Program notes continued...

The story as told in the ballad has multiple versions, but they all follow the same basic
plot. The King of Scotland has called for the greatest sailor in the land to command a
ship for a royal errand.. The name “Sir Patrick Spens’ is mentioned by a courtier, and the
king dispatches a letter. Sir Patrick, although honored to receive a royal commission, is
dismayed at being put to sea in the dead of winter, clearly realizing this voyage could
well be his last.

Versions differ somewhat at this point. Some indicate that a storm sank the ship in the
initial crossing, thus ending the ballad at this point, while many have Sir Patrick safely
reaching Norway. In Norway tension arises between the Norwegian lords and the Scots,
who are accused of being a financial burden on the king. Sir Patrick, taking offense,
leaves the following day. Nearly all versions, whether they have the wreck on the out-
ward voyage , ot the return, relate the bad omen of seeing “the new mune yestreen,
with the auld mune in her airms”, and modern science agrees the tides would be at
maximum force at that time. The winter storms have the best of the great sailor, send-
ing him and the Scottish lords to the bottom of the sea.

The Berklee Concert Choir

Soprano Shannon Devine, Lompoc, CA
Catherine Esler, St. Charles, IL
Amandalin Hunter, Grand Junction, CO
Katy Mahar, Norwell, MA
Emily Rosenberg, Chicago, IL
Lizje Sarria, Bogota, Colombia
Simona Smirnova, Vienius, Lithuania
Harini Srinivasa Raghavan, Chennai, India
Alto Stephanie Barker, Kendalville, IN
Rhiana Foster, Wenatchee, WA
Carolann Hill, Portsmouth, NH
Regan Hooper, London, England
Kalli Jermyn, Hingham, MA
Ellie Kaplan, Cheltenham, PA
Amanda Kowara, Jakarta, Indonesia
Valentina Lombardi, Pistoia, Italy
Linnea Lundgren, Stockholm, Sweden
Caroline Smith, Brielle, NJ
Tenor Kevin Flood, Eden, WI
Dustin Hann, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Alfredo Herrera, Southwest Ranches, FL
Jordan King, Palo Alto, CA
Bernardo Limon Villarreal, Monterrey, Mexico
Kamen Ross, Denver, CO
Jordan Sanders, Gainesville, FL
Bass Jeong Wook Hur, Bombay, India/South Korea
Cedric Jackson I, Dallas, TX
Joseph Jaychan Lee, Daegu, South Korea
Carlos Nogueras Ramon, Cayey, Puerto Rico
Stephen Raman, Lodi, CA/Sava, Fiji
James Ryan, Glenview, IL
Adriel Tjokrosaputro, Surakarta, Indonesia

Berklee College of Music