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Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society, Volume 1, Issue 4, Page 5

Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society, Volume 1, Issue 4, Page 5
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periodical Publisher
Irish Folk Song Society
periodical Editor
[Periodical]
periodical Title
Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society
volume Number
1
issue Content
89of its masts on account of an alteration in the nature of its lading. For taste in musicis so universal, especially among country people, and in a pastoral age, and airs are soeasily, indeed, in many instances, so intuitively acquired, that when a melody has oncebeen divulged in any district, a criterion is immediately established in almost every ear;and this criterion being the more infallible in proportion as it requires less effort injudging, we have thus, in all directions and at all times, a tribunal of the utmost accuracyand of unequalled impartiality (for it is unconscious of the exercise of its own authority)governing the musical traditions of the people, and preserving the native airs andmelodies of every country in their integrity, from the earliest periods. It is thus thatchanges in the actual frame and structure of our melodies have never been attempted,unless on the introduction of the altered tunes for the first time amongst those who hadnever heard them in their original state; as in the instance of Sir John Stevensonssupposed emendations of the Irish melodies on their first introduction to that extendedauditory procured for them by the excellence of Mr. Moores accompanying poetry, andthus it is that so long as the musical collector or antiquary confines his search to thenative districts of the tunes he seeks for, he may always be certain of the absolute andunimpeachable authenticity of every note he procures.Were it not for this provision for the transmission of tunes in a perfect state fromthe earliest times, there would be no such thing (at least in our age of the world) asmusical antiquity, or the means of judging from musical remains of the genius andsentiment, and, through them, of the mental refinement and social progress of ourremote ancestors; for musical notation is of comparatively recent origin, and without itwe have nothing but this tradition to depend on. But, there being this provision madefor the perpetuation of tunes, musical antiquity becomes, in its way, of just as muchimportance as civil or military, or (apart from doctrinal differences) as ecclesiasticalantiquity. For the aim of all is to realize former times, so as to bring us acquaintedwith our ancestors; and if, towards forming that acquaintance, it be satisfactory toascertain their exploits in war, or their progress in the arts of building and tillage, itsurely must afford an equal share of pleasure to the reflective inquirer to becomeacquainted with the men themselves, and with their general turn of mind and senti-ment in the very notes and cadences by which they gave expression to their rulingpassions.The hope of being thus enabled, by reviving the national music, to place himself inthe same rank with those worthy Irishmen whose labours have, from time to time, sus-tained the reputation of the country for a native literature, had, the Editor admits, noinconsiderable share in determining him on making the study and preservation of ourIrish melodies the main business of his long life, and, he is free to confess, the samehope still animates him in giving these, the last of his labours, to the public. But whatat first incited him to the pursuit, and what has chiefly kept alive the ardour with which,for nearly fifty years, he has prosecuted it, was and is a strong innate love of thesedelightful strains for their own sake, a love for them which neither the experience of thebest music of other countries, nor the control of a vitiated public taste, nor the influenceof advancing years, has ever been able to alter or diminish.The occasion which first confirmed the Editor in this partiality for the airs of hisnative country, was the great meeting of the harpers at Belfast, in the year 1792. Beforethis time there had been several similar meetings at Granard in the county of Long.ford, which had excited a surprising degree of interest in Irish music through that partof the country. The meeting at Belfast was, however, better attended than any thathad yet taken place, and its effects were more permanent, for it kindled an enthusiasmthroughout the north which burns bright in some warm and honest hearts to this day.All the best of the old class of harpersa race of men then nearly extinct, and nowgone for everDenis Hempson, Arthur ONeill, Charles Fanning, and seven others, theleast able of whom has not left his like behind, were present. Hempson, who realizedthe antique picture drawn by Cambrensis and Galilei, for he played with long crookednails, and in his performance the tinkling of the small wires under the deep notes ofthe bass was peculiarly thrilling, took the attention of the Editor with a degree ofinterest which he never can forget. He was the only one who played the very oldtheaboriginalmusic of the country; and this he did in a style of such finished excellenceas persuaded the Editor that the praise of the old Irish harp in Cambrensis, Fuller, andothers, instead of being, as the detractors of the country are fond of asserting, ill-con-sidered and indiscriminate, was in reality no more than a just tribute to their admirableinstrument and its then professors. But, more than anything else, the conversation ofArthur ONeill, who, although not so absolute a harper as Hempson, was more a man ofthe world, and had travelled in his calling over all parts of Ireland, won and delightedV
issue Number
4
page Number
5
periodical Author
[Periodical]
issue Publication Date
1967-01-01T00:00:00
allowedRoles
anonymous,guest,friend,member

Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society, Volume 1, Issue 4

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