THE OWL IS ABROAD

The Owl is abroad, the bat, and the toad,
And so is the cat-a-mountain'
The ant and the mole sit both in a hole,
And the frog peeps out o' the fountain.'
(Ben Jonson, 1572-1637)
'The Owl is Abroad' is a setting of Ben Jonson's poem of the same title. The music, formerly misattributed to Henry Purcell, is by John Christopher Smith (1712-1795). The words, which inspired the music, are from the 'Witches Song, the Third Charm, from the Masque of Queens'. The song was possibly originally sung by a lower male falsetto voice, or lower female voice. However, in relatively recent times, it has been published as a Bass aria. Although the words seem curious to our modern ears, and reminiscent of the famous macabre passage from Shakespeare's Macbeth, the music is bright and cheerful. This arrangement for Brass Dectet, features baroque dotted rhythms, arpeggiated motifs, and Purcellian three-part counterpoint. The large ensemble gives ample opportunity for dynamic contrast, and contr

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