Francesca Fargion
Circe Songs

Circe Songs is an album based on the female Greek mythological character, Circe, first committed to writing in Homer’s Odyssey and retold over the centuries to the present day in which different aspects of Circe’s character are emphasised. Central to these characterisations is her status as a Goddess of Magic (sometimes referred to as a witch or a sorceress). Through 12 ‘spell’ songs, for female voice and choir and a small instrumental ensemble, and with most of the lyrics based on spells taken and adapted from the Greek Magical Papyri, the album explores the complexities of Circe’s character as retold through the generations.

Originating as an oral form, I became interested in how myths are expressions of timeless narratives and emotions that can be re- sculpted in the hands of authors to portray different meanings and perspectives, in the light of the era they are written in. Circe, from the Greek kirkos or krikos, meaning circle or ring, seemed a natural starting point to express this constant retelling.

From the outset, I aimed to represent character in a more abstract sense, avoiding narrative aspects and searching for a means of embodying character without being explicit. I explore themes such as cyclicality, nature, magic and ritual to embody an essence of this magical Goddess.

A musical interpretation seemed apt for the Circe character. In Homer’s Odyssey we hear her before we see her, as she is depicted for the first time singing while weaving at her loom. Much of the pitch material in my album uses, in various ways, melodic content from the empowering folk songs of the Mondine (women rice-field workers in Italy during the Fascist period). As a witch, a powerful female figure, Circe has often been used to mirror societal anxieties about women in power. This female vocal music allowed me to explore these issues surrounding female empowerment.

I initially proposed to explore the character in the form of an opera or a live performance. Due to the pandemic, however, I decided to present the work as a recorded album. As a method I drafted the songs beforehand and created instrumental and choir scores to send to the performers. These parts were all recorded individually and remotely and sent back for me to assemble. After receiving the recordings, I worked in more detail to sculpt and structure each song out of the many separate recordings. Many of my compositional and production choices were influenced by my interest in live performance and thus some of the original concepts carry through into the album.