Madrigals singing “The Parting Glass” by The Wailin’ Jennys on their last day of the tour in St. Patrick Cathedral in Dublin.
By Alli Payonk
Two weeks after my return, I’ve found that there really are no words to describe the experience I had in Ireland. Fortunately, being there as part of the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Madrigals tour, celebrating the 60th year of the choir’s foundation, the music spoke for us often. This trip was especially powerful for me, because unlike many of my classmates, it marked my farewell to being a member of the SMWC Madrigals for the last four
years. I completed my coursework for a bachelor’s degree in music therapy just three days before we left.
Every part of being in Ireland was incredible: the people, culture, spirituality, beautiful scenery, history lessons, but more than anything else, sharing the music we cherished with those across the sea. We sang concerts seven days that we were there, in towns including Kinsale, Westport, Galway and Dublin. Every church and venue we visited to sing was breathtaking, but what was even more powerful was being a part of the choir and music, and feeling the connection we had to each other and our audience.
The first concert we sang was in Kinsale. This was already a particularly special concert, because Kinsale actually was the birthplace of Marie Brendan Harvey, SP’s mother. Why is that special, you ask? Well, Sister Marie Brendan Harvey was the founder of Madrigals all of those 60 years ago. So, to explore that small town and sing in a church there, it was pretty surreal to know the only reason we were there at all, so far from home, was due to a woman born right in that town and her daughter.
This too, was where we introduced our version of “The Parting Glass,” arranged by The Wailin’ Jennys, to our Irish audience. Because it was an old Irish folk song, people sang along with us everywhere we went. In Kinsale, people even told us it was the best rendition they’d ever heard (pretty high praise from the Irish themselves)! So, we closed each concert with “The Parting Glass,” and with that we said goodbye to those who sat and listened as we sang, and to each town we visited.
While in Killarney, we sang at St. Mary’s Cathedral and after Mass, our mighty ten members of Madrigals stood up and sang “Even When He is Silent.” While singing the words “I believe in God even when He is silent,” I could feel all through the church and the people standing by my side the magnitude and power of the lines we sang, and I looked out and saw a man in the audience, holding his head and listening, and I could tell that he, too, was taking in the beauty and strength in those words and in the music. This, for me, changed the whole experience. I realized that even as we were traveling and taking in Ireland, our music and reason for being there were impacting the people we met.
We sang our very last concert in Dublin in St. Patrick’s Cathedral the day before we left. At this point we’ve had so many laughs, bus rides, pictures, concerts, and even tears together, but this concert took it all, at least for me. That’s because this concert was the last that I, as well as my two close friends who graduated with me, would ever sing as a Madrigal. Being a part of this group for the last four years has changed me. I have grown so much and found myself in so many unexpected but wonderful places—Ireland being none the least of them.
So, for an hour, I sang in St. Patrick’s with incredible Woods women and men by my side, and I was moved by all the support, friendship, hardships, and triumphs, I had been through with these people. I was moved by the music we made, and so when it came time to sing our final farewell, I held every bit of the experience in my heart. My experiences not only in Ireland, but also with those people, with the music, and everything Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College had given me in the last four years. So, with them I sang my final words as an SMWC Madrigal from our Irish “The Parting Glass”: “I’ll gently rise and I’ll softly call, goodnight and joy be with you all.”
About the Author
Alli Payonk
Allison “Alli” Payonk completed her course work for her B.S. in Music Therapy in spring of 2018, and is looking forward to beginning her music therapy internship with The Music Settlement in Cleveland, Ohio to complete her degree. At SMWC, Alli was a member of SMWC Chorale and Madrigals for 4 years, as well as president of Mu Phi Epsilon Gamma Psi chapter, vice president of Music Therapy Club, and an admissions ambassador from 2017-2018.
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