Old Irish folk music and songs : a collection of 842 Irish airs and songs, hitherto unpublished

1909·24.5 MB·English

by  Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland

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Page 48, top: second note of second
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OLD
IRISH
FOLK MUSIC AND SONGS

OLD
IRISH
FOLK MUSIC AND SONGS
A COLLECTION OF IRLSH AIRS AND SONGS
842
HITHKRTO UNPUBLISHED
EDITED, WITH ANNO'lATIOXS,
FOR
%\]t |l0n:il ^0cietn of l^ntiquarics of |vclaui).
BY
P. \V. JOYCE, LL.D., M.R.I.A.,
Presidetit of the Suclcly
AND
LONGMANS, GREEN, CO..
PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON,
39,
NEW YORK, BOMBAY, AND CALCUTTA.
DUBLIN HODGES. FIGGIS, & CO., Ltd.
:
1909
\_Allri^^hts reserveii']
PHINT^D atT4e
BV PONSONBV A QlBBS-
PREFACE.
A SPECIAL feature ofthis Collection ofIrish Music is that it consists
of tunes hitherto unpublished, as stated on the title-page.* But
this state—ment requires some qualification.
First : I have sometimes printed here different setthigs or versions
of airs already published elsewhere, when I considered that my present
settings were better, or when for other reasons I deemed it desirable : but
I have always directed attention to cases ofthis kind. It will be observed
that I reject some of my own inferior settings for better ones, just as I do
those ofothers—. —
S—econdly: In "Part II." I have reprinted with due notice in each
case a few airs published for the first time in my two previous books,
"Ancient Irish Music" and "Irish PeasantSongs in the English Language";
inasmuch as these airs were necessary to accompany the words of the
songs given—in that Part.
Thirdly : The words of some of the Songs in Part II. have appeared
in previous publications: but in all cases my versio—ns exhibit variations
from p—revious printed copies : variations that restore so far as lay in my
power the real original words oft—he several peasant poets. These son—gs
are given here in order to make up what has never yet been published
a good repres—entative unmixed collection of Anglo-Irish Peasant So—ngs.
Fourthly : Though I have taken all reaso—nable precaution more
perhaps than the occasion required or deserved against repeating here
airs already published, I cannot be quite sure that I have completely
succeeded. P'or as bearing on this point we must remember that upwards
of90 different collections of Irish Music have been published, of which a
useful list has been compiled by Dr. Grattan Flood, and may be seen in
his "History of Irish Music" (2nd ed., p. 337). And since he printed
that list other large collections have appeared. It may then be taken for
granted that with the utmost vigilance it is practically impossible to wholly
avoi—d repetition in forming a n—ew collection : and if it should be found
that in spite ofall precautions I have made some lapses, no great harm
* In this respect it is like Dr. Fetiie's "Ancient Music of Ireland," Hoffmann's edition of
another part of the Petrie Collection, and my "Ancient Irish Music." To the first two the
qualification more orless applies; but not to the last. All three are mentioned a<,'ain below.
PREFACE.
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cisasdeosnteh—eraefieswsionvmoelucnotmapreynrscaptcitoint,ionfsor.aintdwnioltlhipnrgobmaobrley.beBuftouenvdenthatthmesye
present settings are nearly always different from those already published.
he book that—in this respect—I was nwst careful about is the great
colle1ction of Dr. Tetrie's airs recently edited for "The Irish Literary
S... ;.-rv, London," by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. In this book are
,, 1(0 many airs previously published in Petrie's "Ancient ISIusic of
Ireland" (1855); (2) many that are contained in Hoffmann's edition of
another part of the Petric collection (1877) ; (3) many of those which
were published for the first time in my "Ancient Irish Music" '1872),
and which in fact were—and are still—copyright ;* and ^4} a number-
forming the great body ofthe collection—ofairs that had not appeared in
print before.
The gross number of airs in the " Stanford-Petrie" Collection (as for
convenience I call it throughout this book) is 1582 ; and making allowance
for those already published, as above stated, and forsome inadvertent repe-
titions in the book itself, we have a large residue of airs never previousl\-
published—the largest collection of the kind that has ever appeared—
a noble treasure-store of Irish melody. I read through ever)- one ofthe
1582 airs in this book, and. so far as lay in my power, I have avoided
rc{)cating any of them, excluding even those contributed by myself —to
Dr. Petrie more than fiftj- years ago—a very large number—nearly 200
most of which bear my name all through the book.
As I have often to refer to particular tunes in this Stanford-Petrie
Collection, it may be as well to rema—rk that the airs in it are given by
the Editor just as Dr. Petrie left them reproduced without any change.
have excluded also the whole of the hundred airs contained in my
I
" Ancient Irish Music," with the few exceptions already referred to.
I have examined the collection lately pu—blished by Captain Erancis
O'Neill ofChicago—"The Music of Ireland" and I do not think I have
reproduced any of his airs. Put it was only wh—en a good part of this
book ofm—ine was printed that his second volume " The Dance jVIusic of
Ireland '* carne into my hands ; and I find that one or two of his dance
tunes have been rcpeatetl here, though in different versions.
The reader must be cautious not to draw hasty conclusions from mere
Titles: for a good man)- ofthe names of my airs are similar to or identical
with those given to totally different airs in the Stanford-Petrie Collection,
as well as in other printed books. Sometimes I have directed special
• t'iul<.il>ly llic liiiiiNIII (I). [2). .mil ^3), .ibovo, wi-u- laken. nol iliiccl imin liic lliice i)iimcd
l«oi>U^ n.imol, Iml fioin llic I'clric N.s.s., whicli were in Sir Ciiailes Villiers Stanford's hands:
«ix p. »iii, tx^low.