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WHITE: Weakness;
COWAN: Macha
Albany 1441-59 minutes
These pieces deal with the Curse of Macha, an old Irish legend where a beautiful woman from the Otherworld appears at a farmer's door one day, walks in, and becomes his wife. They live together happily-and they will continue to do so, says she, as long as he never tells others about her. But sure enough, he brags about her, and she is forced by the king to prove her powers by racing against horses while quite pregnant. Her pleas for mercy are met with silence from the king and from a crowd of onlookers. The race is run and Macha wins, but she collapses and gives birth to twins; simultaneously, goes...