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O'Neill - Irish Minstrels and Musicians, Volume 1, Issue 1, Page 76

O'Neill - Irish Minstrels and Musicians, Volume 1, Issue 1, Page 76
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periodical Publisher
Regan Printing House, Chicago, 1913
periodical Editor
[none]
periodical Title
O'Neill - Irish Minstrels and Musicians
volume Number
1
issue Content
The Irish Piper in Iris/i LifeWeary is the way, and Im a weary man tonightAh, the fairy pipers that awoke me long ago,When the mists began to shiver at the coming of the light,And the wind was in the heather, soft and low!I-cCHAPTER XVTHE IRISH PIPER IN IRISH LIFEI will take my pipes and go now, for the bees upon the lullAre singing of the summer that is coming from the stars.I will take my pipes and go now, for the little mountain nilIs pleading with the bagpipes in tender, crooning bars.I will go oer the hills and valleys, and through fields of ripening rye,And the hinnet and the throstle and the bittern in the sedgeWill hush their throats and listen while the piper passes by,On the great long road of silver that ends at the worlds edge.I will tnke my pipes and go-now, for the sand-flower on the dunesIs a-weary of the sobbing of the big white sea,And is askiag for the piper, with his basket full of tunes,To play the merry lilting that sets all hearts free.I will take my pipes and go now, and God go with you all,And keep all sorrow from you, and the dark heart s load.I will take my pipes and go now, for I hear the summer call,And youll hear the pipes a-singing as I pass along the road.Don a Byrne.IN the language of Mrs. S. C. Hall, who wrote of Irish life and character in thesecond quarter of the nineteenth century, the pipers were at one period the greatoriginals of Ireland. The race of minstrels was even then gradually departing.or at least sobering down into the rank-s of ordinary mortals; but there was a time,as described in previous chapters, when the piper stood out prominently upon anycanvas that pictured Irish life.Closely as the harp and the music of its strings are associated with the historyof Hibernia in happier (lays, no class of minstrels was in such perfect accordwith popular sentiment, or was so intertwined with tradition, story, legend andpoetic fancy as the pipers.Not only were they an essential element in ever - phase of lifes activities,but they were, according to common belief, not infrequently kidnapped by thefairies, so fascinating was their music, and forced to entertain their captors at theirsubterranean festivities.\\ hether in the land of the living or the realm of shades, a halo seems toencircle the head of the piper in the mysticism of the Irish mind. To those whostill finch pleasure in relaxation from the materialism of the present to indulge inthe contemplation of the past, tile stories comprising Chapter XXXI. and theexperiences of Turiogh McSweenev, The Donegal Piper, in Chapter XXII, willno doubt prove of more than orclmarv interest.TIlE IRISH PIPERA quotation from Robertsons Fairy Pipers may serve to illustrate onefeature of those quaint fancies.150IThe grey hills flushed to purple, and the east was like a rose;They called me to the long road with piping shrill and clear;Rest and rust and dull content, the mortal never knowsWho may once the fairy pipers chance to ilear.Over hill and valley, he must follow till he fall;Jeweled gossamers at dawn that shine about his feet,Love, and wealth, and honorhe must break and leave them allWhen tile fairy I11US1C calls Ilim, shril and sweet.Weary is the way, and Im a weary man tonigiltAh, the fairy pipers that awoke me long ago,Still theyre calling as they called me when my heart and footwere light,And the wind was in the heatiler, soft and low.After the siege of Linlerick, the Piob 11or, or \Varpipe. as it is now termed,shared in Irelands fallen fortunes, anti its use practicaily terminated about tilemiddle of the eighteenth century. Historically, it is unheard of after the battleof Fontenoy, in 1745a fitting finish for an imlstrUmellt so renowned in asso-ciation with deeds of Irish bravery.The Union pipes, of milder tone anti eniarged compass, invented and devel-oped at least a score of veal-s earlier, won imnlediate recognition, and before theend of the century, performers on the improved irish instrument vied with theharpers in fame anti popularity. But it must be borne in mmd that the additionof regulators, on which concords couid he produced, contributed not a littie to itscharm. From its earliest (leveiOplllent, illeil of weaith and title took to playingtile pipes, and it was not considered beneath the dignity of tile clergy even tobecome performers on the fascinating, softtoned instrument, tile music of which,Like tile wilistiing of birds.Like the humming of bees.Like tile sigh of the south windThrougil tile crest of tile trees,soothed tile soul while it entrailced tile mmd. Household pipers became thevogue as the harp declined, and a capable performer was never at a loss for anengagement at castle, or hail, in the homes of the gentry, with a stipend of fiftypounds a year, and a horse and saddle at his pleasure. And when we come tocontempiate the patronage and perquisites which pipers enjoyed generations ago,as compared with their oppression and neglect in more recent times, their formernumber and celebrity ceases to excite our astonisilnleflt.In one of his stories Shelton Mackenzie says: One set of pipes is worth adozen fiddles, for it can take tile shine out of them all. But then these samepipes can do more than make a noise. Tile warrior boidest in the field is gentlestat the feet of his lady love; and so the Irisil pipes, wiliCh can sound a strain
issue Number
1
page Number
76
periodical Author
O'Neill, Capt. Francis
issue Publication Date
1913-01-01T00:00:00
allowedRoles
anonymous,guest,friend,member

O'Neill - Irish Minstrels and Musicians

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