Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society, Volume 1, Issue 6, Page 9

Irish Folk Song Society

[Periodical]

Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society

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14words by Mr. Dermod Foley, whilst the Maureen of the latter, translated intoIrish, was heard at every Gaelic Concert from Cork to Belfast.Mrs. Fox, Secretary of this Society, was prevailed on by the Gaelic Leage ofLondon, ten years ago, to prepare settings of old Gaelic melodies for concertsingers. These were availed of at the Oireacbteaa, in Dublin, and in London at theSt. Patricks Day Concerts. They were carefully prepared and edited for publication,with the Irish words attached, under the direction of Mr. Michael Walsh, thenSecretary of the London League, now Principal of the Connacht Gaelic College.Submitted to the Publication Committee of the Dublin body, they were not madeuse of. However, in the past few years their musical publications of a popular formhave been very creditable.One song (suitable for choir singing) in Irish is contained in the music bookpublished for Mrs. Fox .by Messrs. Maunsel and Co., and Mr. Carl Hardebeck, ofBelfast, as will be seen from our Review, has just brought out Six Songs, somearrangements of old airs, others original, and all with Irish and English word8.The Bunting Collection, from which we give specimens, will be of intense interestto the students of traditional singing, and to collectors and editors of Irish lyricalpoetry. It might serve indeed as a tutor for the poets of the new movement. TheGaelic revival has so far inspired but few new poets. Torna, the best known ofthem, is the only steady writer of Gaelic verse that I know of. Meantime, the raceof peasant poets has continued into our own day making new words for the ancientmusic. The book-learned Gaels might with advantage follow their method, and havingabsorbed the soul of Irish melody would find their utterance of verse more fluent.Some of the airs of transcendant beauty are joined to words that fall far short ofthem. The music seems to bewail all the woes of Ireland in old time, or to speakinspiring hopes. The poems are nearly all of love, sometimes intense and plaintive,sometimes merely passionate; sometimes whiskey and red wine and yellow beer arepraised as highly as the beauty of the beloved. Coarse jesting and plain speech arenot absent; but there is an immense store of poetic phrasing and epithet to be drawnon, and above all the melody to guide and teach. ALICE Mn ixw .15Specimens of Iflelodies with Words (Irishand n lIsb) from the Bunting mss.Pf\ 1\C A - - (4r ir c r ct 1 rrnr tslr cr ir1 jj jj J;:J 1 J tJ .JijUI have been for some time in this town; I have been greatly caressed;That did not last long till there was notice taken of me.No two things on earth I account to be more grievousThan the death of friends and the separating of companions.This Air has only a fragment of a song to it of which we give a translationabove. It has, however, a historic interest as it is on record that this Air wasplayed by Bunting at a gathering of friends on the occasion of Wolfe Tones lastvisit to Belfast with his wife and family previous to their embarkation to America.Mrs. Tone was so much overcome by emotion on hearing this appropriate song thatshe burst into tears and bad to leave the room. When we recall the fate that wasimpending for several of those present the incident has a tragic note. The Irishfragment is on a separate sheet of stout paper, in a very ornate hand-writing.I

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[Periodical]

1967-01-01T00:00:00

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