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Song Lore of Ireland, The, Volume 1, Issue 1, Page 33

Song Lore of Ireland, The, Volume 1, Issue 1, Page 33
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periodical Publisher
The Baker & Taylor Co., New York, 1911
periodical Editor
[none]
periodical Title
Song Lore of Ireland, The
volume Number
1
issue Content
54 THE SONG LORE OF IRELANDand forgetting their origin, to wear their hair inthe coulin or headdress of the Irish. Naturallythe coulin became a symbol of loyalty to Erin, andthe Irish maiden in the songunfortunately itswords have not come down to usis said to haveexpressed her preference for the lad who wore hishair in the national manner over the stranger.Several well-contrasted variants of the air ofThe Coulin have come down to us, and we willexamine three typical examples. Here is the melodyin its most familiar form, which is also the formaccepted by authorities as the most perfect.Ex. 1. The Coullu.Sft 9. .e _ 9 pj---:-L i i a.tt t - I ; I -. Is J ; -H- . ;_r. ..-H - L- h-,I Is S.-p J III - -JHOW THE SONGS CAME DOWN TO US 55Though the last glimpse of Erin with sorrow Isee. It is one of the fairest jewels in Irelandscrown of song. The contour has the unaffectedelegance of a lily and Chopin himself never infusedgreater variety of rhythmic charm into a composi-tion of like proportion. How has this perfectionbeen arrived at? Is The Coulin the little mas-terpiece of some individual musician whose namehas not come down to us, or does it represent theEr. 2. The Coulin as sung in Clare. :tr- r T- 9r rrff- - I , ;)H-i JSF 9lIiirrt r -Ith Lr irIrefining labor of many generations of singers? As-suredly the latter alternative is the correct one; for,if the song had come into being perfect, like Pallasfrom the brow of Zeus, we should never find anysuch ingenuous version of the strain as Teague Mac-Mahon learned in County Clare and gave to Petrie.The tendril-like elegancies of the familiar tune areabsent. There is wide divergence too in melodicoutline. Yet the identity of the two airs admits- . - p - i r r _ J ]eFor this melody it was that Moore wrote
issue Number
1
page Number
33
periodical Author
Mason, Redfern
issue Publication Date
1911-01-01T00:00:00
allowedRoles
anonymous,guest,friend,member

The Song Lore of Ireland

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