Blessing', takes the form of a Celtic blessing. The original inspiration for the words was a painting by Nic Carlyle, Ruth's husband, of an imaginary landscape with woodland.

By Woodland Ways

Nic and Ruth Carlyle commissioned these song settings of poems by L.M. Montgomery as a tribute to Montgomery, marking the 150th anniversary of her birth. We were delighted to have the songs included by the L.M. Montgomery Institute of Prince Edward Island, Canada, into the #Maud150 celebrations.

L.M. Montgomery, or Lucy Maud Montgomery in full, was a Canadian writer. She is best known for the Anne of Green Gables series of novels, but also wrote short stories and published over 500 poems. The poems set to music here were all selected by Montgomery to be included in her 1916 poetry collection The Watchman and Other Poems. The poems are all quite lyrical and much of the language reflects her love of 19th century British poetry. The poems also present whimsical and colourful images of the natural world that will be familiar to readers of Montgomery’s novels.

The song settings are all for voice and piano and recorded by Ruth Carlyle (voice) and David Barton (piano). The first two song settings in the set are by David Barton, ‘The Old Home Calls’ and ‘Come, Rest Awhile’. These are followed by settings by Tim Knight of ‘In An Old Town Garden’ and ‘A Request’.

The title poem for the collection was closely associated with Montgomery in her lifetime. In announcing the death of the author in 1942, the Saturday Review quoted the closing verse of ‘The Old Home Calls’ and described the poem as evoking ‘the spirit of her work’.

Montgomery was proud of her Scottish heritage and this is reflected instinctively by the composers in the lilt of the settings.

The Old Home Calls: song settings of poems by L.M. Montgomery

Ruth Carlyle's setting of the traditional Irish song 'She moved through the fair' uses soundscape recordings to present the scenes in each verse of the song: the countryside, a fair and a home at night. These soundscapes frame Ruth's vocal line for the song.

The painting of the swan within the cover image is by Ruth's husband, Nic Carlyle. The photography and cover design is by Albion Visual.

She moved through the fair (soundscape mix) - Traditional

Charles Villiers Stanford set one of the poems by the nineteenth century American writer Eugene Field for this song 'A Japanese Lullaby'. Unlike his more famous 'The Blue Bird', this is a song for solo voice and piano. It is a very pretty setting of the words, sung here by Ruth Carlyle with the pianist David Barton (recorded separately due to social distancing requirements). The illustration is by Nic Carlyle.

A Japanese Lullaby - Charles Villiers Stanford, 1918

Amy Beach (then Amy Marcy Cheney) was just 13 when she composed this setting of Longfellow’s poem ‘The Rainy Day’. It was her first published song when it was released in 1883.

The early song shows strong Beethoven influences, but also the beginnings of her own musical style. Like many teenagers, she may have found rainy days depressing and tried to take a philosophical approach to them.

This recording was made by Ruth Carlyle (voice) and David Barton (piano)

The Rainy Day - Amy Beach, 1880

William Walton composed this setting of ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’ for the 1936 film of Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’ directed by Paul Czinner. It starred Laurence Olivier as Orlando and Elizabeth Bergner as Rosalind. It was the first Shakespearean role that Olivier played on screen. William Walton was to go on to be a long-term musical collaborator with Olivier, scoring ‘Henry V’, ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Richard III’.

‘Under the Greenwood Tree’ is sung by Ruth Carlyle with the piano part by David Barton. The illustration is by Nic Carlyle, based on a hot summer day in Richmond Park, London.

Under The Greenwood Tree - William Walton, 1936

A lyrical lullaby, based on a traditional Scots song and arranged by Alan Bullard. Sung here by Ruth Carlyle. Illustration by Nic Carlyle.

Scots Nativity - Alan Bullard 2002

A Christmas song sung by multiple generations and beloved by school choirs. Thomas F Dunhill’s ‘How soft upon the evening air’ sets words by Irene Gass. It is sung here by Ruth Carlyle with the piano part played by David Barton. The illustration is by Nic Carlyle.

How Soft Upon The Evening Air - Thomas F Dunhill, 1942

These 15th century anonymous words are set by Toby Young in a setting that fuses medieval and contemporary sounds. It was composed in 2021 and published in Oxford Solo Songs Christmas by Oxford University Press, 2021.

A Babe Is Born - Toby Young, 2021

James H Rogers’ lyrical setting of Katharine Pyle’s ‘Cloud-Shadows’ suggests the romance of a sunny afternoon looking up at the clouds, imagining where they might go and yearning to travel with them. Katharine Pyle was an artist and children’s writer, best known for ‘The Counterpane Fairy’. The wistful setting is sung here by Ruth Carlyle.

‘ I wish I could ride on the shadows of clouds
That drift across the hill;
Over the meadow and out of sight
They sweep so smooth and still.
Over the daisy field they passed,
And not a daisy stirred;
They moved like chariots grand and slow,
But never a sound was heard.

I wish I could ride on the shadows of clouds,
Could ride til the journey done,
I’d find myself at the end of the world,
Where the earth and the sky are one.’

Cloud-Shadows - James H Rogers, 1912

Walter de la Mare’s comic poem for children, ‘Five Eyes’, was given a jazzy and lively musical setting by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs in 1922. Three cats (one of whom has one eye) scurry through an old mill, tracking down the rats. It is a fun encore or a song for children.

The song is performed here by Ruth Carlyle (voice) and David Barton (piano).

Lyrics:
In Hans' old Mill his three black cats
Watch the bins for the thieving rats.
Whisker and claw, they crouch in the night,
Their five eyes smouldering green and bright:
Squeaks from the flour sacks, squeaks from where
The cold wind stirs on the empty stair,
Squeaking and scampering, everywhere.
Then down they pounce, now in, now out,
At whisking tail, and sniffing snout;
While lean old Hans he snores away
Till peep of light at break of day;
Then up he climbs to his creaking mill,
Out come his cats all grey with meal - 
Jekkel, and Jessup, and one-eyed Jill.

Five Eyes - Cecil Armstrong Gibbs, 1922

Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem ‘The Owl’ was set to music by Richard Rodney Bennett as part of his jazzy collection aimed predominantly at children,’The Aviary’.

It is performed here by Ruth Carlyle (voice) and David Barton (piano).

Lyrics:
When cats run home and light is come,
And dew is cold upon the ground,
And the far-off stream is dumb,
And the whirring sail goes round,
And the whirring sail goes round;
Alone and warming his five wits,
The white owl in the belfry sits.

When merry milkmaids click the latch,
And rarely smells the new-mown hay,
And the cock hath sung beneath the thatch
Twice or thrice his roundelay,
Twice or thrice his roundelay;
Alone and warming his five wits,
The white owl in the belfry sits.

The Owl - Richard Rodney Bennett, 1966

Alec Rowley composed several settings of poems from Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘A child’s garden of verses’. The most famous of these is ‘From a railway carriage’. The setting captures the speed of travel and the glimpsed scenes along the way. It is sung here by Ruth Carlyle.

From A Railway Carriage - Alec Rowley (1892-1958)

'To Lose or Find Yourself' is the first song on a cycle by Ruth Carlyle and David Barton.  The inspiration for Ruth's words was a painting by her husband, Nic Carlyle, of an imaginary landscape with woodland.

In the first song, panpipes lure the traveller into the woods.

To Lose or Find Yourself 
By Eleanor Ruth Carlyle © 2021

A breath is sighing through uneven reeds.
So small, so still and yet it thrills the heart
To hear its overture to some new song;
The soft notes laughing on a string of light.

A track is drawing all to a new path.
So bold, so bare, the cloven hoof prints lead
Like feet of some goat-footed deity,
Enticing all to follow in his wake.

A note is fluting from the forest glade.
So clear, so chaste, its summons rings out true.
Come stay awhile in our deep forest space,
To lose or find yourself in this new place.

To Lose Or Find Yourself

'Circling the Light' is the second song in the song cycle 'By Woodland Ways' by Ruth Carlyle and David Barton.  The inspiration for Ruth's words was a painting by her husband, Nic Carlyle, of an imaginary landscape with woodlands.

The second song takes place within a forest, with figures dancing around a fire through from dusk to dark to dawn. The words and music reflect American folk traditions and playground rhymes.

Circling the light
By Eleanor Ruth Carlyle © 2021

In the dusk was the song
	That will never slacken,
	Pressing soft-curled bracken
With dancers’ feet so strong.

Day follows night,
Night follows day;
We circle light
Through come what may.

In the dark was the song:
	A fire-weaving light net
	Under star-pinned velvet,
Binding the woodland throng.

Day follows night,
Night follows day;
We circle light
Through come what may.

In the dawn was the song,
	A lullaby to night;
	Turning all to day light
And spinning joys along.

Day follows night,
Night follows day;
We circle light
Through come what may.

Circling the Light

'Dryad's Song' is the third song in the song cycle 'By Woodland Ways' by Ruth Carlyle and David Barton. The inspiration for Ruth's words for the cycle was a painting by her husband, Nic Carlyle, of an imaginary landscape with woodlands.

Dryads are tree nymphs and in some folklore they may appear as trees that come to life as women. In this third song in the cycle, the dryad tells the story of how she engaged the traveller in a magical dance through the seasons before releasing him.

Dryad’s Song
By Eleanor Ruth Carlyle © 2021

I bloomed for you in May,
Opening my colours
In patterns bright and gay.

I sang for you in June,
Enticing winds and birds
To harmonise my tune.

Then, in July, we danced.
Remember, love, our moves
And the risks we chanced.

Don’t turn from me, a stranger,
You felt the magic call us:
From root to foot,
From branch to arm.
From trees to the three dancers;
And you chose to dance with me.

Stay until October,
When our love bears sweet fruit
From joys you remember.

Then pass on your journey
Unbound by roots, but come
Again in May, for me.

Dryad's Song

'Wayfarers' Blessing' the last of the four songs in the song cycle 'By Woodland Ways' by Ruth Carlyle and David Barton. The inspiration for Ruth's words for the song cycle was a painting by her husband, Nic Carlyle, of an imaginary landscape with woodland.

In this last song, the traveller, after travelling through the woodlands, leaves to continue a journey into an unknown landscape. The words are a blessing for all who are travelling through life and can be used as a worship song, as it draws on the tradition of Celtic blessings.

Wayfarers’ Blessing
By Eleanor Ruth Carlyle © 2021

May your staff hold you steady as you walk the road.
May you carry what you need, not a heavy load.
May others hear your call when you are in distress.
May you rise to every challenge and still progress.

Tread lightly on this planet for the good of all.
Share beauty and the harvest, whether large or small.

May your light so shine that others will walk with you
And may love’s joy surround you, all your journey through.

Wayfarers' Blessing

This new arrangement by David Barton of 'I dreamt that I dwelt in marble halls' was commissioned by Ruth and Nic Carlyle. It is a song that Ruth has always loved and for which she wanted to have an arrangement designed for voice and piano, rather than transcribed from an arrangement for voice and orchestra.

The song was originally composed by Michael William Balfe for his 1843 operetta 'The Bohemian Girl', setting words by Alfred Bunn. The character who sang the song in the operetta is Arline, who has been brought up by gypsies and is recalling the remote memories of a privileged childhood.

I Dreamt That I Dwelt In Marble Halls - arr. David Barton, 2023

John Rutter and David Grant collaborated to create a musical entertainment based on Kenneth Grahame's beloved book 'The Wind in the Willows'. As part of the Finale a (possibly) repentant Toad looks lovingly around the home that he only recovered due to the help of his friends.

In this recording, David Barton plays the piano with the singing voice of Ruth Carlyle and the speaking voice of Nic Carlyle at the close. The illustration for the song is a picture of a box that Nic Carlyle painted with scenes from 'The Wind in the Willows'. We hope you will agree that 'Home is a special kind of feeling'.

Home is a special kind of feeling - John Rutter, 1986

Ruth Carlyle recorded John Rutter's 'A flower remembered' on hearing of his knighthood on 15 June 2024. The words and music for this piece were both composed by Sir John Rutter, in memory of the victims of the Tohoku area earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. This solo version was published by Oxford University Press in 2021 in the volume 'Oxford Solo Songs Secular'.

The words and music are lyrical and reflective:

'A flower remembered can never wither:
Forever blooming as bright as day,
Its fragrance lingering like music softly playing,
A gentle voice that's saying, 
"I'll never fade away."
I hear the echoes of many voices;
Sometimes they're distant, sometimes so clear;
Through all the sounds of life they seem to whisper,
"Will you remember, will you remember, will you remember?"

'The birds fly homeward across my valley
Toward the mountains all white with snow;
The birds are gone now, the mountain snows have melted,
But still I see their beauty, their scenes of long ago.
The birds still fly to other valleys;
The snows have turned to flowing streams;
All things must pass, but memories are lasting:
We will remember, we will remember, we will remember.'

A Flower Remembered - John Rutter, 2014

Readers of the novels of L.M. Montgomery will recognise the importance of home in Montgomery’s novels. In Anne of Avonlea, Anne Shirley comments on the old Boulter family property: ‘”I think that an old, deserted house is such a sad sight,” said Anne dreamily. “It always seems to be thinking about its past and mourning for its old-time joys.”’
In the poem ‘The Old Home Calls’, Montgomery gives the yearning voice to the house itself. She chose to include the poem in her 1916 collection of poetry The Watchman and Other Poems, which is dedicated to Canadian soldiers lost or wounded in the First World War. This adds a poignancy to the close of the poem.
Nic and Ruth Carlyle commissioned David Barton to compose this song setting of ‘The Old Home Calls’. It was recorded by Ruth Carlyle (voice) and David Barton (piano) at the Summerfield Recording Studio. The paintings are by Nic Carlyle and the album cover design is by Clementine Barton.


The Old Home Calls
By L.M. Montgomery

Come back to me, little dancing feet that roam the wide world o’er,
I long for the lilt of your flying steps in my silent rooms once more;
Come back to me, little voices gay with laughter and with song,
Come back, little hearts beating high with hopes, I have missed and mourned you long.

My roses bloom in my garden walks all sweet and wet with the dew,
My lights shine down on the long hill road the waning twilights through,
The swallows flutter about my eaves as in the years of old,
And close about me their steadfast arms the lisping pine trees fold.

But I am weary for you at morn and eve, O, children of my love,
Come back to me from your pilgrim ways, from the seas and plains ye rove,
Come over the meadows and up the lane to my door set open wide,
And sit ye down where the red light shines from my welcoming fireside.

I keep for you all your childhood dreams, your gladness and delights,
The joy of days in the sun and rain, the sleeps of carefree nights,
All the sweet faiths ye have lost and sought again shall be your own,
Darlings, come to my empty heart – I am old and still and alone!

The Old Home Calls - L.M. Montgomery and David Barton, 2024

The Canadian writer L.M. Montgomery is best known for her novels, particularly the Anne of Green Gables series. Her poems are less well known. The language and style of ‘Come, Rest Awhile’ reflects her love of British authors, particularly Shakespeare, Browning and Scott.

There is also a universal message within the poem of the need to slow down and rest in the moment.

This setting by David Barton was commissioned by Nic and Ruth Carlyle as part of a tribute to Montgomery on the 150th anniversary of her birth. It was recorded by Ruth Carlyle (voice) and David Barton (piano) at the Summerfield Recording Studio. The paintings are by Nic Carlyle and the album cover design is by Clementine Barton.

Come, rest awhile
By L.M. Montgomery

Come, rest awhile and let us idly stray
In glimmering valleys, cool and far away.

Come from the greedy mart, the troubled street,
And listen to the music, faint and sweet,

That echoes ever to a listening ear,
Unheard by those who will not pause to hear – 

The wayward chimes of memory’s pensive bells,
Wind-blown o’er misty hills and curtained dells.

One step aside and dewy buds unclose
The sweetness of the violet and the rose;

Song and romance still linger in the green,
Emblossomed ways by you so seldom seen,

And near at hand, would you but see them, lie
All lovely things beloved in days gone by.

You have forgotten what it is to smile
In your too busy life – come, rest awhile.

Come Rest Awhile - L.M. Montgomery and David Barton, 2024

Gardens are important spaces in the novels of L.M. Montgomery. When she is away from home at college, Emily Byrd Starr finds solace in a garden and Hester Gray’s garden is the space in which Anne Shirley accepts a (second) proposal of marriage from Gilbert Blythe. Gardens in towns are particular places of solace, away from the noise and bustle of the street.

Montgomery’s poem ‘In An Old Town Garden’ reflects this focus on gardens as spaces. The poem covers a range of moods, contrasting the ‘shaded, troubled streets’ with ‘this garden blossom-blest’.

This setting by Tim Knight was commissioned by Ruth and Nic Carlyle as part of a tribute to Montgomery on the 150th anniversary of her birth. It was recorded by Ruth Carlyle (voice) and David Barton (piano) at the Summerfield Recording Studio. The paintings are by Nic Carlyle and the album cover design is by Clementine Barton.


In An Old Town Garden
by L.M. Montgomery

Shut from the clamor of the street
By an old wall with lichen grown,
It holds apart from jar and fret
A peace and beauty all its own.

The freshness of the springtime rains
And dews of morning linger here;
It holds the glow of summer noons
And ripest twilights of the year.

Above its bloom the evening stars
Look down at closing of the day,
And in its sweet and shady walks
Winds spent with roaming love to stray.

Upgathering to themselves the breath
Of wide-blown roses white and red,
The spice of musk and lavender
Along its winding alleys shed.

Outside are shaded, troubled streets
And souls that quest for gold and gain,
Lips that have long forgot to smile
And hearts that burn and ache with pain.

But here is all the sweet of dreams,
The grace of prayer, the boon of rest,
The spirit of old songs and loves
Dwells in this garden blossom-blest.

How would I linger for a space,
And walk herein with memory;
The world will pass me as it may
And hope will minister to me.

In An Old Town Garden - L.M. Montgomery and Tim Knight, 2024

The Canadian novelist L.M. Montgomery lived for much of her life on Prince Edward Island. Her novels, particularly the Anne of Green Gables series, are closely associated with the island – and Maud herself felt most at home in the coastal village of Cavendish, the location she drew upon for the creation of Avonlea in her books.

Montgomery’s poem ‘A Request’ reflects her desire to be buried close to the sea; a request that was met. Death in the poem is a time of rest, not a time to be feared. It is a joyful poem, with powerful word painting and touches of Montgomery’s vivacity and humour. 

Montgomery was proud of her Scottish heritage. The instinctive lilt in her poem has been captured in this setting of ‘A Request’ by Tim Knight. The song setting was commissioned by Ruth and Nic Carlyle as part of a tribute to Montgomery on the 150th anniversary of her birth. It was recorded by Ruth Carlyle (voice) and David Barton (piano) at the Summerfield Recording Studio. The paintings are by Nic Carlyle and the album cover design is by Clementine Barton.

A Request 
By L.M. Montgomery

When I am dead
I would that ye make my bed
On that low-lying, windy waste by the sea,
Where the silvery grasses rustle and lisp;
There, where the crisp
Foam-flakes shall fly over me,
And murmurs creep
From the ancient heart of the deep,
Lulling me ever, I shall most sweetly sleep.
While the eerie sea-folk croon
On the long dim shore by the light of a waning moon.

I shall not hear
Clamor of young life anear,
Voices of gladness to stir an unrest;
Only the wandering mists of the sea
Shall companion me;
Only the wind in its quest
Shall come where I lie,
Or the rain from the brooding sky
With furtive footstep shall pass me by,
And never a dream of the earth
Shall break on my slumber with lure of an out-lived mirth.

A Request - L.M. Montgomery and Tim Knight, 2024

John Rutter's beautiful 'Candlelight Carol', for which he wrote both the words and the music. has become a new Christmas classic. It is sung here in the 2021 solo version published by Oxford University Press as part of 'Oxford Solo Songs Christmas'. Ruth Carlyle sang to the pre-recorded accompaniment by Michael Higgins to make this recording.

How do you capture the wind on the water?
How do you count all the stars in the sky?
How can you measure the love of a mother?
Or how can you write down a baby's first cry?
Candlelight, angel light, firelight and star-glow
Shine on his cradle 'til breaking of dawn
Gloria, gloria in excelsis Deo!
Angels are singing "The Christ child is born"

Shepherds and wise men will kneel and adore him
Seraphim 'round him, their vigil will keep
Nations proclaim him their Lord and their saviour
But Mary will hold him and sing him to sleep
Candlelight, angel light, firelight and star-glow
Shine on his cradle 'til breaking of dawn
Gloria, gloria in excelsis Deo!
Angels are singing "The Christ child is born"

Find him in Bethlehem laid in a manger
Christ our redeemer, asleep in the hay
Godhead incarnate and hope of salvation
A child with his mother that first Christmas Day
Candlelight, angel light, firelight and star-glow
Shine on his cradle 'til breaking of dawn
Gloria, gloria in excelsis Deo!
Angels are singing "The Christ child is born"


Candlelight Carol - John Rutter, 1985 (ed. 2021)

"Joy to the world" is one of the most popular Christmas carols, particularly in the United States. The words were written by Isaac Watts, who was born in 1674. His 7x great niece Ruth Carlyle made this recording with David Barton in the 350th anniversary year of Watts' birth.

This arrangement by Mack Wilberg shapes the setting by Lowell Mason to make the most of the Handel inspiration for the melody.

Joy to the World - Watts and Mason arr Wilberg

The words and music for 'My Lord has come' were both written by Will Todd. The carol opens with the calling of the shepherds, then the calling of the sages/magi and then the calling of the singer/audience.

Todd reworked his choral original into this solo setting for 'Oxford Solo Songs Christmas' published by Oxford University Press.

My Lord has come - Will Todd, 2011 (ed 2021)

How do you feel walking alone in the dark? This song is about yearning for daylight. It is in aid of The Ramblers, a charity that promotes walking and wellbeing. If you enjoy the song, do consider making a donation https://www.justgiving.com/page/ruth-carlyle-8



Walking to the beat of my heart
By Eleanor Ruth Carlyle, 2024
 
When the dark shrouds my path,
Seeping fear all though me;
Snapped twigs are like gunshots
In the world I can’t see.
 
Then I just start walking
To the beat of my heart.
Though the dark surrounds me,
I have to make a start.
Walking, walking,
Oooh, walking
To the beat of my heart.
 
The first smudge of daylight
Begins to bruise the sky
With an uncertain dawn
That shadows passers-by.
 
Still I keep on walking
To the beat of my heart;
And I sense the rhythm
Of which I am a part.
Walking, walking,
Oooh, walking
To the beat of my heart.
 
As each new day unfolds,
I know there will be light.
Keep calm in the darkness
Knowing all can be bright.
 
Walking, walking,
Oooh, walking
To the beat of my heart.
On towards the daylight
As the shadows depart.
 
On towards the daylight
As the shadows depart.

Walking to the beat of my heart - Carlyle and Sanderson White, 2024

John Betjeman’s evocative poem ‘A bay in Anglesey’ in a setting by Madeleine Dring. Sung by Ruth Carlyle with David Barton at the piano. Illustration by Nic Carlyle, based on Church Bay, Anglesey.

A bay in Anglesey - Madeleine Dring, 1976

Gerald Finzi gave this song, one of the set ‘Let us garlands bring’ to Ralph Vaughan Williams for his birthday on 12 October 1942. This recording was made on 12 October 2018 by Ruth Carlyle (voice) and David Barton (piano). The text is a dedication of a youth so beautiful that the mourners decide not to bury him; and the “youth” in Shakespeare’s ‘Cymbeline’ proves not to be dead, but to be Imogen, who has taken a sleeping potion. Illustration by Nic Carlyle.

Fear no more the heat o’ the sun - Gerald Finzi, 1942

Matayas Seiber (also known as George Mathis) composed this eccentric setting of Edward Lear’s ’The Owl and the Pussy-cat’ in 1958. The score includes silly voices, falsettos and grunts for characterisation. It is performed here by Ruth Carlyle (voice) and David Barton (piano).
Illustration by Nic Carlyle.

The owl and the pussy-cat - Matayas Seiber, 1958

In this traditional folk song, a woman longs for her lover to return from a sea voyage. It is sung unaccompanied by Ruth Carlyle. With thanks to the staff at Gladstone’s Library for permission to make this non-commercial recording in the chapel, with its lovely acoustic.
The cover illustration for the song is by Nic Carlyle.

Blow the wind southerly - traditional

Can you see the fairies? If not, writer Rose Fyleman (1877-1957)might suggest that it is because you are an adult, and fairies are only visible to children. Her poem ‘There are fairies at the bottom of our garden’ is one of several novels and poems that Fyleman set in a fairy world.

This charming setting by Liza Lehmann (1862-1918) reflects Lehmann’s experience as an operatic soprano and a composer. Lehmann was the first President of the Society of Women Composers.

‘There are fairies at the bottom of our garden’ is performed here by Ruth Carlyle (voice) and https://soundcloud.com/david-barton-music (piano). Illustration by Nic Carlyle.

There are fairies at the bottom of our garden - Liza Lehmann, 1917

A climate action rallying call with words and music by @karen-McAulay. Her song calls for greater collaboration to save the planet. It is performed by Ruth Carlyle (singer) and @david-barton-music (pianist). The illustration is by Nic Carlyle.

Extinction Calypso - Karen McAulay, 2019

This short meditative 12th century song was composed by Hildegard of Bingen for the Feast of St Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins. It would have been sung just before the Gospel reading.

St Ursula was originally described as having 11 Virgins under her care. A scribe copying the manuscript got confused over abbreviations, and misread XI M(artyres) V(irgines) as XI M (11 000) V(irgines). The error perpetuated, and what had been a relatively obscure saint suddenly became hugely exciting and inspired a major cult all over Germany.

This recording was made by Ruth Carlyle as calm to reflect as her father in law, Nigel Carlyle, was dying of COVID19. It is illustrated by Nic Carlyle.

The words are:
‘O rubor sanguinis qui de excelso illo tetigit:
Tu flos es, quem hiems de flatu serpentis numquam lesit.’

Translation by Susan Hellauer:
‘O redness of blood that flowed down from in high, that divinity touched:
You are a flower, which the serpent’s icy breath never touched.’

O rubor sanguinis - Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)

*Summerfield Studio Recording* 3 June 2020
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) wrote ‘Annabel Lee’ in 1849. The narrator bemoans the loss of his beautiful Annabel Lee, whose death he blames on supernatural forces envious of the love between the narrator and Annabel. Poe believed that poetry should be like music and his repeated phrases, such as ‘the sepulchre by the sea’ and ‘the beautiful Annabel Lee’ are like phrases of music.

Nic and Ruth Carlyle commissioned David Barton in 2019 to compose a setting for piano and voice of ‘Annabel Lee’. This forms the first part of a companion set with ‘The Reply of Annabel Lee’ written by (Eleanor) Ruth Carlyle.

The settings reflect the ‘sounding sea’ that flows through both poems.

The performers in this recording are Ruth Carlyle (voice) and David Barton (piano). The illustration is by Nic Carlyle.

Annabel Lee - David Barton, 2019

*Summerfield Studio Recording* 3 June 2020
The poem ‘The Reply of Annabel Lee’ was written in 2018 by (Eleanor) Ruth Carlyle as a response to ‘Annabel Lee’ by Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849). The narrator is Annabel Lee herself, remembering the joy that the lovers shared. She releases her lover from his long vigil, provided that he continues to hear her voice in the ‘sounding sea’.

Nic and Ruth Carlyle commissioned David Barton in 2019 to compose a setting for piano and voice of ‘The Reply of Annabel Lee’. This forms the second part of a companion set with David Barton’s setting of ‘Annabel Lee’ by Edgar Allan Poe.

The settings reflect the ‘sounding sea’ that flows through both poems.

The performers in this recording are Ruth Carlyle (voice) and David Barton (piano). The illustration is by Nic Carlyle.

The Reply of Annabel Lee - David Barton, 2019

*Summerfield Studio recording*
David Barton's lyrical setting for voice and piano of Eugene Field's 'Norse Lullaby' expresses the different voices of the Storm King, the mother pine and the narrator as each sings a lullaby. It is sung here by Ruth Carlyle with the composer at the piano. The illustration is by Nic Carlyle.

Norse Lullaby - David Barton, 2011, Studio recording

*Summerfield Studio Recording*
This unaccompanied setting of Anne Brontë’s poem ‘Night’ was commissioned by Ruth and Nic Carlyle in 2020, the two hundredth anniversary of Anne Brontë’s birth. David Barton’s composition combines Brontë’s text with hums reminiscent of sighs and of church bells. It is sung here by Ruth Carlyle and forms part of the album Annabel Lee Replies, Project Mauve.

The illustration is by Nic Carlyle.

Night - David Barton, 2020

*Summerfield Studio Recording*
This setting of Robert Browning’s Meeting at Night by David Barton conveys the romantic journey to lovers’ meeting. It is sung here by Ruth Carlyle with the composer at the piano.

Meeting at Night - David Barton, 2015

Robert Browning’s poem ‘My Star’ is set here for voice and piano by David Barton. He conveys the fascination, colours and movement of the star as conveyed in the poem. It is sung here by Ruth Carlyle with the composer at the piano.

My Star - David Barton, 2015

Ruth is based in Lichfield, UK, and sings mostly classical and traditional folk music. She also writes lyrics (as Eleanor Ruth Carlyle) and collaborates on new music with David Barton http://www.davidbartonmusic.co.uk/.

She  released her first EP with David Barton in November 2020: ‘Annabel Lee Replies’.

The songs on Ruth’s SoundCloud site are illustrated by her husband Nic Carlyle https://www.twitter.com/carlyle_nic

Ruth was a awarded a Distinction for London College of Music Examinations Grade 8 Classical Singing (100%) in July 2018 and the DipLCM (upper level) in July 2019.

Ruth Carlyle

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