Composer: Laurie Betts HughesDetailsFormat: Mixed Choir - 4 voicesVoicing: SATBIncidental Divisi: TBSolo Requirements: S, BarAccompaniment: keyboardInstrumentation: harpNotation: standardPerformance Length: 4:41 Study Scores & Audio FilesStudy Score & Audio Order Printed ScoresPublisher: Walton Texts & TranslationsLanguage(s): EnglishText Source: Robert Dwyer Joyce, altText: I sat me in the barley green. I sat me with my true love. My sad heart drove the two between; the old love and the new love. The old for the new, that made me think on Ireland dearly, While soft the wind blew down the glade and shook the golden barley. ‘Twas hard the woeful words to frame, to break the ties that bound us. And harder still to bear the shame of foreign chains around us. And so, I said, the mountain glen I’ll meet at morning early, I’ll join the bold united men where soft winds shake the barley. ‘Twas sad, I kissed away her tears, my fond arm ‘round her flinging. When a rifle shot burst down our ears from out the wild wood ringing. A bullet pierced my true love’s side, in life’s young spring so early. And on my breast, in blood she died where soft winds shook the barley But blood for blood without remorse, I’ve taken to the hollows. I’ve laid my true love’s claylike corpse where I full soon must follow Around her grave I’ve wandered drear, new night and morning early. With breaking heart whene’er I hear the wind that shakes the barley Programming AidsPerformance Difficulty: moderateSeasonal Usage: St. Patrick's DayDescriptive Terms: IrishwarpeaceAllow Excerpts: Composition is a single movementComposer’s Notes: This is the ballad of a young Wexford rebel facing the 1798 uproar in Ireland. His life changes while spending a few last moments with his true love before joining the rebellion. Rebels carried barley oats as provisions which later grew in unexpected places, indicating the unmarked mass graves for slain rebels in Ireland. With piano or harp, this is a lovely and haunting piece unforgettable for singers and audiences. Additional InformationDate of Completion: January, 2002Date of First Performance: Friday, June 1, 2007Premier Performance Data: Corvallis Repertory Singers (Steven Zielke, cond), First United Methodist Church, Corvallis, ORAdditional Performances: 2008: NWACDA Convention 2010: OMEA All-State Choir