VAN HAMEL

162

E DONATIONE

A. G. van HAMEL

PROFESSORIS ORDINARII INnbsp;ACADEMIAnbsp;RHENO-TRAIECTINAnbsp;1923-1946

THE CELTIC SONG BOOK

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN

It'i-

the celtic song book

Being 'T^presentati've Folk Songs of the Six Celtic SMftionsnbsp;Chosen hy

Alfred Perceval Graves

LITT.D., P.R.S.L.

Author of

“The Irish Song Book,” “The Irish Fairy Book,’’

“ Irish Doric,” etc.

1928

Ernest benn limited

DEDICATION

TO

A. E. S. G

My Amy, hien aimée,

How poor had been my part At garnering these folk songsnbsp;Without your tuneful art ;

When your voice and hands commingled O’er the black notes and the white,

As song by song we singled With ever fresh delight;

Until their royal roses,

Their wild flowers blush and pale, We’ve set into six posiesnbsp;Of the Cymro and the Gael.

And since to you thrice over Their woven wealth belongs,

From your husband and your lover Take this wreath of Celtic songs.

June 12, 1926.

A bios - som there blows That

iC

scoffs at the siionys, And fa - ces, root • fast.

=t=:1=

“1

No

1

* nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;L 1nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;i. \ i- A fKo leadino- Irish, Scotch Gaelic, Manx,

2

nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;This song has been translated by thenbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;^ foj. sin^^ing in each

Welsh. Breton, and Cornish poets into their native languages tor sin^ ^

Celtic country and at Pan-Celtic Festivals.

THE SONG OF THE HEATHER

ij==i=L—S=isi::::=S^:

it

spring's where the sea And the land leap to-g’eth-er. Six \)nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;1nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;--T—-m^3--rr-

Na-tions are we. Yet be-neath its brig’ht fea-ther. To marcato

-G-

day we are one............ Where-so-ev-er we be»

PREFACE

The idea of bringing out a selection of Folk Songs of the Six Celtic Nations—the Irish, Scots, and Manx Gaels, and the Cymry of Wales,nbsp;Cornwall, and Brittany—was mooted by me at the first Pan-Celticnbsp;Congress held in Dublin in 1901. It is at last realized in thisnbsp;volume.

Within its necessarily narrow limits, it has not been easy to do complete justice to the main objects I set before me when compiling it. These were to put into print the most beautiful typicalnbsp;airs of the Celtic nations over the worthiest native words which hadnbsp;been written to them, and to provide as satisfactory English ornbsp;French translations of these as I could obtain for those of mynbsp;readers who were not Breton or Welsh or Manx or Scottish Gaelicnbsp;scholars : for at the outset I had learnt from leading authoritiesnbsp;that so far no Gaelic words had been found worthy to mate thenbsp;Irish melodies Moore and other Anglo-Irish lyrists had helped tonbsp;immortalize. Hence the Irish language had to be regarded asnbsp;for the time being lyrically derelict for my purpose.

Most of the Welsh songs had already been partnered by English words; for a few that remained without what appeared to menbsp;adequate translations, I have endeavoured to supply them.

The Breton songs selected are provided with fitting French or English translations ; the French Breton and Breton songs ofnbsp;Théodore Botrel and Franpois Jaffrenou (Taldir) have, of course,nbsp;been left to stand alone.

The Highland and Island airs, owing to the use of traditional native words—or thanks to living Scots Gaelic poets, such asnbsp;Mr. Kenneth McLeod, with whom Miss Frances Tolmie andnbsp;Mrs. Kennedy Fraser have been in touch—are largely provided withnbsp;Gaelic words, and some of these have been rendered into Englishnbsp;by Miss Tolmie and myself. I am, moreover, greatly indebted tonbsp;Miss Lucy Broadwood and Miss A. G. Gilchrist, and above all tonbsp;Mrs. Kennedy Fraser for allowing me to use extracts from theirnbsp;authoritative essays on the special characteristics of Scotch Gaelicnbsp;music and how it may best be sung.

Though the language of Mann is not strongly represented in this volume, it has yet been found possible to provide Manx words of

PREFACE

merit for not a few of its songs, and for these translations are given by Miss Mona Douglas, Mr. Philip Caine, and myself,

[owe much to Professor Diverres for his authoritative account of his country’s music which introduces the Breton section of this volume,nbsp;as well as for his discriminating assistance in the choice of Breton airsnbsp;and words, and the help he has given me when translating the latter.

Much assistance of the same kind I have met with from Miss A. G. Gilchrist, Miss Mona Douglas, and Mr. J. E. Quayle, B .Mus,, whennbsp;choosing the Manx airs, and from Mr. Henry Jenner when selectingnbsp;the Folk Songs in the Cornish Section and for his introduction to it,nbsp;while to Miss Frances Tolmie and Mrs. Kennedy Fraser I have tonbsp;make most grateful acknowledgment for the generous way in whichnbsp;they have put airs of their selection at my service and advised menbsp;upon their origin and their history. And here I must express mynbsp;unfeigned sorrow at the passing away last Christmas of Miss Tolmie,nbsp;who will never be forgotten for what she has done as one of the mostnbsp;enthusiastic and intelligent preservers of Gaelic Folk Tunes and Folknbsp;Songs of Our times, and, indeed, of all time.

It only remains to express obligation to Messrs. Boosey for the use of words of mine that have already appeared by their permission innbsp;“ The Irish Song Book,” as also for the use of the words of “ Fathernbsp;O’Flynn,” although not to the air as modified by Sir Charles Stanford,nbsp;but to the original air which I myself collected in County Kerry.nbsp;To the same firm I am obliged for the use of my words to the Manxnbsp;and Welsh Folk airs in this volume, and for those of “ The Song ofnbsp;the Heather.”

I have to thank Messrs. Methuen and Co. for the use of ten of the airs and accompanying words from Baring-Gould’s “The Songs of thenbsp;West ” ; Mrs. Kennedy Fraser for allowing me to print three of hernbsp;“ Songs of the Outer Hebrides” ; and the late Miss Frances Tolmienbsp;and the Committee of the Folk Song Society for leave to use six ofnbsp;Miss Tolmie's Highland Gaelic airs and words ; Henry Lemoinenbsp;and Company of Paris for the use of seventeen of L. A. Bourgault-Ducondray’s “ Melodies Populaires de Basse-Bretagne ”; and, finally,nbsp;the late Theodore Botrel and Frangois Jaffrenou, “ Taldir ” for Bretonnbsp;Folk Tunes collected by them and adorned by their beautiful words.

CONTENTS

Preface

General Introduction

157

vii

CONTENTS

Manx Section—Contimied nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;page

Words by— nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Music

Translated by Miss Traditional ...... 158

Mona Douglas

Words by A. P. Graves Traditional ...... 159

Translated by A, P. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Traditionalnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;160

Graves

Words by W. H. Gill Traditional ...... 162

From Moore’s Manx nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Traditionalnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;163

Ballads

Words by A- P. Graves nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Folk Airnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;164

Words by T. Fred Gill Folk Air ... nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;165

Translated by Miss nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Folk Airnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;167

Mona Douglas

Words by Miss Mona nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Folk Airnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;iGS

Douglas

Adapted by A. P. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Folk Airnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;169

Graves

Translated by Miss nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Folk Airnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;170

Mona Douglas

Adapted by A. P. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Folk Airnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;172

Graves

Words by A. P. Graves Folk Air ...... 173

Adapted by A. P. Folk Air ...... i74

Graves

Traditional Words ar- Folk Air nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;... 17^

ranged by W. H. Gill

Words by Miss Mona Folk Air nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;... i79

Douglas

WELSH SECTION

Words by— nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Music.

‘^Ceiriog.” Translated Air: ^‘LlwynOn” ... nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;191

by A. P. Graves

‘‘Ceiriog.” Translated Air: “Clychau Aberdyfi ” 193 by A. P. Graves

‘‘Ceiriog.” Translated Air: ^‘Codiad yr Hed- 195 by A. P. Gravesnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ydd”

viii

CONTENTS

CONTENTS

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Vi HAT is the origin of song ? Evidently there is a musical instinct in the young of all races. How early do we note our childrennbsp;crooning of their own accord when in a contented or happy framenbsp;of mind ! As with the child, so with the early races. Calls to cattle,nbsp;sti'eet and country cries, with intonations such as the “jodling”nbsp;of the Tyrolese, strike one as among the probable beginnings ofnbsp;folk song.

The songs of occupation would seem to be extended instances of these primeval chants. The occupation suggests certain measures :nbsp;thus the rocking of the cradle, the blow of the hammer on the anvil,nbsp;the sweep of the oars through the water, the turning of the spinning-wheel, each invites a rhythmic chant, monotonous at first, but afterwards taking on melodic cadences which become tunes. Yet agenbsp;saddens, and hence the musical lament, the coronach of the Scotch,nbsp;the caoine (keen) of the Irish, carried westward by the Indo-Europeannbsp;races who in the earliest times added the strains of professionalnbsp;mourning to the anguished outcries of natural grief.

That the Celtic lullabies, plough-tunes, and laments are amongst the earliest of our songs and ballads is quite clear from theirnbsp;similarity to old Persian and Indian exemplars. The lullaby wasnbsp;the song of the hearth, the lament that of the community, and thenbsp;mourners were, as among the Jews, professional minstrels of thenbsp;locality—women in the smaller communities, men as well in thenbsp;larger ones. The dignity of a special lamentation ode, however, wasnbsp;denied to commonplace people, and has been down to the presentnbsp;time^ so denied in Ireland.

quot;We have already suggested the origin of song ; but the want of an accompaniment to the voice was soon felt and supplied beyond the

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

hammer of the musical blacksmith or the sweep of the singing boatman’s oars by something that included tone as well as rhythm.nbsp;As such songs improved in rhythm and air they were supported bynbsp;seven- and, later, nine-stringed instruments, till the harp of thirtynbsp;strings was at last reached.

The singer was at first poet as well as musician, and chanted or cantillated narrative poems often of great length. Words were thennbsp;of prime consequence, and the bard, even upon the battlefield, wouldnbsp;recite the achievements of his chieftain and his ancestors as annbsp;incitement to fresh deeds of arms. Indeed, it is stated that as timenbsp;went on the bard escorted him to battle surrounded by a group ofnbsp;harpers who accompanied his declamation with all the effect of anbsp;military band.

Thus, no doubt, arose the Irish, Scotch, and Welsh marches of the clans, and where the chiefs fell fighting, such laments over the fallennbsp;as are common to the Gaelic and Cymric branches of the Celt.

In these war chants we find the ballad in its most vivid expression, and this brings us to that most popular form of narrative poetry. Itsnbsp;subjects sung in different parts of Europe are substantially the same,nbsp;as Mr. Cecil Sharp points out. “ Some of them,” he writes, “ havenbsp;been traced to an Eastern origin, and they all appear to have beennbsp;drawn from a common storehouse. They are in many cases onlynbsp;versified forms of popular tales found over the world. The ‘ Gestanbsp;Romanorum,’ the first published collection of European folk tales,nbsp;is believed to have been compiled as early as the thirteenth century,nbsp;and possibly in England. It contains several stories that have passednbsp;into ballads, some of which are even still being sung by the Englishnbsp;peasants.”

The original folk ballad was not only communal in authorship, but communal in performance also, and was danced as well as sung to,nbsp;as is still the case, in the Faroe Islands. Some writers maintainnbsp;that the game of ball formed part of the performance, and derivenbsp;from the root “ ball ” the etymrology of the words “ ballet ” and

xiv

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

“ ballad.” As time went on, dancing and song were divorced, each taking on a separate and independent existence and developingnbsp;along its own lines. With this separation the words ballet andnbsp;ballad became differentiated, the former being applied to the dancenbsp;only, the latter to the song. Yet strangely enough the synonymousnbsp;use of these two words survives. The English peasant will often saynbsp;that he has learnt a particular song off a “ ballet-sheet,” meaningnbsp;thereby a ballad-sheet.

Very soon after the separation of the song and dance had taken place, the song became less communal in its performance. Anbsp;“ leader of the balladquot; made his appearance, between whom and thenbsp;other singers the performance was divided. Later on the partnbsp;allotted to the general bodies of singers, which at first was of considerable importance, gradually diminished until it had dwindlednbsp;down to the chanting of certain stereotyped phrases at regular intervals, the whole of the narrative portion being supplied by the leader.nbsp;Hence the song with its chorus or refrain, the latter often being annbsp;extract from some earlier song sung by the whole communal bodynbsp;of vocalists.

When, however, with the invention of printing, the educated classes were provided with a literature of their own, they were nonbsp;longer dependent upon the minstrel for their amusement. Thenbsp;latter found his audience dwindling away, and with it his occupationnbsp;and this compelled him to turn to the common people and to caternbsp;for their tastes. The folk demanded, as they had always done, thenbsp;short and concise story; something better adapted to their understanding than the involved and lengthy stories of the Romances.nbsp;I he minstrel met this demand by breaking up the Romances intonbsp;smaller pieces, each of which formed a complete story and wasnbsp;within the comprehension of the multitude. So, the Epics, whichnbsp;in the first instance had been built up out of the people’s balladsnbsp;were now disintegrated and served up in fragments for the benefitnbsp;of the people.

XV

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

It would not be true to say that all our ballads have come down to us ill this wa}^ Many, no doubt, escaped absorption into thenbsp;Romance, and have been handed down to us from ver}' earlynbsp;times without break of continuity, while others have reached usnbsp;from foreign sources—for the minstrels were inveterate wanderers.nbsp;Nevertheless most authorities agree that our ballad literature consists for the most part of ballads, not of the earlier epoch—the ninthnbsp;or tenth centuries—but of the second and later period, i.e. thenbsp;fifteenth or sixteenth centuries.

As the song is an individual personal expression, not a communal one, it is naturally without history.

The solitary ploughman chanted to his team, the mother crooned to her infant, the lover rejoiced in, or lamented over, his love, butnbsp;separately from his neighbours. Later on, however, we do findnbsp;chorus songs, or songs of occupation, called “ Loobeens,” amongstnbsp;the Irish, and “ Luinigs” among the Highlanders, solos and alternately improvised utterances in song, such amoebean contests asnbsp;occur in the Eclogues of Theocritus and Virgil. These were spinningnbsp;and weaving and quilting songs sung at Gaelic working parties.nbsp;.4nd these sociable songs have their counterpart in such Welsh hearthnbsp;songs as “ The Poor Old Man ” and “ The Goat Counting Song,” andnbsp;in an occasional Manx Dialogue Song.

Here let us broadly consider the English, Welsh, Scottish, Irish, and Manx Folk Song music in their relation to one another. To whatnbsp;extent are they connected ? Many of the English and Lowlandnbsp;Scottish songs are distinctly akin to one another in musical characternbsp;and, as is now being proved, in lyrical ancestry, though in the greaternbsp;number of instances the Scottish and the Border song and balladnbsp;words have been retained, whilst their English versions have lostnbsp;poetical glamour.

The so-called Scottish “ snap,” a peculiar differentiation of Scottish tunes, is by some regarded as a legacy of gipsy fiddlers ; by others,nbsp;including Lachlan Macbean, as of Gaelic origin. The Cornish and

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Devon and some of the Somerset tunes have a more Celtic rhythm and sentiment than most of those in other parts of England. Nonbsp;wonder. They are the remains of a South Welsh minstrelsy. Butnbsp;our folk-song authorities have still to examine from the point of viewnbsp;of the ethnologist the question as to how far traces of Celtic influencenbsp;can still be found existing in Cumberland, Westmoreland, and thenbsp;North York moors, where the Celtic language persisted until after thenbsp;Norman Conquest. Such an examination might prove the existencenbsp;of airs with Celtic affinities in these counties. The songs of the Westnbsp;of England garnered by Samuel Baring Gould seem to lie half-waynbsp;in character between English and South Welsh music. Welsh music,nbsp;on the other hand, partakes of both an English and an Irish character.nbsp;Much of it is full of the robust enjoyment of life, which we find innbsp;the folk songs of Merry England. With good reason. For, apartnbsp;from the natural connection between England and Wales, there hasnbsp;been a musical coming-together in the past of Irish and Welshnbsp;musicians. Traces of this are noticeable in such beautiful Irish-Welsh airs as “ Rhuddlan Marsh,” “ Captain Moi'gan’s March,” “ Thenbsp;Vale of Clwyd,” and in such airs in the Petrie collection as “ Kathleen,”nbsp;clearly of Welsh origin, and “ Doli,” as clearly adapted from thenbsp;Irish air “ Kate Kearney.”

There is, however, a much closer resemblance between the Irish and Highland and Island airs, as was to have been expected. Fornbsp;the very name of Scotland is derived from that of the Northernnbsp;branch of the Irish Gaels who invaded, captured, and colonizednbsp;Argyle and the Isles, and eventually supplanted the Piets’ languagenbsp;and sovereignty over all North Britain.

Irish music deals in unexpected surprises ; it passes suddenly from melancholy to joyousness, and from depression to high spirits, muchnbsp;in the same way as the temperament of the Irish and Scottish Gaelnbsp;surprises the more equable Englishman by its mercurial variety.

The folk song of the Isle of Man, which has been conquered in turn by the Irish, NorthWelsh, Norse, Scots, and English, in its three

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

hundred and twenty folk songs or more collected by Mr. Speaker Moore, Dr. Clague, and the brothers Gill, shows a very mixed character. The Irish note persists in its dance music and in a few of itsnbsp;love songs. Other airs are of English or Scottish importation, butnbsp;there is quite an interesting amount of individual Manx music whichnbsp;is at its best in “ Myle Charaine ” and “ The Sheep under the Snow,”nbsp;and, above all, in some of its fine old “ carvals,” or religious songs.nbsp;There are very few old songs and ballads in the Manx language ofnbsp;any literary merit, in no sense at all equal in character to the musicnbsp;to which they are sung. Finer words probably existed and perished.

The words to the Welsh melodies, now commonly sung in Welsh, are of comparatively recent origin. Too many of the old folk wordsnbsp;have passed away, but the considerable recovery of folk songs,nbsp;valuable in part or whole for their lyrical quality, is going on activelynbsp;under the auspices of the Welsh Folk Song Society.

Folk-song collection of the same kind is being carried on by the Irish Folk Song Society, which has of late been receiving assistancenbsp;from the authorities of the Feis Ceoil, an Irish association which corresponds with the musical section of the Welsh National Eisteddfod.

The English Folk Song Society, under the guidance of a committee of musical experts of high repute, amongst whom have been Mr. Cecil Sharp, Mr. Fuller Maitland, Mr. Kitson, Miss Lucy Broad-wood, Lady Gomme, Dr. Vaughan Williams, Miss A. G. Gilchrist,nbsp;and Mrs. Kate Lee, have for the last generation been catering withnbsp;entire impartiality for the musical needs and interests of the Fournbsp;Nations within the British Seas. Miss Francis Tolmie’s large collection of Scottish-Gaelic airs and words, Mr. Martin Freeman’s twonbsp;fine collections of Irish-Gaelic airs and words, and finally. Missnbsp;Gilchrist’s collection of Manx airs and words, chiefly based onnbsp;Dr. Clague’s collection, are conclusive evidence of this impartialnbsp;spirit.

The Breton musicians and poets are hard at work, as pointed out by Professor Diverres in his introduction to the Breton Section of

xviii

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

this volume, in collecting, editing, and finding fresh words for their National Folk Song.

The Cornish airs and words in this collection are few in number, and do not appear to have been presented in their purest forms bynbsp;Baring Gould, from whose collection, except in a couple of instancesnbsp;kindly supplied by Mr. Henry Jenner, they have been reproduced bynbsp;permission of Messrs. Methuen, who hold the copyright of his “ Songsnbsp;of the West.” It would be interesting if the authorities on Bretonnbsp;folk song would as far as possible trace the connection of thenbsp;Cornish with their own native music.

IRISH FOLK SONG

A. REVIVAL is “ a living again,” and suggests an active anterior life. This certainly is true of Irish folk song. In Ireland’s dim traditionarynbsp;dawn, music is reputed to have been introduced into the country bynbsp;the Tuatha Da Dannan, whom an early legend describes as comingnbsp;Up from Greece along what is known as the Amber route, to thenbsp;mouth of the Elbe, across Lochlann, now Norway and Sweden ;nbsp;thence across the centre of Alba or Scotland into Erin. And,nbsp;remarkably enough, inscriptions of the very same kind as are foundnbsp;upon the tombs of these Da Dannan kings at New Grange are alsonbsp;to be met with, as pointed out by Mr. George Coffey, the celebratednbsp;Irish antiquary, all along the line of the Amber route, and in a beltnbsp;of Norway and Sweden and Scotland and in Ireland, and nowherenbsp;else in Europe.

What was the nature of the music that this early people brought with them to Ireland ? According to Dr. Petrie, our leading Irishnbsp;musical antiquary, it consisted of plough tunes, lamentation airs, andnbsp;lullabies. And these would be accounted for in the weird old folknbsp;tale which describes how the harper of the Tuatha Da Dannansnbsp;recovered his magical harp from his Fomorian foes by playing uponnbsp;it the Goltree airs, which turned their fury to weeping, and thenbsp;Soontree tunes which sent them all to sleep, so enabling the Harpernbsp;Uaithne to escape unscathed with the Daghda’s harp. But the oldnbsp;tale also states that the harper played upon another of the feelingsnbsp;of the Fomorians, by turning their weeping into laughing beforenbsp;thej' fell asleep, through his performance of the Gentrce, or mirth-Provoking music. If the old tale speaks truth, the class of Irishnbsp;music which to this day is to be heard upon the harp and violin,nbsp;setting us all dancing or quick-stepping, and raising our spirits as wellnbsp;us our toes and heels, is of very early origin. And, indeed, this may

NATIONAL MUSIC

be well believed by students of the manners and customs of the early Irish who were not, as some of our poets suggest, a merely mysticalnbsp;or melancholy people, but a joyous and festive race—at any rate, innbsp;the intervals of hard fighting. ‘

Dr. Petrie points out that the Irish lullabies are curiously like in character to Indian and Persian hush songs, and this would tend tonbsp;support the belief in their early Eastern origin. The plough tunesnbsp;similarly suggest a primeval origin by their character and intervals;nbsp;and this is true of some of the earlier laments, such as the “ Returnnbsp;from ‘ Fingal,’ ” or the realm of the Dublin Danes, by the victoriousnbsp;Dalcassians, chanting the death dirges of Brian Boru and his sonnbsp;Murrough who had just fallen at the battle of Clontarf. It may benbsp;here mentioned that as a rule the Irish marches are quick stepnbsp;marches. We have a number of these, and Mr. Arthur Darley, ournbsp;famous Irish violinist, has been engaged in collecting them in anbsp;volume of Irish clan marches, which should be exceedingly interestingnbsp;to all our 0’s and Mac’s. These quick-step marches have beennbsp;further quickened into jig tunes, whether in g or | time, and clannbsp;marches may be recovered through this dance medium.

Irish music was now in the hands both of the bards and the ecclesiastics, and the national instrument was the harp of fromnbsp;thirty to sixty strings. To this instrument the bards of the princesnbsp;and chieftains, even upon the battlefield, would recite the achievements of his fathers as an incitement to his hereditary lord. It isnbsp;stated, indeed, that the bard thus chanted on the old Irish battlefield,nbsp;surrounded by a group of harpers who accompanied him almostnbsp;with the effect of a military band.

In the Fenian tales there is reference made to the “ Dord,” which would appear to be a concerted cry or chorus—a cry of warning, ifnbsp;not a war cry.

As early as the close of the sixth century we gather from a passage in Adamnan’s “ Life of St. Columba ” that the Irish monks sang canticles in counterpoint. St. Cellach, a student of Bangor, co. Down, the

22

IRISH FOLK SONG

name implying “ fair choir,” or “ chief choir,” gave his name to the monastery of St. Gaul in Switzerland, which became like that ofnbsp;Bangor, a famous music school. Again, St. Mailduff, the Irishnbsp;founder of Mailduffsburgh or Malmesbury in England, flourished innbsp;670 and composed many beautiful hymns. I may add that Dr.nbsp;Joyce told me some years since that a Latin hymn by Sedulius,nbsp;whose Irish name was Shiel, is still sung at the Irish College in Romenbsp;to a very early Irish air, probably contemporary with the sixth-century Latin hymn.

Ireland, indeed, at this time was full of music ; for, besides the harp, we had as musical instruments the war-pipes blown throughnbsp;the mouth by marching pipers, not played as are our beautiful unionnbsp;pipes, by the hand, the air being supplied by bellows held under thenbsp;arm, while the musician remains seated. Great sums of money werenbsp;paid to bards and minstrels for their songs. In those days “ notnbsp;worth a song ” had no meaning in Ireland. There were hereditarynbsp;families of minstrels, instrumental players, and singers, and theirnbsp;names have come down to us, thus the surname Ward means bard ;nbsp;Cronin has to do with the word Cronawn—the crooning of a song ;nbsp;Crotty is connected with the Irish Cruit, the Welsh Crwth, thenbsp;English Crowd, and so forth.

Irish music was heard abundantly during the Crusades. Dante speaks with admiration of the Irish harp, and, indeed, there is anbsp;chorus of praise for Irish minstrelsy all through early and mediaevalnbsp;times, abroad and in this country, which may well be summed up bynbsp;Drayton’s lines in his Polyolbion :

The Irish I admire

And still cleave to that lyre.

As our Muse’s mother;

And think till I expire Apollo’s such another.

When Henry VIII. became overlord of Ireland, though not king, ^he Irish harp was added to the English arms, and his daughter,nbsp;Queen Elizabeth, took the greatest pleasure in Irish music. Sir

NATIONAL MUSIC

Henry Sydney, in a letter to her in 1569, waxes enthusiastic over the dancing of Irish jigs by the ladies of Galway, whom he describes asnbsp;very beautiful, magnificently dressed, and excellent dancers. This,nbsp;as Dr. Grattan Flood points out, disposes of the suggestion that thenbsp;jig-dance was borrowed from the Italians in the latter half of thenbsp;seventeenth century. Meantime Ireland had become the music-school of Scotland, and to a large extent of North Wales. Therenbsp;had always been much passing backwards and forwards of minstrelsnbsp;from the north of Ireland and that part of Scotland which in earlynbsp;times had been conquered by Ulster warriors, and Griffith ap Cynan,nbsp;Prince of North Wales, had, through his Irish mother and residencenbsp;in Ireland, brought Irish minstrels and bards over to his country.nbsp;There is considerable dispute as to how far North Wales was evernbsp;actually conquered by the Irish. Sir John Rhys maintains that therenbsp;is good evidence of this. Certainly somehow or other, as will benbsp;mentioned later, there is a great deal in common between what arenbsp;believed to be the earliest Welsh airs and early Irish ones.

Of Shakespeare and Irish music Dr. Grattan Flood has written an interesting chapter in his History of Irish Music. There is no doubtnbsp;that Irish music was, as he states, much in vogue in England duringnbsp;the sixteenth century, and was in favour at Court during the lastnbsp;year of Queen Elizabeth’s reign ; for the Earl of Worcester writesnbsp;on September 9, 1602, to the Earl of Shrewsbury in these terms :nbsp;“ We are frolic here in Court, much dancing in the Privy Chambernbsp;of country dances before the Queen’s Majesty, who is exceedinglynbsp;pleased therewith. Irish tunes are at this time most pleasing.”

What are these dances ? The}’ are referred to as the Hey, a country dance or round, long known in the Irish Pale, and which isnbsp;the origin of the English round or country dance, according to Dr.nbsp;Grattan Flood ; and Trenchmore, an Anglicized corruption of Riiincenbsp;Mor or the Rinnce Facia—that is, the long dance, the Hey beingnbsp;danced in a circle. One of the earliest Heys is stated by Sir Johnnbsp;Hawkins to be “ Sellenger’s Round,” which Sir Anthony St. Leger, or

24

IRISH FOLK SONG

Sellinger, saw danced in Ireland in 1540, and brought back with him to England in 1548, where its popularity was so great that it wasnbsp;arranged by the famous master, Dr. William Byrd. Two Irishnbsp;tunes mentioned under various names by Shakespeare had previouslynbsp;tgt;een identified by Malone, Dr. Petrie, and others. Dr. Grattannbsp;Flood claims to prove that nine others have been identified by him.nbsp;“ Callino custurame,” the Anglicized form for “ Little girl of mynbsp;heart,’’ “Colleen oge asthore,’’ and “Ducdane,” meaning “ Will younbsp;come?’’ or “Diuca Tu,” are the earlier pair of finds. Dr. Grattannbsp;Flood claims “ The Chevalier,” “Fortune my Foe,” “Peg a Ramsay,”nbsp;“ Bonny Sweet Robin,” and “ Whoop, do me no harm, good man,”nbsp;referred to in A Winter’s Tale twice over, but better known in Irelandnbsp;“ Paddy Whack,” and adapted by Moore to his melody “ Whilenbsp;History’s Muse.” “ Well-a-day,” or “Essex’s Last Good-night,” isnbsp;also claimed by Dr. Grattan Flood, though I think somewhat doubt-fully ; “Xhe Fading,” mentioned in the fourth act of A Winter'snbsp;T^ale, is by William Chappell’s testimony the Irish dance tune of thenbsp;Rinnce Facia, a dance to this day called The Faddy in Cornwall. Inbsp;have not so much faith in Dr. Grattan Flood’s claim to “ Light 0’nbsp;Love ” and “ Come o’er the bourn, Bessie, to me,” but “ Yellownbsp;Hockings” would appear to be the Irish “Cuma Liom” (“It isnbsp;Indifferent to me” or “I don’t care”). Moore set it to his Irishnbsp;nielody, “ Fairest, put on awhile.”

We now pass through a period of stress and struggle in Ireland. Hs chieftains, in spite of notable rallies made by the O’Neills, Owennbsp;Foe O’Donnell, and the Geraldines, the Norman Irish lords whonbsp;hecame more Irish than the Irish, had less and less time to devote tonbsp;the poetical and musical arts, and gradually, though very gradually,nbsp;the Irish bard, famous for the three feats of solemn, gay, and sleep-compelling music, degenerated under the stress of the internecinenbsp;conflicts between Saxon and Gael in Ireland, into the strollingnbsp;minstrel, and finally into the itinerant piper or fiddler or the streetnbsp;hallad singer.

25

NATIONAL MUSIC

The Irish Jacobite poems and songs, though one of them, the “ Blackbird,” is of great musical beauty, do not, for very goodnbsp;reasons, show that passionate attachment for the Stewart cause thatnbsp;pulses through Lady Nairne’s beautiful Scottish Jacobite lyrics.

But some of them, such as the “ Slender Red Steed ” and the “ Dawning of the Day,” are full of patriotic fervour. Perhaps, however, the “ Lament of the Irish Maiden for her Lover,” who has gonenbsp;to serve the Stewart cause abroad, which is found in various Anglo-Irish versions under the titles “ Shule Agra ” or “ Shule Aroon,” ornbsp;“ I wish I were on yonder Hill ” is for passionate melancholy thenbsp;best musical exemplification that could be given of these Irishnbsp;Jacobite songs.

We now come to an important epoch in Irish folk and national music—that of the Granard and Belfast Meetings of harpers—promoted with the object of reviving the taste for Irish music, whichnbsp;had begun to decline during the Hanoverian period, under itsnbsp;German musical influences. These meetings, which took placenbsp;between the years 1792 and 1800, were very successful, and awokenbsp;in the distinguished Belfast musician, Mr. Bunting, such an enthusiasm for Irish music that he henceforth devoted his main efforts tonbsp;its collection and publication. Of the Belfast meeting he writesnbsp;thus vividly : “ All the best of the old class of harpers, a race of mennbsp;then nearly extinct, and now gone for ever, were present: Hempson,nbsp;O’Neill, Fanning, and seven others, the least able of whom has notnbsp;left his equal behind. Hempson, who was more than a hundrednbsp;years old at the time, realized the antique picture drawn by Cam-brensis and Galilei, for he played with long crooked nails, the leftnbsp;hand above the right, and in his performance “ the tinkling of thenbsp;small wires under the deep notes of the bass ” was particularlynbsp;thrilling.

“He was the only one who played the very old music of the country, and this in a style of such finished excellence as persuadednbsp;me that the praises of the old Irish harp in Cambrensis, Fuller, and

26

IRISH FOLK SONG

others, were no more than a just tribute to that admirable instrument and its then professors.”

Bunting’s first collection, consisting of sixty-six hitherto unpublished pieces, was brought out in 1796, and its success, combined quot;'ith the establishment of the Irish Harp Society in Belfast as anbsp;consequence of the meeting of harpers in that city, attracted thenbsp;attention of Thomas Moore. He was at the time still a student atnbsp;Trinity College, Dublin, and it is recorded that when he played thenbsp;tune of the “ Fox's Sleep ” to his friend Robert Emmet, that youngnbsp;patriot strode about the room exclaiming, “ Heavens ! what an air fornbsp;an army to march to !” Moore then set himself to work to writenbsp;Words to Irish airs, chiefly derived from Bunting’s collection, butnbsp;Lad long to go a-begging with the MSS. of his earliest Irish Melodies.

It may have been that English publishers of music, however ready to own the beauty of the airs and their accompanying words, didnbsp;•’ot think them likely to pay, or possibly regarded some of them asnbsp;perilously national for publication so soon after the Rebellion of ’98.nbsp;But Moore eventually secured the support of a compatriot in Power,nbsp;ILe publisher, and the assistance of a still more important Irishmannbsp;In Sir John Stevenson, the arranger of the Irish Melodies ; we knownbsp;now with what a remarkable result.

Power in his first announcement mentions the promise of assistance in the work from “ other litereary characters ’ beside Moore, though he does not specify them by name. But these writeis wouldnbsp;appear to have given way to Moore, whose strong zeal foi his sharenbsp;cf the work is shown in a letter to Stephenson of the year 1807, fromnbsp;which I quote an important passage :

Our national music has never been properly collected, and while Ihe composers of the Continent have enriched their operas withnbsp;nielodies borrowed from Ireland, very often without even the honestynbsp;acknowledgment, we have left these treasures to a great degreenbsp;'Unclaimed and fugitive. Thus our airs, like too many of ournbsp;countrymen, have, for want of protection at home, passed into

27

NATIONAL MUSIC

the service of foreigners. But we are come, I hope, to a better period of both Politics and Music ; and how much they are connected, in Ireland at least, appears too plainly in the tone of sorrownbsp;and depression which characterizes most of our early songs.

“ The task which you propose to me, of adapting words to these airs, is by no means easy. The poet, who would follow the variousnbsp;sentiments which they express, must feel and understand that rapidnbsp;fluctuation of spirits, that unaccountable mixture of gloom andnbsp;levity, which composes the character of my countrymen and hasnbsp;deeply tinged their music. Even in their liveliest strains we findnbsp;some melancholy note intrude—some minor third or flat seventh—nbsp;which throws its shade as it passes and makes even mirth interesting.nbsp;If Burns had been an Irishman (and I would willingly give up allnbsp;our claims upon Ossian for him) his heart would have been proud ofnbsp;such music, and his genius would have made it immortal.

“ Another difficulty (which is, however, purely mechanical) arises from the irregular structure of many of those airs and the lawlessnbsp;kind of metre which it will in consequence be necessary to adapt tonbsp;them. In these instances the poet must write, not to the eye, but tonbsp;the ear; and must be content to have his verses of that descriptionnbsp;which Cicero mentions, Quos si caniu spoliaveris nuda remanebitnbsp;oratio. That beautiful air, the “Twisting of the Rope,” wnich hasnbsp;all the romantic character of the Swiss Ranz des Vaches, is one ofnbsp;those wild and sentimental rakes which it will not be very easy tonbsp;tie down in sober wedlock with poetry. However, notwithstandingnbsp;all these difficulties, and the very little talent which I can bring tonbsp;surmount them, the design appears to me so truly National that Inbsp;shall feel much pleasure in giving it all the assistance in my power.”

The melodies appeared in groups of sixteen at a time, and immediately found favour, but not with the populace, whom they reached very gradually. It was in the drawing-rooms of the uppernbsp;classes, where Moore himself sang his melodies with a small voicenbsp;but exquisite feeling, that the Irish melodies first became famous.

28

IRISH FOLK SONG

Moore was before his time in recognizing the artistic vaiue of brevity in the modern song and bailad. Moreover, his knowledgenbsp;of tyrical perspective is unrivalled, his thought is pellucid, nevernbsp;obscured by condensation or dimmed by diffuseness. But he mostnbsp;asserts his mastery in song-craft by the apparent ease with which henbsp;handles the most intricate musical measures, and mates the strikingnbsp;quot;otes of each tune to the words most adapted to them both in soundnbsp;^nd sense ; to say nothing of the art with which he almost Italianizesnbsp;English speech by a melodious sequence of varying vowels andnbsp;Mliterative consonants which almost sing themselves. Yet whilstnbsp;Moore has, in addition to this vocal quality, the very perfection ofnbsp;playful wit and graceful fancy, as in “ Quick ! We have but anbsp;Second,” and now and again real pathos, as in “ O breathe not hisnbsp;name !”, “ She is far from the land !”; and again, an irresistiblenbsp;•^^artial spirit, as in “ O the light entrancing ” and “ Avenging andnbsp;l’''ight falls the swift sword of Erin!”, many of his melodies arenbsp;*'ot standing the test of time. This is either because our fine airsnbsp;have been altered in time or character by him and Stevenson, and sonbsp;'Icpreciated, or have been assorted by Moore with the sentimental,nbsp;Metaphorical, and pseudo-philosophical fancies that took the tastenbsp;M the English upper classes half a century ago, or because the tunesnbsp;lo which some of his finer lyrics are set are not of the first-ratenbsp;quality.

K a great national collection of Irish melodies is to be formed it 'Mil be our plain duty to divorce these ill-matched lyrics from theirnbsp;Present partners, and to mate them to worthy airs in the Petrie andnbsp;Joyce collections and in Bunting’s last volume, which came afternbsp;Moore’s last melodies, and of which he was so ill-advisedly con-^ouaptuous. It is as plain an obligation to slip out of their goldennbsp;bettings Moore’s occasional bits of green glass and to slip into them

j . above criticism of Moore’s powers as a lyrical writer is quoted from the to my Irish Song Book, one of the volumes in the New Irish Library,nbsp;published by Mr. Fisher Unwin.

29

NATIONAL MUSIC

The collections of Bunting may be said to have brought about the first revival of Irish folk music. His last volume—from whichnbsp;Thomas Moore drew nothing, and of which he spoke with unjustifiednbsp;contempt—considering the popular success of some of its melodiesnbsp;in Sir Charles Stanford’s hands—appeared as late as 1840. Fornbsp;Bunting had long survived the romantic days of the northernnbsp;Rebellion, when the “ Parting of Friends” was very sadly and, as itnbsp;proved, significantly sung in the presence of Wolfe Tone and thatnbsp;noble Irishman, Thomas Russell, both of whom expiated their actsnbsp;of rebellion against British authority by the death penalty.

It had long been a matter of wonder that the Irish verses to which these airs had been sung were not forthcoming, although Englishnbsp;renderings from them by Miss Balfour and others were published innbsp;this de luxe volume of 1840. The mystery has been solved quitenbsp;recently by the late energetic secretary of the Irish Folk Songnbsp;Society, Mrs. Milligan Fox, under remarkable circumstances. Callingnbsp;at Morley’s, the harp makers, she learnt that one of his customersnbsp;had recently ordered an Irish harp on the ground that his grandfather had been a collector of Irish music. Mrs. Fox inquired hisnbsp;name and address. The purchaser proved to be Dr. Louis Macrory,nbsp;of Battersea, who generously put a great amount of unpublishednbsp;material inherited from his grandfather, Edward Bunting, at Mrs.nbsp;Fox’s disposal. He, furthermore, added to her delight by informingnbsp;her that there were other Bunting papers in a box in Dublin. Thisnbsp;proved to contain a great number of the Gaelic originals of the tunesnbsp;in the Bunting collection. Why had they lain neglected for fifty yearsnbsp;or more ? Because Patrick Lynch, who had collected them roundnbsp;the country, had turned king’s evidence against Russell, one of hisnbsp;employers upon this quest. Russell was sent to the gallows, thenbsp;friendly company of folk-song collectors was broken up, and therenbsp;was a strong feeling against the publication of manuscripts collectednbsp;by Lynch, the informer, and hence their suppression till their discovery by Mrs. Milligan Fox. They have been in part translated

30

IRISH FOLK SONG

into English by Miss Alice Milligan, Mrs. Milligan Fox’s brilliant sister. Their entire translation and publication may be looked fornbsp;in the future.

To revert to Dr. Petrie and that distinguished Irishman’s great services to his country’s folk songs. When Dr. Joyce was quitenbsp;n young man he sent Petrie some beautiful folk songs which he hadnbsp;ns a lad collected in his native Glenosheen. Petrie was delightednbsp;with these, and Joyce became a frequent caller at the doctor’s housenbsp;nnd heard his songs sung by Petrie’s daughter Mary, who in hernbsp;youth was very beautiful ; Sir Frederick Burton’s picture of thenbsp;“ Blind Girl at the Well ” is an admirable likeness of her at thatnbsp;period. “ How well,” writes Dr. Joyce to me, “ I recollect thenbsp;procedure when I returned to Dublin for my vacation. One of thenbsp;first things was to spend an evening with the whole family, thenbsp;father and the four daughters, when Mary went through my newnbsp;collection on the piano with the rest listening, especially Petrienbsp;fiimself, in rapt delight, as she came across some exquisite airnbsp;fic had not heard before. But of all the airs he was mostnbsp;'fclighted with the ‘Wicked Kerry Man,’now in my Ancient Irishnbsp;^Iiisic, p. 84.”

Here is an anecdote of Petrie recorded by Dr. Joyce in another Communication to me, showing how early his love for Irish musicnbsp;had been: “ When Petrie was a boy he was a good player uponnbsp;^ little single keyed flute. One day he and another of his youngnbsp;companions set out for a visit to Glendalough, then in its primitivenbsp;®tate of solitude. While passing Luggelaw they heard a girl near atnbsp;hand singing a beautiful air. Instantly out came paper and pencil,nbsp;and Petrie took it down and then played it on his little flute. Hisnbsp;Companions were charmed with it; and for the rest of the journey,nbsp;^'’cry couple of miles when they sat down to rest, they cried, “ Here,nbsp;h’ctrie, out with your flute, and give us that lovely tune.” That tune

now known as “ Luggelaw,” and to it Thomas Moore, to whom Petrie gave it, wrote his words (as lovely as the music):

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No not more welcome the fairy numbers Of music fall on the sleeper’s ear,

When half awakingquot; from fearful slumbers,

He thinks the full choir of heaven is near,—

Than came that voice, when, all forsaken.

This heart long had sleeping lain.

Nor thought its cold pulse would ever waken To such benign, blessed sounds again.

And this brings us to George Petrie’s famous collection of Irish music, in the gathering of which he had been engaged with passionatenbsp;interest from his seventeenth till after his seventieth year.

At first he freely gave these folk airs to Thomas Moore and Francis Holden, and even offered the use of his whole collectionnbsp;to Edward Bunting. But finally, for fear that the priceless hoardnbsp;might be neglected or lost after his death, and also as a protestnbsp;against the methods of noting and dealing with the airs pursuednbsp;by Edward Bunting and Moore and Stevenson respectively, Petrienbsp;agreed to edit his collection for the Society for the Preservation andnbsp;Publication of the Ancient Music of Ireland, which was founded innbsp;December, 1851.

One volume of this collection, comprising, however, only about a tenth part of it, saw the light in 1857. A supplement containsnbsp;thirty-six airs, some of which. Dr. Stokes tells us, were sent tonbsp;Petrie by personal friends, such as Thomas Davis, the patriot,nbsp;William Allingham, the poet, Frederick Burton, the painter, andnbsp;Patrick Macdowell, the sculptor ; “whilst physicians, students, parishnbsp;priests, Irish scholars, and college librarians all aided in the goodnbsp;work. But most of Petrie’s airs have been noted by himself fromnbsp;the singing of the people, the chanting of some poor ballad-singer,nbsp;the song of the emigrant, of peasant girls while milking their cowsnbsp;or performing their daily round of household duties, from thenbsp;playing of wandering musicians, or from the whistling of farmersnbsp;and ploughmen.” And this description is typical of the method bynbsp;which the airs were obtained, in this instance on the islands of Aran :

32

IRISH FOLK SONG

“ Inquiries Laving been made as to the names of persons ' who had music ’—that is, who were known as possessors and singers of thenbsp;old airs—an appointment was made with one or two of them tonbsp;meet the members of the party at some cottage near the littlenbsp;village of Kilronan, which was their headquarters.

“ To this cottage, when evening fell, Petrie, with his manuscript music-book and violin, and always accompanied by his friend. Professor Eugene O’Curry, the famous Irish scholar, used to proceed.

“Nothing could exceed the strange picturesqueness of the scenes which night after night were thus presented.

“ On approaching the house, always lighted up by a blazing turf fire, it was seen to be surrounded by the islanders while its interiornbsp;Was crowded by figures, the rich colours of whose dresses, heightened by the firelight, showed with a strange vividness and variety,nbsp;while their fine countenances were all animated with curiosity andnbsp;pleasure.

“ It would have required a Rembrandt to paint the scene. The minstrel—sometimes an old woman, sometimes a beautiful girl ornbsp;a young man—was seated on a low stool in the chimney corner,nbsp;while chairs for Petrie and O’Curry were placed opposite, the rest ofnbsp;the crowded audience remaining standing. The singer commenced,nbsp;stopping at every two or three bars of the melody to permit thenbsp;Writing of the notes, and often repeating the passage until it wasnbsp;correctly taken down, and then going on with the melody exactlynbsp;from the point where the singing was interrupted. The entire airnbsp;being at last obtained, the singer—a second time—was called to givenbsp;the song continuously, and when all corrections had been made, thenbsp;violin, an instrument of great sweetness and power, was produced,nbsp;and the air played as Petrie alone could play it, and often repeated.

“ Never was the inherent love of music among the Irish people more shown than on this occasion : they listened with deep attention, while their heartfelt pleasure was expressed, less by exclamations than by gestures ; and when the music ceased, a general and

33 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;3

NATIONAL MUSIC

murmured conversation, in their own language, took place, which would continue till the next song was commenced.”

Some further airs drawn from the Petrie collection, after the publication of the volume of 1857, have appeared in the form of piano arrangements by Francis Hoffmann, and in vocal settings in Songs ofnbsp;Old Ireland, Songs of Erin, and Irish Folk Songs, published by Booseynbsp;and Co., and in Irish Songs and Ballads, published by Novello, Ewernbsp;and Co. After this, however, the entire collection of about eighteennbsp;hundred airs in purety melodic form, exactly as they were notednbsp;down by Petrie, a vast treasure-house of folk song, was published bynbsp;Messrs. Boosey and Co. for the Irish Literary Society under thenbsp;editorship of the late Sir Charles Villiers Stanford.

Of recent collectors of Irish folk songs the longest at work, the most learned, most indefatigable, and the most enthusiastic—at anynbsp;rate, on this side of the Atlantic Ocean—was Dr. Patrick Westonnbsp;Joyce, who forty-one years ago published Ancient Irish Music, containing a hundred airs never printed before. At the age of eighty henbsp;published, in 1909, with Longmans’ Old Irish Folk Music and Songs,nbsp;a collection of no less than eight hundred and forty-two Irish airsnbsp;and songs, hitherto unpublished, with a masterly preface dealingnbsp;with the “ Forde ” and “ Pigot ” collections contained in his volume,nbsp;the characteristics of Irish narrative airs, the origin of various settings of Irish airs, the relation between Irish and Danish music, thenbsp;question as to how far harmony existed amongst the ancient Irish,nbsp;the various kinds of dance tunes, the pace at which different kinds ofnbsp;Irish music should be played, and the total number of Irish airs,nbsp;probably some five thousand, in existence.

This volume is a mine of beautiful airs and of interesting Anglo-Irish song and ballad words.

Mr. Francis O’Neill, for long chief of police in Chicago, is a famous living Irish collector of folk music. This enthusiast, beginning bynbsp;setting down the Irish airs, learnt at his Irish-speaking mother’snbsp;knee, and then through the course of years tapping the memories of

34

IRISH FOLK SONG

fellow-countrymen who had drifted to Chicago from all the four corners of the Green Isle, has succeeded in getting together anbsp;collection of some eighteen hundred and fifty Irish airs, of which atnbsp;least five hundred had never been before in print. The great valuenbsp;of this collection consists in the number of instrumental airs whichnbsp;it contains. Levy’s book of Irish dance music is dwarfed beside it.nbsp;But to go back a little. A good selection from the Petrie collection,nbsp;harmonized for the pianoforte but without words, was publishednbsp;after Petrie’s death by Piggot of Dublin. The music was arrangednbsp;by Hoffmann, a German resident in Dublin. The brothers Franknbsp;and Joseph Robinson also arranged Irish airs, and so did Sir Robertnbsp;Stewart. But the first serious departure in this direction was madenbsp;by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford in his arrangements of Irish airs,nbsp;chiefly from the Petrie collection, to my words, in three volumes —nbsp;Songs of Old Ireland and Songs of Erin, published by Boosey, andnbsp;Irish Songs and Ballads, published by Novello. Dr. Charles Woodnbsp;and I have also done a collection with Boosey, entitled Irish Folknbsp;Songs, and Stainer and Bell have fifty more Irish folk songs, whichnbsp;are gradually seeing the light, h^lf the lyrics of which are bynbsp;Thomas Davis, Gerald Griffin, Ferguson, Allingham, MacCall, andnbsp;other well-known Irish song writers, the remainder being from mynbsp;pen. Latterly, Mr. Herbert Hughes has brought out his Songs ofnbsp;Vila and Songs of Connaughi, with lyrics by Mr. Joseph Campbell,nbsp;Mr. Paudraic Colum, and others ; while Mrs. Milligan Fox, in conjunction with her sister, Alice Milligan, and her poetic friend,nbsp;Ethnea Carbery, and others, has arranged several groups of beautiful North Country Irish airs, besides putting the musical publicnbsp;niuch in her debt by her Annals of the Irish Harpers.

There has been indeed a gradually growing demand for Irish folk music, but this has been largely due to the appearance of severalnbsp;notable Irish folk singers. One of them, a truly great and versatilenbsp;singer of folk songs, Denis O’Sullivan, has, alas ! passed from our midst ;nbsp;but we have in Mr. Harry Plunket Greene the most remarkable

35

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interpreter of Irish songs, tragic, impetuous, dreamy, rollicking, who has appeared in our day. And not only is he a great singer, but anbsp;fine teacher, as anybody who has studied his volume on The Interpretation of Song must acknowledge. To every folk singer I commend what he says about the right way to sing folk songs, for withnbsp;him precept and example are finely identical. Other fine singers ofnbsp;Irish songs have been Mr. Ledwich, better known as Herr Ludwig,nbsp;and, of course, Joseph O’Mara.

The Gaelic League has not been idle in the collection and singing of folk songs. They have reintroduced the singing of Irish-Gaelicnbsp;into the concert room, and collected many traditional songs andnbsp;pipe and fiddle airs. The Feis Ceoil, the Irish Musical Festival,nbsp;which sprung out of lectures on Irish folk song, delivered before thenbsp;National Literary Society of Dublin by Dr. Annie Patterson andnbsp;myself, encourages Irish National music by prizes for singing innbsp;Irish and English, and some of its members have taken down songsnbsp;and pipers' and fiddlers’ tunes from the phonograph; but the Feisnbsp;Ceoil does not, like the Welsh Eisteddfod, offer prizes for collectionsnbsp;of folk songs.

A collection of some seventy-five folk airs collected and edited by Arthur Darley and P. }• McCall for the Feis Ceoil Association,nbsp;Senator Mrs. Costello’s most interesting book of recently gatherednbsp;Galway and Mayo airs with Gaelic words, and the volumes of thenbsp;Irish Folk Society’s publications, which come down to the year 1926,nbsp;are the latest contributions to Irish folk-song literature.

36

IRISH FOLK SONG

Erin, the Tear and the Smile

Thomas Moore. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Air: “Eibhlin a run.”

, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;By Carol O’Daly, in Fourteenth Century.

-d—

Blend like the rain - bow that hang’s in the skies;

Erin, thy silent tear never shall cease— Erin, thy languid smile ne’er shall increase-Till, like the rainbow’s light.

Thy various tints unite And form, in Heaven’s sight,

One arch of peace !

37

it

When the praise thou meet - est To thine ear is sweet - est,

PP a little slower.

Oh! nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;then.

mf In time.

-y—y-

O - ther arms may press thee, Dear - er friends ca - ress thee,

P a little slower.

All the joys that bless thee Sweet • er far may be;

In time. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;cresc.

-s-

-é—4—»:^--

But when friends are near est. And when joys are dear-est,

38

GO WHERE GLORY WAITS THEE

W a little slower. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;,

Let Erin remember the Days of Old

On Lough Neagh’s bank as the fisherman strays, When the clear cold eve’s declining,

He sees the round tow’rs of other days In the wave beneath him shining;

Thus shall mem’ry often, in dreams sublime. Catch a glimpse of the days that are over;nbsp;Thus sighing, look thro’ the waves of time.

For long-faded glories they cover.

40

Silent, oh Moyle

Thomas Moore. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Air: “Arrah! my dear Eveleen.”

Slowly and sadly.

-/—1lt;^

Si - lent, oh Moyle, be the roar.. of thy wa-ter,

P

mur - mur-ing mourn - ful - ly, Lir’s lone-ly daugh-ter

- i ¦ - N r*— . ^—

ZɱÉZ

NATIONAL MUSIC

Sadly, oh Moyle, to thy winter-wave weeping, Fate bids me languish long ages away;

Yet still in her darkness doth Erin lie sleeping, Still doth the pure light its dawning delay.nbsp;When will that day-star, mildly springing.nbsp;Warm our isle with peace and love ?

When will Heav’n, its sweet bells ringing.

Call my spirit to the fields above ?

42

AVENGING AND BRIGHT

We swear to avenge them ! No joy shall be tasted,

The harp shall be silent, the maiden unwed,

Our halls shall be mute, and our fields shall lie wasted, Till vengeance is wreak’d on the murderer’s head.

Yes, monarch ! tho’ sweet are our home recollections, Tho' sweet are the tears that from tenderness fall;nbsp;Tho’ sweet are our friendships, our hopes, our affections,nbsp;Revenge on a tyrant is sweetest of all !

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¦C3quot;

true! Tho’ fain to fly your

love - ly coast. They leave their hearts with you. {Reproduced by kind permission of Messrs. Boosey and Co., Lid.)

Clare’s Dragoons

CLARE’S DRAGOONS

rt#

Another Clare is here to lead,

The worthy son of such a breed,

The French expect some famous deed When Clare leads on his warriors.

Our Colonel comes from Brian’s race,

His wounds are in his breast and face,

The gap of danger’s still his place,

The foremost of his squadron.

¦Vive la! etc.

45

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Oh, comrades, think how Ireland pines For exiled lords and rifled shrines,

Her dearest hope the ordered lines And bursting charge of Clare’s men.nbsp;Then fling your green flag to the sky.nbsp;Be Limerick your battle cry.

And charge till blood floats fetlock high Around the track of Clare’s men.

Vive Ik ! etc.

At the Mid Hour of Night

spi - • rits can steal froni the re - gions .of cresc.

Si

To re - vis - - it past scenes of de 46

«7

AT THE MID HOUR OF NIGHT Slower, p

Then I sing the wild song ’twas once such pleasure to hear, When our voices, commingling, breath’d, like one, on the ear ;nbsp;And, as Echo far off thro’ the vale my sad orison rolls,

I think, O my love 1 ’tis thy voice from the Kingdom of Souls, Faintly answering still the notes that once were so dear.

The Little Red Lark

Air : “ The Little Red Lark.’

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NATIONAL MUSIC

till., thou’rt ris - - en. Earth is

Full of my lone-some sighs; Then a-\vake and dis-co-ver To Nnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;knbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;'rgt;

zSjtt

thy fond lov-er The morn of thy match-less eyes!... {Reproduced by kind permission of Messrs. Boosey and Co., Ltd.)

I’ve found my Bonny Babe a Nest

Alfred Perceval Graves. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Two Irish Lullabies combined.

Slowly and softly.

3t£

1’vefoundmy bon-ny babe a nest

rock you there to ro - sy rest. As - tore Ma - chree! nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;I’ll

48

I’VE FOUND MY BONNY BABE A NEST

found my bon - ny babe a nest On Slum - ber Tree,

rock you there to ro - sy rest, As-tore Ma-chree ! Hush-o, Hush-o ! . :--

Oh, lul - la - lo! sing all the leaves On Slum-ber

5^-fi

m---¥-

Shule Agra

His hail* was black, his eye was blue, His arm was stout, his

ig=:K

w w nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;w -nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;9 7^-nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;9quot;

word was true. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Inbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;wishnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;in my heartnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;1nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;was with you. Go *

-1---

- dé - nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;-nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;- thu, ma - vour ----- neen slaun!

’Tis oft I sat on my true love’s knee; Many a fond story he told to me.

He told me things that ne’er shall be. Go-de-thu, mavourneen slaun, etc.nbsp;50

SHULE AGRA

I sold my rock, I sold my reel;

When my flax was spun I sold my wheel, To buy my love a sword of steel.

Go-de-thu, mavourneen slaun, etc.

But when King James was forced to flee. The Wild Geese spread their wings to sea,nbsp;And bore ma bouchal far from me.nbsp;Go-dé-thu, mavourneen slaun, etc.

I saw them sail from Brandon Hill,

Then down I sat and cried my fill.

That every tear would turn a mill.

Go-dé-thu, mavourneen slaun, etc.

I wish the King would return to reign. And bring my true love back again ;

I wish, and wish, but I wish in vain. Go-dé-thu, mavourneen slaun, etc.

I’ll dye my petticoat. I’ll dye it red,

And round the world I’ll beg my bread. Till I find my love, alive or dead.

Go-dé-thu, mavourneen slaun, etc.

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^Oh, what shall I do now ?’Twas look - ing- at you, now! Sure,

^ nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;'nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;-f-'

sure, such a pitch - er 1’Jl ne’er meet a - gain! ’Twastne

iNrzzfei

sent as a plague to the................. girls of Cole-raine. ”

I sat down beside her, and gently did chide her.

That such a misfortune should give her such pain ;

A kiss then I gave her, and, before I did leave her.

She vowed, for such pleasure, she’d break it again. ’Twas hay-making season ; I can’t tell the reason,nbsp;Misfortune will never come single, ’tis plain ;

For very soon after poor Kitty’s disaster The devil a pitcher was whole in Coleraine.

52

The Lark in Clear Air

clear air of the day. For a ten - der, beam-ing’

I shall tell her all my love, all my soul’s adoration,

And I think she will hear me, and will not say me nay. It is this that gives my soul all its joyous elation,

As I hear the sweet lark sing in the clear air of the day.

53

The Snowy-Breasted Pearl

Translated from the Irish by George Petrie.

Air ; “ Péarla an bhrollaigh bhain.” Not too slowly.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;{The Pearl of the White Breast.)

crossed the rag - ing main, Her face to see a-gain The seas I’d

dSE

Down by the Sally Gardens

Air; “The Maids of Mourne Shore.”

NATIONAL MUSIC --=

m-f

leaves grow on the tree; But 1, be-tng young and

,—--

In a field by the river my love and I did stand,

And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand. She bid me take life easy as the grass grows on the weirs ;nbsp;But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.

Pastheen Fionn

From the Irish by Sir Samuel Ferguson.

Passioiiatelv.

ap - - pie bios - som her bo - som white, And her

56

PASTHEEN FIONN

neck like the swan’s on a March morn bright.

^__ƒ- -# nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;-#

you would but come with me, brown girl sweet.

Love of my heart, my fair Pastheen !

Her cheeks are as red as the rose’s sheen ;

But my lips have tasted no more, I ween.

Than the glass I drank to the health of my queen !

Then Oro, come with me ! come with me ! come with me ! etc.

Were I in the town, where’s mirth and glee.

Or ’twixt two barrels of barley bree.

With my fair Pastheen upon my knee,

’Tis I would drink to her pleasantly !

Then Oro, come with me ! come with me ! come with me ! etc.

57

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Nine nights I lay in longing and pain,

Betwixt two bushes, beneath the rain,

7'hinking to see you, love, once again ;

But whistle and call were all in vain !

Then Oro, come with me ! come with me ! come with me ! etc.

Fll leave my people, both friend and foe;

From all the girls in the world I’ll go ;

But from you, sweetheart, oh, never ! oh no !

Till I lie in the coffin, stretched cold and low 1

Then Oro, come with me! come with me ! come with me ! etc.

The Welcome

Air : “ Mo Bhuachailin Buiclhe.’ [My yelloxv-haired little boy.)

Come when you’re lookM for or come with - out warn - ing;

Kiss - es and wel-come you’ll find here be - fore you. And the

oft - ’ner you come here, the more I’ll a - dore

S8

Red is my chi. e'.lt; that they told me was blight - ed. The

-V-N-

- S- - nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;•nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;w w

green of the trees looks far green-er than ev - er. And the lin-nets are sing-ing, True lov - ers don’t sev - er 1”

I’ll pull you sweet flowers to wear if you choose ’em,

Or, after you’ve kiss’d them they’ll lie on my bosom;

We’ll look on the stars, and wc’11 list to the river.

Till you ask of your darling what gift you can give her.

Oh 1 she’ll whisper you, “ Love, as unchangeably beaming, And trust, all in secret, as tunefully streaming.

Till the starlight of heaven above us shall quiver.

And our souls flow in one down eternity’s river.”

The Heather Glen

THE HEATHER GLEN

No, not more Welcome

(Erin to Grattan)

full..,, quire of heav’n is near,-61

i nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;

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Sweet voice of comfort! ’twas like the stealing Of summer wind through some wreathèd shell;nbsp;Each secret winding, each inmost feelingnbsp;Of all my soul eclioed to its spell !

’Twas whisper’d balm—’twas sunshine spoken :

I’d live years of grief and pain To have my long sleep of sorrow brokennbsp;By such benign, blessèd sounds again.

Little Mary Cassidy

Air: “The Little Stack of Barley.”

With buoyant tenderness.

Oh, ’tis lit - tie Ma - ry Cas - si - dy’s the

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’Twas at the dance at Darmody’s that first I caught a sight of her, And heard her sing the Drinan Donn, till tears came in my eyes,

And ever since that blessed hour I’m dreaming day and night of her ; The divil a wink of sleep at all I get from bed to rise.

Cheeks like the rose in June, song like the lark in tune,

Working, resting, night or noon, she never leaves my mind ;

Oh, till singing by my cabin fire sits little Mary Cassidy,

’Tis little aise or happiness I’m sure I’ll never find.

What is wealth, what is fame, what is all that people fight about,

To a kind word from her lips or a love-glance from her eye ?

Oh, though troubles throng my breast, sure they’d soon go to the right-about

If I thought the curly head of her would rest there by and by.

Take all I own to-day, kith, kin, and care away.

Ship them all across the say, or to the frozen zone ;

Lave me an orphan bare—but lave me Mary Cassidy,

I never would feel lonely with the two of us alone.

The Winding Banks of Erne

Air : “The River Roe.”

—\—0-

Q- # nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;#

A - dieu to Bel - a - shan - ny, where I was bred and-

Go where 1 may, I'll think of you, As

THE WINDING BANKS OF ERNE

~~N-

0- ^ ^

not a face in all the place but part-ly seems my own ;

east or west, in for-eign lands, I’ll re-col-Iect them still... I

1 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;•nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;-nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;-nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;- “•icf'

leave my warm heart with you, tho’my back I’m forced to turn: A-

i- nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;•-

- dieu to Bel-a - shan-ny, and the wind ing banks of Erne.

No more on pleasant evenings we’ll saunter down the Mall,

When the trout is rising to the fly, the salmon to the fall !

The boat comes straining on her net, and heavily she creeps.

Cast off, cast off—she feels the oars, and to her berth she sweeps ; Now fore and aft keep hauling, and gathering up the clew.

Till a silver wave of salmon rolls in among the crew.

Then they may sit with pipes a-lit, and many a joke and yarn— Adieu to Belashanny, and the winding banks of Erne !

65 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;5

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The thrush will call through Camlin groves the livelong summer day; The waters run by mossy cliffs and banks with wild flowers gay;

The girls will bring their work and sing beneath a twisted thorn,

Or stray with sweethearts down the path among the growing corn ; Along the river-side they go, where I have often been,

Oh, never shall I see again the days that I have seen !

A thousand chances are to one I never may return—

Adieu to Belashanny, and the winding banks of Erne !

Now measure from the Commons down to each end of the Purt, Round the Abbey, Moy, and Knather—I wish no one any hurt;

The Main Street, Back Street, College Lane, the Mall, and Portnasun, If any foes of mine are there, I pardon every one.

I hope that man and womankind will do the same by me;

For my heart is sore and heavy at voyaging the sea.

My loving friends I’ll bear in mind, and often fondly turn To think of Belashanny, and the winding banks of Erne.

The Red-Haired Man’s Wife

har - vest has., «miled. I’ll.

- lief..... from grief.... for that fond grey - eyed child,

66

THE RED-HAIRED MAN’S WIFE

ZË~ÉZ

Whom kin - dred most cru - el, poor jew - el, in - to Z=r--n——~

-P-

-Sgt;-

to be the Red-haired Man’s wife.

That fond valentine of mine a letter I sent,

That I’d soon sail with store galore to wed her ere Lent.

Her friends stole the note I wrote, and far worse than with knife Have slain my bright pearl for a churl; she’s the Red-haired Man'snbsp;wife.

Oh, child and sweetheart, their art had you but withstood Till I had come home o’er the foam for our great joy and good,

I had not now to go under woe o’er the salt sea's strife,

A wanderer to France from the glance of the Red-haired Man’s wife;

O might a maid con-fess her se-cret long-ing To one who

Ö:p=^

dear-ly loves, but may not speak 1 A-las ! I had not hidden to thy 67

-i-#-

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^^ quot;fquot; \yJ' ~*i,

wrong-ingf A bleed - - ing heart be - neath.

^fe=3:

Start - ing. And thou hadst learned my bo - som’s dear dis-

And half the pain, the cru - el pain of

=l=n

part-ing,.. Had passed, Cu - cul - lain, in., thy. fond ca-ress. {Reproduced by kind permission of Messrs. Boosey and Co., Ltd.)

But go ! Connacia’s hostile trumpets call thee,

Thy chariot mount and ride the Ridge of War,

And prove whatever feat of arms befall thee,

The hope and pride of Emer of Lismore ;

Ah, then return, my hero, girt with glory.

To knit my virgin heart so near to thine,

That all who seek thy name in Erin’s story Shall find its loving letters linked with mine.

Note.—Cucullain was one of the most famous of the Irish legendary heroes, and is said to have withstood all Queen Maive of Connaught’s champions at thénbsp;great battle of the Ford.

68

Happy ’tis, thou Blind, for Thee

From the Irish by Douglas Hyde. With feeling.

ZtZUfl

Hap - py ’tis,.. thou blind, for thee, That thou se - - est

not., our star; Couldst thou see., but as... we see.. her.

Once I pitied sightless men,

I was then unscathed by sight; Now I envy those who see not,

They can be not hurt by light.

Woe who once has seen her please, And then sees her not each hour ;nbsp;Woe for him her love-mesh binding,nbsp;Whose unwinding passes power.

His Home and His Own Country

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'0—0-one whose beau-ti“ful, love-lit face.. The dis - tance hid for a

=ifc=t

3t=t days to mCj Who am.,.. his home and his own coun-try.

What shall I say who am here at rest,

Led from the good things up to the best ? Little my knowledge, but this I know,

It was God said, “ Love each other so.”

O love, my love, who hast come to me, Thy love, thy home, and thy own country.

70

Dublin Bay

troub - lin’, Your beau - ty.. haunts me like a fe - ver ceas - es, My ear - liest, lat - est thoug-ht you'll fail to

Sweet Wicklow mountains ! the soft sunlight sleepin’ On your green uplands is a picture rare ;

You crowd around me, like young maidens peepin’, And puzzlin’ me to say which is most fair,

As tho’ you longed to see your own sweet faces Reflected in that smooth and silver sea.

My fondest blessin’ on those lovely places,

Tho’ no one cares how dear they are to me.

How often, when alone at work I’m siftin’.

And musing sadly on the days of yore,

I think I see my pretty Katie knittin’.

The childer playin’ round the cabin door;

1 think I see the neighbours’ kindly faces

All gathered round, their long-lost friend to see ;

Though none here knows how very fair that place is, Heav’n knows how dear my poor home was to me.

71

The Meeting of the Waters

it

vale in whose bo - som the bright wa - ters meet. Oh ! the

4-Ö— nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;..

last rays of feel - ing- and life must de - part. Ere the

to:

bloom of that val - ley shall fade from my heart! Ere the bloom of that val-ley shall fade from my heart!

Yet it was not that Nature had shed o’er the scene Her purest of crystal and brightest of green ;

’Twas not the soft magic of streamlet or hill;

Oh, no—it was something more exquisite still :—

’Twas that friends, the beloved of my bosom, were near,

Who made ev’ry dear scene of enchantment more dear ;

And who felt how the best charms of Nature improve When we see them reflected in looks that we love.

Sweet vale of Avoca ! how calm could I rest In thy bosom of shade with the friends I love best,

Where the storms that we feel in this cold world should cease, And our hearts, like thy waters, be mingled in peace.

72

The Song of the Woods

Alfred Perceval Graves. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Air: “ The Song of the Woods.quot;

- far..... for praise and prayer Or., where Thy sol-emn or - gan

speaks. Thy presence to a ra-diant rose thrills a thou-sand vir-gin

NATIONAL MUSIC

wea - ry here we wan - der when.. lo! the Sa-viour’s gleaming stole! ’Tis.. caught un - to our craving lips, kissed, and

straightway we are whole.

{Reproduced by kind permission of Messrs. Boosey and Co., Lid.)

The Widow Malone

Charles Lever. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Air: “ The Gap in the Hedge.”

lived in the town of Ath - lone?

74

Of lovers she had a full score,

Or more;

And fortunes they all had galore,

In store ;

From the Minister down To the Clerk of the Crown,

All were courting the widow Malone, Ohone!

All were courting the widow Malone.

But so modest was Mrs. Malone,

’Twas known

No one ever could see her alone, Ohone!

Let them ogle and sigh.

They could ne’er catch her eye.

So bashful the widow Malone,

Ohone!

So bashful the widow Malone.

Till one Mr. O’Brien from Clare— How quare!

It’s little for blushing they care

Down there—^

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Put his arm round her waist,

Gave ten kisses at laste—

“ Oh,” says he, “ you’re my Molly Malone, My own !”

“ Oh,” says he, “ you’re my Molly Malone 1”

And the widow they all thought so shy,

My eye !

Ne’er thought of a simper or sigh—

For why ?

But “ Lucius,” says she,

“ Since you’ve now made so free.

You may marry your Molly Malone,

Ohone!

You may marry your Molly Malone !”

Father O’Flynn

Alfred Perceval Graves. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;“ Air: “ The Top of Cork Road quot;

FATHER O’FLYNN

--/-/-^-

Fa - ther O’ - Flynn, as the fiow’r of them all.

health to you. Fa - tl er O’ - Flynn.

Slain - té and slain - té and slain - té

zt

kind - li - est crea - ture in ould Don - e - g'al, {Reproduced by kind permission of Messrs. Boosey and Co., Lid.)

Don’t talk of your Provost and Fellows of Trinity, Famous for ever at Greek and Latinity,

Faix and the divils and all at Divinity,

Father O’Flynn’d make hares of them all!

Come, I venture to give ye my word.

Never the likes of his logic was heard,

Down from mythology into thayology,

Troth ! and conchology if he’d the call.

Here’s a health, etc.

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Och, Father O’Flynn, you’ve a wonderful way wid you, All ould sinners are wishful to pray wid you,

All the young childer are wild for to play wid you, You’ve such a way wid you, Father avick !

Still for all you’ve so gentle a soul,

Gad, you’ve your flock in the grandest control; Checking the crazy ones, coaxin’ onaisy ones.

Lifting the lazy ones on with the stick.

Here’s a health, etc.

And tho’ quite avoidin’ all foolish frivolity.

Still at all seasons of innocent jollity.

Where was the playboy could claim an equality At comicality. Father, wid you ?

Once the Bishop looked grave at your jest.

Till this remark set him off wid the rest;

Is it lave gaiety all to the laity ?

Cannot the Clergy be Irishmen too ?

Here’s a health, etc.

78

SCOTCH FOLK SONG

Scotland has not yet followed the example set in England, Ireland, and Wales by establishing a Folk Song Society of its own. Therenbsp;are, however, several folk-song collectors of great diligence and highnbsp;qualifications actively employed in garnering the precious remains ofnbsp;their country’s folk music and folk poetry. Of these the most preeminent is Mrs. Kennedy Fraser, daughter of David Kennedy, thenbsp;famous Scottish singer, from whom she received a fine musicalnbsp;training. She had been a singer as well as a player of Scots songsnbsp;under his instruction when quite a child, but made no specialnbsp;departure of her own as a folk-song collector and a converter of folknbsp;into art songs until, to use her own words, “ the Breton volume ofnbsp;Ducoudray, with all its strangely beautiful airs on unfamiliar scales,nbsp;with its poetically and musically suggestive pianoforte accompaniments, and its French singing translations by Frangois Coppée,”nbsp;opened to her mind a vista of the possibilities of a new songnbsp;development in the direction of a national Celtic art song.

This art song, she felt, “ should incorporate faithfully w'ithin itself the Scotto-Celtic musical heritage, while at the same time itselfnbsp;growing organically out of the miniature form within it, which itnbsp;thus enlarged and enframed.” The difficulty was to find place andnbsp;opportunity for original research work, such as that which madenbsp;possible the achievement of Ducoudray. But in the year IQ04 shenbsp;was introduced by John Duncan—a Scottish painter, who had comenbsp;back from his post as lecturer on Celtic art in Chicago University tonbsp;study Celtic conditions at their source—“to the little obscure isle ofnbsp;Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides.” To use Mrs. Kennedy Fraser’s ownnbsp;words : “ It is one of a long chain of isles known collectively as thenbsp;Long Island, and to reach it I had to go by open fishing-boat fromnbsp;the neighbouring Isle of Uist. Our fishing-boat landed me at thenbsp;first convenient point, and when I clambered up the pure, white

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shellfish-clad rock, I seemed on virgin soil. No trace of path or print of foot was to be seen. But crossing the damp grassnbsp;in the gathering darkness we at last struck a narrow footpath, thenbsp;only road in the island, and that but recently made. Here andnbsp;there, as though dropped at random on the hillside, were long,nbsp;oval-shaped cottages, built of undressed stone—walls three or fournbsp;feet in height, and five to eight feet in thickness—the rafters ofnbsp;driftwood from across the Atlantic, gathered on its western shores,nbsp;resting midway on the walls, leaving a projection two or three feetnbsp;—a device that protects the thatch of the roof from the tornadoes ofnbsp;wind which are common on those wind-swept, treeless isles. Thenbsp;next morning the life of the isle unfolded itself—no roads, no fences,nbsp;no carts, no wheelbarrows ; burdens of all kinds were carried innbsp;creels on the backs of the folk or in panniers on the flanks of thenbsp;ponies. And, of course, in an unfenced world everybody’s cow wasnbsp;always getting into everybody else’s corn !

“ The brown-sailed herring-boats left every Monday morning for the fishing and returned every Saturday ; and on Sundays the wholenbsp;island turned out—brawny men and beautiful maidens, old wives andnbsp;bare-footed bairns—as their priest himself tolled the bell that callednbsp;them all to worship.

“ Here at the ‘ceilidhs,’ round the peat fires that burned in the middle of the floor, I shared the life of our forebears, and here foundnbsp;that song and tale were of the necessities, not the luxuries, of life :

'* I saw a strang-er yestereen,

I put meat in the eating-place.

Drink in the drinking-place.

And music in the listening-place.

So runs an ancient rune recovered from the Gaelic by my island poet-collaborator, Rev. Kenneth MacLeod. He, since we joinednbsp;forces, has not merely edited the Gaelic, but out of his own life-longnbsp;‘collecting’ has given me freely of valuable Hebridean lore, whichnbsp;but for him had been irretrievably lost.

8o

SCOTCH FOLK SONG

“ Now, I had gone out to the isles with serious musical intent. I am not a mere folk song enthusiast. ... I brought to my researchnbsp;work a specially cultivated faculty—the faculty of recognizing barenbsp;melody and, further, that of mere ‘ motives,’ musical figures, out ofnbsp;which ever fresh melodies may evolve. I found remarkable airsnbsp;of a type not noted by the amateur or semi-professional collectors,nbsp;who may have worked in these regions in a desultory fashion beforenbsp;me. I had been thoroughly persuaded in my own mind before goingnbsp;out to the isles that there were such airs, and I was not disappointed.nbsp;Indeed, the longer I work the more inclined I am to do homage tonbsp;the musical geniuses whose work has come down to us orally throughnbsp;the ages more or less intact.

“ Those who know our published collections will note that we do not there call them folk song, whatever that term may be assumednbsp;to imply. The folk (the isles-folk) have certainly in this casenbsp;preserved for us our musical heritage ; but who the originalnbsp;melodists were we shall probably never know. Be that as it may,nbsp;the melodies themselves are not merely quaint racial survivals ofnbsp;value due mainly to Celtic enthusiasts : they are a valuable additionnbsp;to the melodic wealth of the world.

“ When I returned from my first ‘raid’ on the isles my trouvailles were regarded with incredulity by many in Edinburgh. ‘ Hownbsp;much of this is genuine ?’ I was asked. So, that there might be nonbsp;Ossian-like controversy as to the authenticity and faithfulness ofnbsp;this work, I took with me a small recording phonograph, and withnbsp;its help was able to secure most valuable variants of the melodies —nbsp;such as are in evidence in the different verses of ‘ Kishmul’s Galley,’nbsp;for instance.

“ This research stuff derives, I believe, from many ages and many races. Celtic lore would seem to have much in common with Hindunbsp;mythology and with Greek thought, and recurrent waves of Celticnbsp;inundation swept into and over Europe. Was it from the East ?

“ Partly Oriental in character, the Celts remain in the remotest

8i nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;6

NATIONAL MUSIC

isles and peninsulas still faithful to old memories and the old tongue, and if Hindu and Byzantine carving show affinity with that of Iona,nbsp;there are distinct traces also in the Celtic airs of kinship withnbsp;Persian, Greek, and Arabian.

“ In setting the airs we have in no sense altered the melodies ; we have merely tried to set them in an harmonic and rhythmic framework of pianoforte wrought metal, so to speak, as one would setnbsp;a beautiful stone, a ‘ cairngorm,’ or the like, and have tried by suchnbsp;setting to show the tune more clearly—have tried to bring out itsnbsp;peculiar character.

“ ‘ In the chorus of humanity,’ says Renan, ‘ no race equals the Celts in penetrative notes that go to the heart.’ A passionate pungency, a rhythmical Han these penetrative notes have. And thesenbsp;floating fragments of the ancient music lore of Gaeldom we bringnbsp;not merely as something quaint, archaic, having peculiar and perhaps fascinating local colour and character,_ but as racial recordsnbsp;that yet strike to the roots of all life wherever and whenever found—nbsp;an elemental, basic, far-reaching expression of life.”

The above passages form the greater part of an address delivered by Mrs. Kennedy Fraser at the Celtic Congress held in the Isle ofnbsp;Man in July, 1924.

It was illustrated by Miss Margaret Kennedy’s singing of “The Skye Fisher’s Love Song,” “A Churning Lilt,” “The Benbecula Bridal,”nbsp;“Cuchullan’s Lament,” and quot; Kishmul’s Galley.” Mrs. Kennedy Frasernbsp;also sang “ The Fate Croon ” and “ A Soothing Croon from Eigg.”

But while Mrs. Kennedy Fraser is the leading collector of, and the leading artistic authority upon, the song of the Hebrides, she is also,nbsp;as her father’s daughter should be, the best worth listening to of allnbsp;the living interpreters of Scotch song, whether Highland, Lowland,nbsp;or Hebridean, and I am glad to be permitted to print her views innbsp;full, for they apply equally, though of course with allowance fornbsp;racial differences in treatment, to the singing of the national musicnbsp;of the other Celtic nationalities.

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SCOTCH FOLK SONG

“ Lowland Scots song, although tonally probably a branch, an offshoot of the Scotto-Celtic music lore of the Scots Highlands and Islands, has yet, in feeling, much that is akin to the Saxon. ... Nonbsp;that parferviduni Scotonim ingenium is wanting in Lowland song, butnbsp;just that there is a fiercer blast of Scots passion in the Highlandnbsp;than in the Lowland lore.

“ As to to the interpretation of Scots song, no generalization will suffice ; there are so many types : the songs of reminiscences, thenbsp;dramatic narrative ballads, the love-songs, the lullabies and othernbsp;songs of occupation, and the laments.

“ But for all song I would point out, that being one of the smaller forms of musical and literary crystallization of thoughts and feeling,nbsp;atid these in sequence, it calls for a very delicate judgment—hownbsp;best, in such short space, to give full expression to the varyingnbsp;emotions without injury to the design—the everlasting problem innbsp;art, and that (song being different merely in degree and not in kindnbsp;from other musical forms) naïveté is no mere essential to traditionalnbsp;song than it is to symphony, which is only an aggrandisement ofnbsp;song.

“ I labour the point, because if you approach Scots song, Lowland, Highland, or Hebridean, with the faintest idea that the performance of it must be a pose, such as that of the Watteau Shepherdess period of French life in the eighteenth century, you will miss itsnbsp;meaning and scope.

“Scots song, in short, is art expressing itself in word and tune, in short forms. It is founded, as all vital art must be, on the man!nbsp;festations of the human heart and mind. It must be psychologicallynbsp;true—we recognize ourselves in it. It must be beautiful in texturenbsp;(tone) and convincing in design (form).

“ The singing of traditional song such as Scotland has produced is one of the most crucial tests of the singer’s art. Operatic work maynbsp;cover crudities in composition ; and, in what is popularly termednbsp;‘art-song,’ so much of the interpretation is achieved by the coni-

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poser’s instrumental commentary, that the singer’s task—if he (or she) be artist-musician enough to sing mentally through the accompaniment and have an imagination that is stirred by such musicalnbsp;tone-painting—is comparatively easy. The singer of the traditionalnbsp;strophic song, on the other hand, must by his own art, and aidednbsp;only by his own creative imagination, supply all the subtle deviations from the normal that give a continuous, convincing, psychological sequence to the developments of the lyrical mood or of thenbsp;. dramatic situation. Such was the art of my father, David Kennedy,nbsp;to which I was brought up from childhood, and I have never ceasednbsp;to wonder since at the want of it in singers. I took it for granted !nbsp;And yet it is asking a great deal of singers who essay Scots songs tonbsp;reach this ideal.

“ On the interpretative side the ancient song and ballad indeed presuppose a traditional culture, a culture which, as Yeats hasnbsp;pointed out in his essay on popular poetry, cannot be taken fornbsp;granted in these days, and much study and imagination, therefore,nbsp;may have to be brought to bear on the subject before it will yield itsnbsp;full message. Such is one of the peculiar difficulties on the interpretative side. On the technical side there is much to accomplish,nbsp;for it is a great mistake to imagine that simple Scots songs arenbsp;simple in performance. The voice must be cultured and controlled.nbsp;But after studies in voice-production have been made, we are onlynbsp;at the beginning of things. Although there is a fine cantabilenbsp;type in Scots song, few of the best of our songs can be regardednbsp;as mere opportunities for vocal display. Indeed, in some of thenbsp;character songs and lilts (in which we are very rich) you must putnbsp;your voice in your pocket, so to speak, and bring out only sonbsp;much as is required at the moment to supply the necessary lilt andnbsp;colour.

“On the purely musical side it cannot be too much insisted upon with young singers—and some not so very young either !—thatnbsp;accent and shape, beauty of form, intelligibility of phrase, and the

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hypnotism of rhythm—which plays such an all-important part in all art—can be attained only by carefully worked out gradations ; andnbsp;that such gradations can be achieved only by fierce economy, bynbsp;cutting away as well as by adding on, by lessening the tone-quantitynbsp;in one place that it may stand out in relief in another. If, indeed,nbsp;you begin a tone-curving phrase with one shadow of a shade toonbsp;much tone, you may from the first have made your intendednbsp;crescendo curve impossible. And if—after a point, an accent arrivednbsp;at, worked up to—you lean with the faintest too much stress ornbsp;too long duration on a weak following beat—a common rhythmicalnbsp;feature in Scots music—you have wiped out again your climax, yournbsp;point, }’ou have destroyed your lilt, blurred your melodic shape.

“ Hence one occasionally finds an ««conscious singer—with a good voice naturally free from faults of production—with mind notnbsp;concerned overmuch with voice or tone, nor hampered with a stifflynbsp;pictured notation, give a much better lilting rhythm than a half-trained singer who, thinking too exclusively of tone, gives it outnbsp;in full measure, note after note, until one entirely loses the shape,nbsp;and “ cannot see the wood for the trees.”

Next to Mrs. Kennedy Fraser’s four remarkable collections of over four hundred Hebridean folk music comes Miss Frances Tolraie’snbsp;collection of 105 songs of occupation from the western isles of Scotland. “This collectioil,” as Miss Lucy Broadwood justly writes ofnbsp;it, in the third part of volume four of the Journal of The P'olksongnbsp;Society, “ opens a mine of interest and delight to musicians, poets,nbsp;folklorists, and historians, and undoubtedly forms one the mostnbsp;important contributions yet made towards the preservation of thenbsp;purely traditional music and poetry of our British Isles in generalnbsp;and of Scotland in particular.

“ Songs of occupation are among the most primal things in the history of mankind, and in their simple rhythms and intervals, firstnbsp;evolved by workers for their needs, we find the germs of all musicnbsp;and verse. The songs in this Journal, which represent but a small

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section from Miss Tolmie’s mass of memories and lore, have not only been skilfully taken down, translated, and annotated by anbsp;Hebridean, familiar with Highland song from earliest infancy, butnbsp;have received the value of a commentary by another Highlander,nbsp;Dr. George Henderson, Lecturer on Celtic Languages and Literaturenbsp;in the University of Glasgow, and well known as an authority andnbsp;writer on Celtic lore and literature.

quot;In addition. Miss A. G. Gilchrist, a constant student of comparative folk song, has carefully analyzed each air here printed, and has contributed to the Journal a very illuminating and suggestive essaynbsp;upon the gapped scale system, to which these pure Gaelic tunesnbsp;conform.

“ It should be borne in mind that songs of occupation as a whole belong to the luinneag class, which is distinct from that of the laoidhnbsp;(lay), hymn or Ossianic lay, and the oran nior (great song). To thenbsp;latter classes belong the grand elegies and laments, songs of praise,nbsp;rhapsodies, descriptive of the beauties of nature and the like, innbsp;which, to suit the words, the music flows in broad and majesticnbsp;streams. Patrick M’Donald writes : ‘ Over all the Highlands therenbsp;are various songs, which are sung to airs suited to the nature of thenbsp;subject. But on the western coast, benorth Middle Lome, and innbsp;all the Hebrides, luinigs are most in request. These are in generalnbsp;very short, and of a plaintive cast, analogous to their best poetry ;nbsp;and they are sung by the women, not only at their diversions, butnbsp;also during almost every kind of work, where more than one person isnbsp;employed, as milking the cows and watching the folds, fulling ofnbsp;cloth, grinding of grain with the quern or handmill, haymak ng, andnbsp;cutting down corn. The men, too, have iorrums, or songs for rowing, to which they keep time with their oars, as the women likewisenbsp;do in their operations whenever the work admits of it. When thenbsp;same airs are sung in their hours of relaxation, the time is marked bynbsp;the motions of a napkin, which all the performers lay hold of. Innbsp;singing, one person leads the band; but in a certain part of the tune

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he stops to take breath, while the rest strike in and complete the air, pronouncing to it a chorus of words and syllables generally of nonbsp;signification.’ ”

The late Miss Tolmie, who was descended through both parents from Hebridean families of great distinction, thus describes thenbsp;occasion of her forming her great Scots folk-song collection ;

“ In the year 1900, when spending a day at Dr. Alexander Carmichael’s house at Taynuilt, near Loch Awe, I met Dr. George Henderson. In the course of conversation, and after I had beennbsp;singing some ‘ Puirt-a Beul ’ (mouth-tunes sung for dancing), bothnbsp;friends expressed a wish that I would write down all the tunesnbsp;I remembered. This I promised to do, on condition that they wouldnbsp;got the gaps in my verses filled up.” This led to the getting togethernbsp;of Miss Tolmie’s folk-song collection and its publication by the Folknbsp;Song Society.

Miss Tolmie gives this graphic description of a waulking parly ;

“ A waulking, while a useful and necessary domestic function, was also regarded as a pleasant form of entertainment. Invitations werenbsp;issued, and the obliging guests came dressed neatly and specially fornbsp;the occasion, with bare arms and stout aprons. They took theirnbsp;places—six to ten persons on each side, leaving elbow-room—at thenbsp;waulking table. This was a long board, about three feet in width,nbsp;grooved lengthways and resting on trestles. The cloth to be fullednbsp;or thickened was slowly dealt out from a vat at one end of the board.nbsp;This vat, which contained a special liquid, was presided over by thenbsp;good-wife of the house, or some other person of experience. Thenbsp;wet mass of cloth was firmly grasped by one of the waulkers andnbsp;pushed towards the person opposite, who with a similar movementnbsp;returned it to be sent to the next opposing pair. This process continued till the cloth had gone the round of the board three or fournbsp;times. When the moisture in it had been duly absorbed, the clothnbsp;was plunged again into the vat ‘ to get a drink ’ and go the roundnbsp;of the board again until pronounced thick enough. Singing accom-

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panied the process throughout, songs of slow and solemn character coming first, followed by those in quicker time and merrier. Towards the close a slow measure was again used. The new web receivednbsp;its final treatment to the accompaniment of a solemn strain of song.nbsp;During the singing of it the cloth was slowly and carefully woundnbsp;round a board used to press it and give it a finish. According tonbsp;Dr. Alexander Carmichael, this final process concludes still in somenbsp;places with devout magical movements and words of benediction onnbsp;the future wearer. For example, on seeing a young man receive anbsp;new suit, it was proper to salute him thus : ‘ Gum meal thu e ; gunnbsp;caith thu e, s’gum faigh thu bean r’a linn !’ (‘ Mayst thou enjoy it;nbsp;mayst thou wear it, and find a wife the while !’).

“ The waulking song differed from the ‘ duanag,’ or ditty, in that its solo verse-part, consisting usually but of one line, though sometimes of two, was often (but not invariably) followed by a littlenbsp;refrain in meaningless syllables, and was succeeded by the chorus,nbsp;in which all present, both workers and audience, joined. I once metnbsp;a woman in North Uist who told me that the doctor advised her tonbsp;frequent waulkings as the best remedy against mental depression,nbsp;from which she suffered.

“ There seems to have been no fixed rule as to the point at which the waulking songs began, whether with the solo or the chorus. Anbsp;continuous round was kept up of the three parts—solo verse, solonbsp;refrain, and chorus—with no very marked ending.

“ The reaping and rowing songs, proceeded in the same manner, were often heard at waulkings, and were usually included in thenbsp;singer’s traditional repertory. As to other music, there was nonbsp;dancing at Killmaluag in the youth of Mary Ross, my informant, butnbsp;the ordinary expression of gladness and sympathy when a weddingnbsp;occurred could not be suppressed, and neighbours met at the housenbsp;of the bride’s family and sang joyous songs. The company whennbsp;singing sat in a circle, each member of which was linked to the nextnbsp;by means of a handkerchief held at the ends between them. The

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rhythm of the songs was vigorously marked by the waving up and down of the handkerchiefs in unison.”

Miss Annie G. Gilchrist adds an interesting note on the modal system of Gaelic tunes, from which we quote : “ A distinct line ofnbsp;demarcation may be observed between the music of the Highlandsnbsp;and Lowlands of Scotland, coinciding with the frontier lines ofnbsp;language and nationality. The folk songs of the two races differnbsp;rhythmically as the construction and poetical system of the twonbsp;languages differ—emotionally as the characters of the Gael and Low-lander differ—and finally differ in scale ; for Gaelic vocal musicnbsp;clings more or less to its ancient gapped scale, and retains a characteristic avoidance of certain notes, whereas Lowland Scottish musicnbsp;now approximates in its seven-note modal construction to the folknbsp;music of England. Lowland music has, however, been greatlynbsp;enriched by borrowings from Gaelic sources. It has hitherto beennbsp;generally assumed that the two-gapped—i.e., five-note Scottish scale,nbsp;known as the Scottish pentatonic scale, is equivalent to our scale ofnbsp;C major, with the fourth and seventh degrees absent; but a carefulnbsp;examination of the tunes in Miss Tolmie’s happily genuine andnbsp;undoctored collection has led me to the conclusion that this primitivenbsp;pentatonic scale was rather equivalent to the scale of C to C with thenbsp;third and seventh degree omitted (possibly built upon the three-fifths, C to G, D to A, F to C). This is the scale upon which manynbsp;Highland iornims (of which ‘The Skye Boatsong’ is a good andnbsp;well-known example) and other songs of labour are constructed,nbsp;without the upper C to form the complete pentatonic scale. Probably in such songs of labour we get very near the beginnings of anbsp;nation’s folk music.”

While dealing with Gaelic song, mention must be made of Lachlan Macbean’s collection of “ The Songs and Hymns of the Gael,” withnbsp;translations and music, and an introduction by the author publishednbsp;by Eneas Mackay, of 43, Murray Place, Stirling, in 1900. This is annbsp;earlier collection than Miss Tolmie’s, and contains twenty-five High-

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land melodies printed for the first time, and the first collection of Highland sacred music. Its secular portion is divided into Lovenbsp;Songs, Songs of Home, Patriotic Songs, Songs of Grief, Humorousnbsp;Songs, Ossianic Lays, Songs of Scenery and Miscellaneous Songs, allnbsp;in Gaelic with good English verse translations by Mr. Macbean, whichnbsp;closely follow the metres and rhymes of the original.

The sacred songs published by Mr. Macbean had never before been printed, and of these he gives us thirty-six, their subjects beingnbsp;God the Father, Christ in His Life and Suffering and our connectionnbsp;with Him, Faith, the Christian Life, Youth, Death, Judgment,nbsp;Heaven, and such national hymns as Grant’s “ Cry of the Gael,” andnbsp;Macfarland’s “ Supplication.” Into the third section of his book,nbsp;that of Gaelic Psalmody, Mr. Macbean has carried French, English,nbsp;Welsh, and other psalm tunes, to which the Gaelic words that henbsp;gives us are sung.

In conclusion, Miss Lucy Broadwood may thus be well quoted : “ The pathetic and wild beauty of Gaelic songs can only be realizednbsp;by those who have heard them sung. Highlanders are verynbsp;commonly gifted with fine voices, of a rich resonance, similar to thatnbsp;found amongst Italians. In Gaelic the vowels are open and pure,nbsp;often succeeding and melting into each other as they do in Italian.nbsp;Thus very strong messa di voce vowel effects are produced, whichnbsp;heighten emotional expression in an extraordinary manner. Thenbsp;soft gutturals are more like those found in Dutch than in German,nbsp;and trilled ‘ r’s ’ are very vocal. Gaelic words have the strongnbsp;accent on the first syllable, and in many words the last syllable is asnbsp;elusive as the French mute ‘e’ when properly sung. This strongnbsp;accent and weak ending in Gaelic words were observed and entirelynbsp;misunderstood by Lowland Scottish and English musicians of thenbsp;late seventeenth century onwards, and it is these manufacturers ofnbsp;Scottish music who are responsible for the invention of the odiousnbsp;‘ snap ’ which arouses the indignation of the true Scot if he havenbsp;anything of music in him.

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“ The Highlander makes marked use of the crescendo and the diminuendo phrasing, more especially when moved, with very greatnbsp;breadth and power.

“ He accents vigorously, and makes much use of the sforzando on vowels ; generally he uses grace-notes, varying them with everynbsp;verse. Some singers, chiefly the older people, ornament as over-profusely as do many of the Irish, but as a rule Gaels adorn theirnbsp;airs sparingly and with musical good taste. They have a peculiarnbsp;and characteristic way of carrying on one musical interval to thenbsp;next by means of a rapid repetition and slide of the first note,nbsp;producing a beautiful and soft kind of appoggiatura or portamentonbsp;(not a ‘scoop’), such as is heard in plainsong. Very commonly,nbsp;too, the Gaelic singer beats time with his foot or feet and handsnbsp;together.”

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wee bit white cock-ades for our loy-al Hie-land lads; And the lass - es lo’e the bon - nie bush in our kail - yard.

But were they a’ true that were far awa’ ?

Oh ! were they a’ true that were far awa’ ?

They drew up wi’ glaiket Englishers at Carlisle ha’, And forgot auld friends when far awa’.

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Ye’ll come nae mair, Jamie, where aft ye hae been, Ye’ll come nae mair, Jamie, to Athol Green ;

Ye lo'ed owre weel the dancin’ at Carlisle ha’.

And forgot the Hieland hills that were far awa’.

He’s cornin’ frae the north that’s to fancy me.

He’s cornin’ frae the north that’s to fancy me,

A feather in his bonnet, and a ribbon at his knee; He’s a bonnie Hieland laddie, and you be na he.

The Blue Bells of Scotland

Anonymous.

^ N --^

Oh! where, tell me where, is your Highland lad-die gone? Oh !

Oh! where, tell me where, did your Highland laddie dwell ?

Oh! where, tell me where, did your Highland laddie dwell ?

He dwelt in bonnie Scotland, where blooms the sweet blue bell. And it’s oh! in my heart I lo’e my laddie well.

He dwelt in bonnie Scotland, where blooms the sweet blue bell. And it’s oh! in my heart I lo’e my laddie well.

Oh ! what, tell me what, does your Highland laddie wear?

Oh ! what, tell me what, does your Highland laddie wear ?

A bonnet with a lofty plume, and on his breast a plaid.

And it’s oh ! in my heart I lo’e my Highland lad.

A bonnet with a lofty plume, and on his breast a plaid.

And it’s oh ! in my heart I lo’e my Highland lad.

Oh ! what, tell me what, if your Highland lad be slain ?

Oh ! what, tell me what, if your Highland lad be slain ?

Oh, no ! true love will be his guard and bring him safe again. For it’s oh ! my heart would break if my Highland lad werenbsp;slain.

Oh, no ! true love will be his guard and bring him safe again. For it’s oh I my heart would break if my Highland lad werenbsp;slain.

95

There’s nae Luck about the House

Quick.

EE

door? Gie me my cloak. I’ll to the quay. And see him come a -shore. For there’s nae luck a - bout the house. There’s nae luck at

15^

a’. There’s lit-tle pleasure in thehouse,When ourgudeman’s a - wa’.

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THERE’S NAE LUCK ABOUT THE HOUSE

Afton Water

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---0- --

sleep by thy mur-mur - ing stream. Flow gent - ly, sweet

Thou stock-dove, whose echo resounds thro’ the glen,

Ye wild whistling blackbirds in yon thorny den,

Thou green-crested lapwing, thy screaming forbear,

I charge you disturb not my slumbering fair.

How lofty, sweet Afton, thy neighbouring hills.

Far marked with the courses of clear winding rills ; There daily I wander as morn rises high,

My flocks and my Mary’s sweet cot in my eye.

How pleasant thy banks and green valleys below.

Where wild in the woodlands the primroses blow !

There oft as mild ev’ning creeps over the lea.

The sweet-scented birk shades my Mary and me.

Thy crystal stream, Afton, how lovely it glides And winds by the cot where my Mary resides !

How wanton thy waters her snowy feet lave As gath’ring sweet flow’rets she stems thy clear wave 1

Flow gently, sweet Afton, amang thy green braes.

Flow gently, sweet river, the theme of my lays ;

My Mary’s asleep by thy murmuring stream.

Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.

98

A Man’s a Man for a’ That

Moderately quick.

Is there for hon-est pov - er - ty That hangs his head, and

A—

that. For a’.....that, and

—g— N

What tho’ on hamely fare we dine,

Wear hoddingrey, and a’ that,

Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine ;

A man’s a man for a’ that.

For a’ that, and a’ that,

Their tinsel show and a’ that.

The honest man, tho’ ne’er sae puir.

Is king 0’ men for a’ that.

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A king can mak’ a belted knight,

A marquis, duke, and a’ that;

But an honest man’s aboon his micht, Gude faith, he maunna fa’ that !

For a’ that, and a’ that.

Their dignities, and a’ that.

The pith o’ sense, and pride o’ worth. Are higher ranks than a' that.

Then let us pray that come it may.

As come it will, for a’ that,

That sense and worth, o’er a’ the earth. May bear the gree, and a’ that.

For a’ that, and a’ that.

It’s cornin’ yet for a’ that.

When man to man, the warld o’er, Shall brithers be for a’ that.

Annie Laurie

-P—

dew, Andies there that An-nie Lau - rie Gie’d me her pro mise

cresc.

:j2

true— Gie’d me her pro-mise true, Which ne’er for-got will lOO

ANNIE LAURIE

EÖ3

__

be; And for bon-nie An - nie Lau-rie I’d lay me doon and dee.

Charlie is my Darling

Char - lie is my dar - ling, The young Che -va-lier.

’Twas on a Mon-day morn - ing, Right ear - ly in the year. When lOI

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-•—i—•“#-

Char-lie came to our town. The young- Che-va-lier. Oh!

Char - lie is my dar - ling-, my dar - ling, my dar - ling. Oh !

EE^pEt

Char - lie is my dar - ling-. The young Che - va-lier.

As he cam’ marchin’ up the street,

The pipes play’d loud and clear ;

And a’ the folk cam’ rinnin’ out To meet the Chevalier.

Oh 1 Charlie, etc.

Wi’ Hieland bonnets on their heads,

And claymores bright and clear,

They cam’ to fight for Scotland’s right And the young Chevalier.

Oh ! Charlie, etc.

They’ve left their bonnie Hieland hills, Their wives and bairnies dear,

To draw the sword for Scotland’s Lord, The young Chevalier.

Oh ! Charlie, etc.

Oh ! there were mony beating hearts, And mony a hope and fear ;

And mony were the pray’rs put up For the young Chevalier.

Oh ! Charlie, etc.

102

Scots, wha hae wi’ Wallace bled!

In march time. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Poem by Bvr^s.

si

Scots, wha hae wi’ Wallace bled, Scots, wham Bruce has of-ten led.

Wel-cometo your go - ry bed, Or to vie - to - riel

:»=t^

Now’s the day an’ now’s the hour. See the front of bat-tie lour;

See approach proud Edward’s pow’r, Chains and sla - ve - He!

Wha would be a traitor knave ?

Wha would fill a coward’s grave ?

Wha sae base as be a slave ?

Let him turn an’ flee !

Wha, for Scotland’s king an’ law,

Freedom’s sword would strongly draw,

Freeman stand, and freeman fa’.

Let him on wi’ me !

By oppression’s woes an’ pains,

By your sons in servile chains.

We will drain our dearest veins,

But they shall be free.

Lay the proud usurpers low I Tyrants fall in ev’ry foe !

Liberty’s in ev’ry blow !

Let us do or dee !

103

The Campbells are cornin’

In march time. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Traditional.

vtf^

-ik.

the Lomonds I lay, 1 lay, 1 look - ed down to

--

Great Argyle, he goes before,

He makes the cannons and guns to roar, Wi’ sound o’ trumpet, pipe, and drum,nbsp;The Campbells are cornin’, o-ho, o-ho.

The Campbells they are a’ in arms, Their loyal faith and truth to show ;

Wi’ banners rattlin’ in the wind,

The Campbells are cornin’, o-ho, o-ho. 104

Bonnie Dundee

Fairly quick.

fj nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;'nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;^nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;-0.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;y /

King’s crown go down there are crowns to be broke, 1 hen

Let him

-S-—

=fÖ5r=i!i

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7ɱZjtl

Dundee he is mounted, he rides up the street,

The bells they ring backward, the drums they are beat.

But the provost (douce man) said, “ Just e'en let it be,

For the toun is weel rid o’ that de’il o’ Dundee.”

Come fill up, etc.

There are hills beyond Pentland, and lands beyond Forth, Be there lords in the south, there are chiefs in the north;nbsp;There are brave Duinnewassels, three thousand times three,nbsp;Will cry, “ Hey for the bonnets o’ Bonnie Dundee.”

Come fill up, etc.

Then awa’ to the hills, to the lea, to the rocks.

Ere I own a usurper. I’ll crouch with the fox ;

And tremble, false whigs, in the midst o’ your glee.

Ye hae no seen the last o’ my bonnets and me.

Come fill up, etc.

Robin Adair

Irish and Scotch form of melody.

What’s this dull town to me ? Ro - bin’s not near.

What was’t I wish’d to see. What wish’d to hear? io6

W—0-

Oh, they’re all fled with thee, Ro - bin A - dair.

Jock o’ Hazeldean

-Ps-

-jl-

tide?.. I’ll wed ye to my youngest son, And ye shall be his

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ft

bride; And ye shall be his bride, la-dye, Sae come-ly to be

seen. But aye she loot the tears down fa’For Jock o’ Ha-zel - dean.

Now let this wilfu’ grief be done,

And dry that cheek so pale,

Young Frank is chief of Errington,

And lord of Langleydale,

His step is first in peaceful ha’,

His sword in battle keen—

But aye she loot the tears down fa’

For Jock o’ Hazeldean.

A chain o’ gold ye shall not lack,

Nor braid to bind your hair,

Nor mettled hound, nor managed hawk, Nor palfrey fresh and fair;

And you, the foremost o’ them a',

Shall ride our forest queen—

But aye she loot the tears down fa’

For Jock o’ Hazeldean.

The kirk was deck’d at morning tide.

The taper glimmer’d fair,

The priest and bridegroom wait the bride, And dame and knight are there.

They sought her baith by bow’r and ha’, The lady was not seen ;

She’s o’er the border and awa’

Wi’ Jock o’ Hazeldean.

io8

The Hundred Pipers

~a

blaw, a bla«', VVi’a hun - dred pi-pers an’ a’, an’ a’; Oh its

—I J

ower nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;the Bor - der a - \va’,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;a - wa’, We’ll

on an’we’ll march to Car - lisle Ha’.Wi’ its yetts, its cas-tell an’ 109

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blaw, a blaw, Wi’ a hun - dred pi - pers an’ a’, an’ a’.

Oh ! our sodger lads look’d braw, look’d braw,

Wi’ their tartans, kilts, an’ a’, an’ a’,

Wi’ their bonnets, an’ feathers, an’ glitt’ring gear,

An’ pibrochs sounding sweet an’ clear.

Will they a’ return to their ain dear glen ?

Will they a’ return—our Hieland men ?

Second-sighted Sandy look’d fu’ wae.

And mothers grat when they march’d awa’.

Wi’ a hundred pipers an’ a’, an’ a’,

Wi’ a hundred pipers an’ a’, an’ a’ ;

But they’ll up an’ gie ’em a blaw, a blaw,

Wi’ a hundred pipers an’ a’, an’ a’.

Oh 1 wha is foremaist o’ a’, o’ a’ ?

Oh wha does follow the blaw, the blaw ?

Bonnie Charlie, the king o’ us a’, hurra !

Wi’ his hundred pipers an’ a’, an’ a’ !

His bonnet an’ feathers he’s waving high !

His prancing steed maist seems to fly !

The nor’ wind plays with his curly hair.

While the pipers blaw in an unco flare !

Wi’ a hundred pipers an’ a, an’ a’,

Wi’ a hundred pipers an’ a’, an’ a’.

We’ll up an’ gie ’em a blaw, a blaw,

Wi’ a hundred pipers an a’, an’ a’.

THE HUNDRED PIPERS

The Esk was swollen, sae red, sae deep;

But shouther to shouther the brave lads keep ; Twa thousand swam ower to fell English ground.nbsp;An’ danc’d themselves dry to the pibroch’s sound.nbsp;Dumfounder’d, the English saw, they saw !nbsp;Dumfounder’d, they heard the blaw, the blaw 1nbsp;Dumfounder’d, they a’ ran awa’, awa’

Frae the hundred pipers an’ a’, an’ a’ !

Wi’ a hundred pipers an’ a’, an’ a’,

Wi’ a hundred pipers an’ a’, an’ a’.

We’ll up an’ gie ’em a blaw, a blaw,

Wi’ a hundred pipers an’ a’, an’ a’.

To gang to the Hielans wi’ you, sir,

I dinna ken how that may be.

For I ken na’ the Ian’ that ye live in. Nor ken I the lad I’m gaun wi’.

Ill

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O Leezie, lass, ye maun ken little If sae be that ye dinna ken me,

My name is Lord Ronald MacDonald,

A chieftain o’ high degree.

She has kilted her coats o’ green satin.

She has kilted them up to the knee,

And she’s aff wi’ Lord Ronald MacDonald, His bride an’ his darlin’ to be.

Ye Banks and Braes o’ Bonnie Doon

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bloom sae fresh and fair? How can ye chaunt, ye

- tie birds, And I’m.... sae wea - nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;. ry

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tu’ o’ care.^ Ye’ll break my heart, ye war - bling- bird That II2

Oft ha'e I roved by bonnie Doon,

By morning and by ev’ning shine,

To hear the birds sing o’ their loves,

As fondly once I sang o’ mine..

Wi’ lightsome heart I stretch’d my hand And pu’d a rosebud from the tree ;nbsp;But my fause lover stole the rosenbsp;And left, and left the thorn wi’ me.

The Auld Hoose

Poem by Lady Nairne.

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Oh! the auld hoose, the auld hoose,Wliattho’the roomsvverewee. Oh,

kind hearts were dwelling’there, And bairnies fu’ o’g’lee; The

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wild rose and the jes - sa-mine Still hangquot; up-on the wa’, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Hoo

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NATIONAL MUSIC .

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-It^—

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mo - ny che - nsh’d me - mo-ries Do they, sweet flow vs, re-ca’.

Oh ! the auld laird, the auld laird,

Sae canty, kind, and crouse,

Hoo mony did he welcome to His ain wee dear auld hoose.

And the leddy too, sae genty,

There shelter’d Scotland’s heir,

And dipt a lock wit’ her ain han’

Fra his lang yellow hair.

The mavis still doth sweetly sing,

The bluebells sweetly blaw.

The bonnie Barn’s clear winding still,

But the auld hoose is awa’.

The auld hoose, the auld hoose.

Deserted tho’ ye be.

There ne’er can be a new hoose Will seem sae fair to me.

Still flourishing the auld pear tree The bairnies liked to see.

And oh ! hoo aften did they speer When ripe they a’ wad be.

The voices sweet, the wee bit feet Aye rinnin’ here and there,

The merry shout—oh, whiles we greet To think we’ll hear nae mair.

For they are a’ wide scattered noo.

Some to the Indies gane.

And ane alas ! to her lang hame—

Not here we'll meet again.

The kirkyard, the kirkyard,

Wi’ flow’rs o’ ev’iy hue.

Is shelter’d by the holly’s shade An’ the dark sombre yew.

114

THE AULD HOOSE

The setting sun, the setting sun !

Hoo glorious it gaed down ;

The cloudy splendour raisM oor hearts To cloudless skies aboon.

The auld dial, the auld dial.

It tauld hoo time did pass ;

The wintry winds ha’e dang it down, Noo hid ’mang weeds and grass.

Caller Herrin’

In moderate time. mf

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CALLER HERRIN’

bon • nie fish and halesome far-in’; Buy my cal - ler her - rin’. New

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Ca’them lives 0’men. Cal-ler her • rin’, caMer her - rin’. II7

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sil - ler ha’e to spare,.... Gin ye’ll con - sent to

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mair.... O, wha wud buy

a poor bro • ken heart?.. . Or what’s to me

tot

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sil - ler crown. Gin frae my love...* I Il8

AND YE SHALL WALK IN SILK ATTIRE

The mind whose meanest wish is pure Far dearer is to me ;

And ere I’m forced to break my faith Fll lay me down and dee.

For I ha’e vow’d a virgin’s vow My lover’s fate to share :

And he has gi’en to me his heart,

And what can man do mair ?

His mind and manners wan my heart,

He gratefu’ took the gift.

And did I wish to see it back,

It wad be waur than theft;

For langest life can ne’er repay The love he bears to me;

And ere I’m forced to break my faith I’ll laj' me down and dee.

The Lament of Flora Macdonald

sat sigh - ing her lane, The 119