| Composition Year | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Genre Categories | Operas; Theatrical Works; Secular cantatas; |
| Work Title | At the Hawk's Well |
|---|---|
| Alternative. Title | |
| Composer | Lambert, Edward |
| I-Catalogue NumberI-Cat. No. | IEL 67 |
| Year/Date of CompositionY/D of Comp. | 2024 |
| First Publication. | 2024 |
| Librettist | William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) (adapted) |
| Language | English |
| Average DurationAvg. Duration | 33 minutes |
| Composer Time PeriodComp. Period | Modern |
| Piece Style | Modern |
| Instrumentation | 5 voices, orchestra |
| InstrDetail | 2 oboes, 2 horns, marimba, drums, harp, strings |
| Extra Information | Chamber opera or dramatic cantata |
Characters
THE GUARDIANS OF THE WELL soprano S1 mezzo-soprano S2 counter-tenor (or contralto) A CUCHULAIN, a young warrior tenor T AN OLD MAN bass-baritone B
THE HAWK dancer (optional)
Instruments
2 oboes, 2 horns, strings, percussion (marimba & drums), harp
The action takes place during the Irish Heroic Age. The Three Guardians of the Well conjure a scene of a parched mountainous landscape in which they attend a dried-up water source. An Old Man has been living by the well for fifty years in the hope of drinking the water for, when it flows, he who tastes it will gain eternal life. We learn that the stream has only ever appeared when he was asleep: three times he has woken to find the stones wet but the well dry. The young hero Cuchulain arrives on the scene possessing, in the optimism of youth, the ambition of finding immortality. Suddenly, the scream of a hawk is heard and its great wings cast a shadow. Cuchulain remarks that he saw the bird on his journey here; the Old Man recognises this as a sign that the water will soon flow. When the Guardians sing again, however, the Old Man is lulled to sleep. Cuchulain is entranced by the appearance of the Hawk only to realise when it vanishes that the water has been and gone and the Old Man has died. He resolves to stay and wait for immortality. The Guardians draw a moral from the tale: wisdom is granted to those that live humble lives and are content to face death.
