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O'Neill - Music of Ireland, Volume 1, Issue 1, Page 8

O'Neill - Music of Ireland, Volume 1, Issue 1, Page 8
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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
little sympathy, but rather a contrary feeling. Theseminstrels from their once independent position, and withthe peiial statutes of former reigns iii operatit m againstthem, were obliged to seek the hospitality of the humbleclasses. Thus they traveled from one friendly door toanother and were usually received with warm welcomeagreeable to the cherished ways of the past.Is it then surprising that the cultivation of musicshould be neglected when the condition of the bardbecame so sadly altered? The harpers, who were thechief composers awl repositories of music, had beenunilornily cherished by the nobility and gentry. A spiritof emulatu)n roused them to competltion and rivalry awlsuch of them as were men of ability attenfpted to adorntheir music with graces and variations. These werecommunicated to their successors and by them trans-mjtted to others with additions and mipi-ovements.By this means Irish music was partially p eserved.The pipers and fiddlers and the peasantry, gifted withmusical ears, have contmued the process to tile piesenttime, so that the mass of Irish music in existence to-daycan truly be called traditional.Many of the harpers mentioned by Bunting in hisfamous work before alluded to, were blind, and. so weretheir less renowned heirs, the pipers and fiddlers.Except in rare instances, only those who were incapableof otherwise supporting themselves were taught musicas a profession, in the degenerate days of the lastcentury; hence the term piper and fiddler becamesynonomous with poverty or menclicancy. Many anardent young disciple had his instrument ruthlesslybu ken by his proud but unappreciative parent lest therespectal)ilitv of the family be tarnished by having aIJiPet or fiddler among its members.l\Ius c and dancing were not infrequently learnedclandestinely in some out of the way barn or in a glen,sheltered by hedges from unwelcome mtrusion, thefm ow Ii it not the futile of the pr1 t being m o e di eidc dthan the ire ol the respectable parent. \ow that themethul and the patron and the music and dancinghave been practically extirpated, the Irish people.including some of the prIests, are awaking to a reali-zation of what they have lost in the distinctive charac-teristics of a separate nationality.it is to the peasaiitry we o v whatever is left of ourmusical heritage, and it is to them those have gone,who are endeavoring to I)reserve f posterity, thoseimmortal strains which have conduced so much toIrelands ancient renown.Irish musicians, until lately, were doing nothing forIrish music, either as archaeologists or artists. Therewas some excuse for their apathy as collectors sinceunfortunately this is not a payIng business, but it isunintelligible how Irish musicians should neglect such aiitire foumit of original melody, as exists iii the unpub-lished airs of their country, and seek lnSpirationelsewhere.The desii-e to Preserve for 1)osterity, the many fineairs and dance tunes unconsciously mnemru rized fri im thesweet voice ofa cheerful mother, who sang an l lilted atr spinning wheel or while engaged at her Imouseholdd Jies, in the fhrmhouse, omi the banks of the river lien.in west Cork, where the writer spent the first years ofhis life, onginated time comprehensive collection ofumiharmnon zecl Irish music, which the writer has beenpatiemitl and laboriously compiling fr years.I)ictatimig to an accomplished violinist, a namesakeand fellow countryman from time Black North dayafter day as opportumut offered, memom-y recalled tuneafter tune and strain after strain until the number grewinto hundreds. Many of them were so little knowneven in the vicinity of the old home, that the youngergeneratii in seems to be entirely igmu rant of them.In the metn )j)oljs of the west, one thousand milesbeyond the broach Atlantic, Irelands sons and daughtersfrom every one of her thirtytwo counties can he found,and they have brought with them treasuresuf songand dance music, never noted down by the great col-lect ns, I etrie, Bunting and Joyce.From the writers expem-ience while engaged in tilecompilation of the present work, them-c is much evidenceto show that nianv localities in Ireland remained unexploreti by the collectors above mentioned.(in a recent ocass on, to ti]e astonishment and delighta score of Iiisii musicians who h)1 led themselves ontheir comprehensive knowledge of their country s mnusic,a violinist who left his native valley over forty yearsago, played dozemis of excellent tunes, then heant forthe first time by his audience. And this was but oneof many similar instances.After time writer and his skilful and versatile co-labor-er had made some progress in noting down from theirmemories and otlmer sources, a variety of strains hithertounpublished, other musicians whose curosity was arousedbecame interested amid contributed freely from theirrepel-toll-es, prompted by a spirit of emulation alikecreditable to their manhood and racial p1-idle.The interest in the collection and preservationof traditional Im-ishi music thins awakened, attracted acoterie of sympathetic spirits who m t at frequentintervals and unrestricted, by rules or regulations, playedon thieii- various instruments, solo or in concert, Introducmg any new airs or tunes which had beemi gleanedsince their last meeting. A vagrant strain at inurequieiitly brought to mind sonic long iom-gotten air, and bythis interchange of tunes many an elusive treasure allbut lost to posterIty hias heemi recovered from oblivionand promptly noted down by our musical scribe, lr.James C) Neill.This collection, by far time largest ever printed, hasbeemi compiled fromn all available sources includingseveral manuscript collections, scarcely decipherablefrom age, and which being flimnily heirlooms were acces-sible only as a special favor to time compiler.It will be observed. that the music is written in keyssuitable for violin, flute and union pipes as far as l)ractlcable; keys in which the old Irish strains are fiiirlypreserved. No pietelise is made that the tunes arel)rimltel as takemi down from the singing, whistling orplaying of those from whom many of them have beenbtained, as most collectors of Irish music have done.)mi the contrary the settings considered the mno t flierit nous are hereimi given to the puihihic, for various arethe versions of Irishi airs, according to locality andindividual taste.ihie compiler huts aimed to preserve the character-4 --
issue Number
1
page Number
8
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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