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O'Neill - Music of Ireland, Volume 1, Issue 1, Page 7

O'Neill - Music of Ireland, Volume 1, Issue 1, Page 7
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periodical Publisher
Lyon & Healy, Chicago, 1905
periodical Editor
[none]
periodical Title
O'Neill - Music of Ireland
volume Number
1
issue Content
well by the books written of the same as also 1w theilames of the tunes and measures used among them tothis date.This assertlon is corroborated by several other \Veishwriters.Ireland has still, in what remains of her music, muchmore varied and touching melody thiaii aiiy other nationcan boast of. It is like a magnillcient ruin from whichevery modern builder may filch desirable material to 1)eused in the erection of new structures. i\iodern cornposers liberally avail themselves of Irish strains to flavortheir otherwise insipid Compositions.Most of the scientific music which we hear nowadaysis calculated only to display the br ihant execution ofthe percormer, and many of the great musicians whoperh)rm on the violin, harp or pjanoforte, to hear whom,hum prices are pajd, seem to disdain the use o melodyaltogether and could not be induced t play a simpletime as it was ongmallv composed. Their prefi rinances consist of a display of great execution and flourisheswith little or nothing of that soul of music whichappeals both to the ear and heart.The performers not unusuaflv come before the audi-ence as if it were only for the purpose of tuning theirinstruments, and to show what they could do if theyreally wanted to play. They run up and clown thescale in capricious phantasies straining our patienceand when we think they are about to commence thatfor which our souls yearn, they niake an obeisance andretire amid thunders of applause. Such pci-sons caimnot be called musicians, they are merely dextrousl)IaYers.\iucii has been written in attemptmg t( describewhat it is that distinguishes Irish music from that ofother nations. Its charm and peculiarities thoughplainly distinctive are mu t easily defined. Walker, anacknowledged authority on the subject, say in hisT1istoncal Memoirs of the Irish Bards. A. I). i 786:The Irish music is iii some degree distinguished fromtime music of every other nation by an insinuating sweet-ness which forces its way irresistibly to the heart andthen diffuses an ecstatic delight that till_ills throughevery fibre of the frame, awakens sensibility andagitates or tranquilizes the soul. \Vhatever passlonit may be intended to excite, it never fails to awaken.We speak of the music of the ancient Irish, for musiclike language, time nearer we remount to its riseamongst men, tile illore it will be fhund to partake ofa natural expression.It is a well attested fact, proven in every pagetheir h storv, that the ancient Irish cultivated vocal aswell as instriini ental music at a very early date. Fhiesong of Praise and Thanksgiving was voiced in their\\ Orship. At the funerals the voice of lamentation waswailed in musical cadences. In war, time ham-perspicturesque pipers led their hosts to 1)attle. while at thetestive board or banquet hail the tones of music stinmulatedi the joyous l)ass ons. Such was the excellence ohIrish music and musicians in clays gone 1w, that theIrsuperiority was conceded liv other nations.An estimate of Irish mmmsic cannot to any extent liebased on 0 Carolan S COfllp( isitiolls. Although thelast and best known of time bards. his musical rcnmainscannot be considered superior or even equal to manyairs c )ming (1( )Wn to us fr 1111 long before his time. Thatlnnnital)le vein of tenderness \vhmich pe i tdes the veryold music of Eiin can rarely lie traced in ( )Carolansc )mp( )51tIoi 5. \Vhiat then has caused time decay of irishmusic, the extmctl( um of the harpers, audi time gradualdisappearance of the Once p piilar union piper?\lanv causes imave contributed to the melancholyresult. - A country harassed by seven centuries of inter-mittent war stru glimig against an unscrupulous foe tretain or obtain its independence could hardly be ex-pected to maintain it superiority in literature or .music.1 -roni the time the Norman invader first set foot onlush soil, time Irish bards and minstrels were in thehabit of enterimig time British camp and charming theirenemies with timeir beautiful national airs. So sweetwere time per rmances of these men, so melodious theirmusic that time soldiers from h)rivmlteS to generals refusedto arrest theni as spies iji spite of royal decrees. Timestatutes of Kilkennv in 1367, fimrbade the Irish minstrelsto enter the pale and niadle it a general offense to givethem shelter or entertainment. King Henry the Vi,rdered his marshals in irelammd to imprison all timeharpers they could lay hands on. Following in herancestors footsteps. qucemi Llizabethm jssue(I au edlictdecreeing thle hanging of all minstrels, saving: \Venever can conqtmer Ireland as long as time mnimistrels arethere. Lord llarrvniore who was appointedi to enforcethis inhui man decree, took out a commission td) hangevery harper that could he found.h nglandh recogmzed iii the Irish bardls a hindranceand an emmenly to her dominion in Ireland, mmcl usedevery availal)le means to suppress and exterminate them.Yotwithstancling tIme brutal audi sanguinary efforts ofthe English kings and queens and their tutledi hangmen.the 1)ards in ed on down to time time of ( )Carolan, who,on his dleathhedl in 1738, trembuinglv graspedi imis harpand luitmredl out his soul iii that l h ,a11it1\e wail klmo\vn as1) Carolan s Farweil to Music.The severe measures enacted by English parliamentsilltendhlilg to abu dish time bardlic ordier in Irelandi, conveyto us a feeling of extreme regret, for time decline of thatart whose inflimence tended so much to soften and refinetime mind, as well as ihr the check given to the continilCdl development f music in the laud of our forefathers.Sucim, however, was tile desire of time irish fir musiculotwlthstandling the harsh mmieasures of Ehizabethm, thatmore than a century after her death, when iimventorieswere made of time eflhcts or pro ert of adhimerents ofJames II, it was Ihuuid timat mmearlv all, even time AngloXornman fhmilies of tue l)aie possessedi One 1i isheI larpe.The s cial changes resulting fromu war andi confis-catIon of i)10P mtY w em-c fraught witbm sad effects to timelvirdls, ivlio shared iii time fahleti fortunes of their chiefnuns and patromms. Those lands and endowments whichhind been the gifts of f nmer national monarchs and\\ em-c intemidle(i fi r the support of the barclic order, andn Inch imadi hitherto escaped confiscation to some extent,iveme mmow forfeited together with time estates of theirpath )IIS.Thins time greatest uit rtit n of the hand fell into thepossessit tIm I if iuidividiials fri till whmom time bam-ds received
issue Number
1
page Number
7
periodical Author
O'Neill, Capt. Francis
issue Publication Date
1903-01-01T00:00:00
allowedRoles
anonymous,guest,friend,member

O'Neill - Music of Ireland

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