Author Archives: Sarah McCleave

Researching in Die Bayerische StaatsBiblioithek, Munich

10th October 2016

In early May I visited Die Bayerische StaatsBibliothek (BSB) in Munich; this was my first visit to Munich and to the BSB. If travelling from abroad to carry out research at the BSB it is worth planning your trip at least a couple of weeks in advance. I began my preparations about three weeks in advance which helped ensure I could get access to all the material I needed during my visit. If visiting from abroad you are required to complete an online registration form. Alternatively you can download the form and post or fax a completed copy. I completed the online form which involved providing personal details, listing the dates of my intended visit and providing information about the material I wished to examine. Within a day or two you should receive an email acknowledgement confirming that you have been issued with a reader’s card which you collect on arrival at the library. You are also provided with a user number and password which permits readers to login to the BSB online catalogue and order items online. Items are available three days after the library receives your order and are reserved for ten days once available, consequently it is important to plan well so your order coincides with your arrival and the duration of your visit. You are advised by the library staff to order items at least one week in advance of your visit. Readers are permitted to order 10 items at a time, however since I was on a short visit (3 days) my order was upgraded to 30 items. Placing your order online is very easy; select the item, press the ‘Order’ button and select the reading room where you want your order to be delivered (for me it was Musiklesesaal 1/Music Reading Room First Floor). It is possible to view the BSB website and catalogue in English and you can view your order by going to ‘My details’ and ‘Requests’ provided you are logged-in. After placing my order I also emailed the music reading room just to make sure the order had gone through successfully. It had!

Die Bayerische StaatsBibliothek is located at No. 16 Ludwigstrasse, about a ten minute walk from Marienplatz and five minutes from the Bavarian National Theatre and State Opera House. On arrival at the library go to the counter marked “Zulassung and Sonderfaelle’ to receive your reader’s card; this desk is located on the first floor. Note that you cannot bring bags or coats into this area which is located at the entrance to the general reading room. Lockers, which require a €1 or €2 coin, are available on the ground floor. Once you receive your reader’s card you can get started! The Lesesaal Musik, Karten und Bilder (Music, Maps and Coins Reading Room) is located on the first floor. Lockers are available in the corridor outside the reading room which is convenient if researching in this part of the library. Once you check-in with the duty librarian you can access your order which will be stored in alphabetical order according to your surname on shelves at the top of the reading room. Once the items have been processed you can work away and you can store items on the shelves for the next day.

The music reading room can seat 28 readers, is equipped with two PCs and there is a piano at the back of the room. A scanner for copying items is available in the corridor outside the music reading room and copying cards are available from a machine on the second floor; a minimum payment of €5 is required. I found the library staff to be very helpful and extremely understanding of the fact that I don’t speak German; the library staff were very willing to converse in English and prior to my visit I corresponded via email with staff in the library and music reading room in English. There is a café onsite; a lunchtime ham and cheese roll and medium cappuccino will set you back €6.50. There is also a lounge onsite if you prefer, or have the facility to bring a packed lunch. I found the BSB a very pleasant library in which to carry out research. Consult the BSB’s website for information about admission, reading room times, closure dates, contact information and how to obtain a reader’s card; a link to the library’s homepage is provided at the end of this blog. Wifi is available onsite, just ask the duty librarian for the details needed to connect, or, consult the BSB’s website for this information.

http://www.bsb-muenchen.de/en/

Moore sources at the BnF

20th September 2016

The BnF does not possess a dedicated ‘Moore Collection’, however the following music sources are extant in the Music Department, 2 rue Louvois: one copy each of Numbers 1 to 8 of the Irish Melodies, J. Power editions and one copy of each of the following individual songs all W. Power editions: Oh breathe not his name, The meeting of the waters, Oh for the swords of former time, No not more welcome and Eveleen’s Bower. Over fifty sources for arrangements and works inspired by Moore are also extant in the library (Louvois and Opéra sites). These include early printed editions of Berlioz’s Neuf Mélodies, selections from Félicien David’s two act opéra-comique Lalla Rouk arranged for voice with piano accompaniment and seven copies (including some duplicates) of The last rose of summer. Six of the extant arrangements of The last rose are for piano and are by the following composers: Mendelssohn, Sigismund Thalberg, Henri Cramer and Joseph Ascher. The single song arrangement extant in the collection is by Mme. Caroline Eugénie who is accredited with both the words and music for this arrangement. The lyrics of Eugénie’s French interpretation of The last rose are transcribed below:

La Dernière Rose
Dernière rose de l’été,
Hélas! tu fleuris solitaire:
Tes soeurs ont perdu leur beauté,
Leurs feuilles ont jonché la terre.
Nul bouton ne doit plus fleurir,
Tes compagnes se sont fanées!
Comme elle tu vas te flétrir au vent qui les a moissonnées!

Mais non, je ne laisserai pas
Se faner tes feuilles si belles:
Tes sours redoutent les frimats,
Il faut t’endormir avec elles!
Je veux disperser tes débris
Sur la couche froide et glacée
Qu couronne l’horizon gris,
Lorsque ta saison est passée!

Et moi, j’ai poursuivi longtemps
Les doux rêves de mon enfance;
Mais hélas! quand fuit le printemps,
Alors s’envole l’espérance!
Qui voudrait vivre lorsqu’il perd
Le coeur qu’il aima sans partage?
Pour moi, ce monde est un désert
Où nul n’entend plus mon langage.

This research trip was kindly and generously funded by an RIA Charlemont Grant.

http://www.bnf.fr/fr/acc/x.accueil.html

Moore research: La Bibliothèque Nationale de France

12th September 2016

In April/May I visited the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF) to carry out archival research for project ERIN; this was my first visit to the BnF and I needed to visit the Music Department and Bibliothèque-Musée de l’Opéra sites. Things to note before you go! The BnF is comprised of five branches which are open to the public: François-Mitterand (the main site), Richelieu-Louvois, Arsenal and Opéra. The music department is located at the Richelieu-Louvois site; 2 rue de Louvois. Bourse is the closest metro stop.

Bibliothèque de l’Opéra is located on the second floor in the Musée de l’Opéra, Palais Garnier, Place de l’Opéra. Closest metro stop Opéra. This library houses historic documents relating to the Opéra Paris. You access the library via the museum; use the main entrance which is on the corner of rue Scribe and rue Auber. If you hold a BnF reader’s card you are admitted for free and can take in a tour of this elegant and impressive museum on your way to the library. Since some sources are stored in cages in the main museum access to these may be limited, consequently I would advise contacting the library in advance to make sure you can access the material you want ‘on’ the day of your planned visit.

Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra National de Paris Palais Garnier — Bibliothèque-Musée de l’Opéra National de Paris Palais Garnier

Prior to visiting the BnF I completed an online form outlining the purpose of my visit and when I intended to visit. You can access this form on the website and following its submission you should receive an email reply confirming your application and providing you with further information about admission. Prior to my visit I contacted the music department via email to make sure I could access all sources relevant to my research. Consult the BnF’s website for information about admission, reading room times, closure dates, branch locations, contact information and how to obtain a reader’s card; a link to the library’s homepage is provided at the end of this blog. I obtained my reader’s card from reader services (orientation des lecteurs) at the Richelieu branch.

This was most convenient for me as the Richelieu site is just across the road from the Louvois site. You can also obtain a reader’s card at the Francois-Mitterand site. Different types of cards are available depending on how long you need access to the library. A 15 day reader’s card costs €45 and was sufficient for the purposes of my research trip which was 10 days in duration. While at reader services you will be asked some questions about why you wish to visit the library. Once the process is complete you receive your card immediately. During my visit renovations were underway at the Richelieu site, consequently the entrance was located at 5 rue Vivienne.

The Music Department reading room is located on the fifth floor of the Louvois site. Lockers are available in the hallway, you are required to store your belongings (bags, coats etc.) here and due to security measures you may be asked to place any documents you wish to bring into the reading room into a clear plastic case. You will need a €1 or €2 coin for the lockers in the hallway. You may also use lockers available at the entrance to the reading room; no change is required for these. Once in the reading room you present your reader’s card at the information desk marked ‘Acceuil et Retours’, you are then allocated a seat number. Your reader’s card is kept at the desk until you return all items and are ready to leave the library. To order items you fill in a white call slip (Demande de document) and present it to the duty librarian (Président de la salle) who is seated at the desk marked ‘Renseignements’. There is an average wait time of about 10-15 minutes before your order is retrieved. You can order a maximum of ten items at one time. Items with a call number beginning ‘RES’ are ‘Réserve’, to order these items you fill in a blue call slip (Demande de communication d’ouvrages de la réserve), you are required to consult ‘d’ouvrages de la réserve’ at specially designated tables, these items must be returned by 5pm. You can hold items for up to a week by filling in a yellow coloured ‘mis de côté’ form. If a document is available on microfilm you might not be given access to the original, or you may be required to first consult the microfilm copy. Access to original documents is at the discretion of the duty librarian (Président de la salle) and this request is considered on a case by case basis. Luckily I was allowed to consult all original documents while researching in the music department; my case was strengthened by the fact that I needed to ascertain if watermarks were evident on sources, consequently examination of the original documents was paramount to my research. If you need to leave the library temporarily, during the course of the one day, you fill in a blue coloured temporary leave form (Laissez-passer de sortie temporaire). All items are returned to the ‘Acceuil et Retours’ desk.

Facilities in the music department reading room include 4 PCs with internet access, 4 microfilm machines and copying facilities. There is a card catalogue available but wi-fi was not available to readers. You may take photographs of sources with a camera or camera phone provided they are not for publication. Information about purchasing images for publication is available on the BnF website. If you plan on spending a full day at the Louvois it is worth noting that there is no café onsite. However there are a number of nice cafés dotted along rue de Vivienne; I recommend Le Pain de la Bourse, they do an amazing cappuccino which will boost energy levels for an afternoon of researching!!!! Otherwise there are a number of coffee and snack vending machines located on various floors in the Louvois.

To access the Bibliothèque de l’Opéra go to the second floor of the museum, go left, then right and you will pass through a corridor displaying the contents of the library’s collection. At the end of the corridor you will find the entrance to the library, on your left. Ring the bell located to the top left of the big wooden doors marked “Bibliothèque”. Lockers are provided adjacent to the entrance and facilities include two microfilm machines and various card catalogues. The reading room is very ornate and bright. Three unlabelled portraits are displayed in the reading room, presumably depicting various performers of note. There is a restaurant onsite and there are many cafés and restaurants located nearby in Place de l’Opéra. If you can, I would recommend making an effort to speak and correspond with library staff in French, this will make a good impression. I found the staff at the music department and Bibliothèque de l’Opéra to be most helpful and tolerant of the fact that I am not a native French speaker. This research trip did however afford me to the opportunity to quickly revise my French speaking skills – as they say – it was like riding a bike!

This research trip was kindly and generously funded by an RIA Charlemont Grant.

http://http://www.bnf.fr/fr/acc/x.accueil.html

Library Review Series

2nd September 2016

This month sees the beginning of a series of blogposts which will provide our readers with a review of what it is like to carry out archival research in the following European libraries: Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Bayerische StaatsBibliothek, Royal Irish Academy Library, National Library of Ireland and British Library. I visited each of the libraries listed above between the months of April and July this year in order to carry out archival research on extant Moore sources. The purpose of my research was to catalogue works by Thomas Moore, or inspired by Moore, for inclusion on the ERIN online database catalogue, to examine various early printed editions of music for case studies which will be published on the ERIN website and to gather contextual information regarding Moore’s reception in Europe. Each repository has something unique to offer in this respect. Posts in this series will include advice about what preparations to make in advance of visiting these libraries and will provide information about what to expect when you arrive. I will also publish an overview of the sources I examined highlighting their significance within our research project.

Image Courtesy of Special Collections, McClay Library

Moore and European Art Music part II

29th August 2016

In the previous post we considered Moore’s regular music activities as an appreciative auditor, a well-received performer, and a keen music copyist. This blog will explore the intersection between Moore’s social experience of music and his professional use of it. For Moore, the process of performing songs as he was working on them–and also after they were published as a means of promoting sales — was an established practice. On one occasion over a six-week period we we see him creating lyrics to an instrumental notturne by the contemporary Italian composer Giuseppe Felice Blangini (1781-1841), and testing the piece out in performance with a social acquaintance Miss Canning before sending it off to his usual music publisher James Power.

Decorative book cover from Moore and Henry Bishop’s National Airs, number 3

At times Moore’s Journal is frustratingly sketchy — for example, on 29 July 1822 he merely tells us: “sent off today to Power the slight sketch of a Song to a little air of Beethoven’s”. (Given the date, this probably refers to ‘Like morning, when her early Breeze’ from number 2 of his Sacred Songs, as it came out in 1824.) On other occasions, however, we get some indication how Moore’s creative processes were stimulated. From a series of Journal entries we can glean the story of Moore’s discovery of an air by Neapolitan composer Michele Enrico Carafa, “O Cara Memoira” and his eventual success at writing lyrics for it. Moore first encountered this tune on 31 October 1824 at the Bowood residence of his patron Lord Lansdowne, where Lady Pembroke sang it and Moore was immediately moved to copy it out. On 15-16 November he reported a lack of success at putting words to the song; inspiration struck on 11 January 1825 when, upon walking to Bowood from his own cottage, Moore “wrote a verse of a song to Carafa’s beautiful air in going” [i.e. during his walk]. And so by mid-January a new song was ready to send to James Power.

Opening bars of Moore’s lyrics and Henry Bishop’s arrangement of Beethoven’s ‘Like Morning when her early breeze’ from Sacred Songs, number 2.

In a similar tale of inspiration, Moore records hearing Ferdinando Paer and his daughter sing at the Comte de Flahaut’s residence during his Paris sojourn (23 Dec. 1819); he was struck by their rendition with Flahaut of a “very pretty” trio, a harmonization by Paer of “an air that they sing to bagpipes at Rome in Christmas time”. Moore resolved that he “must have it for my National Melodies” (Dowden has identified this as ‘See, the Dawn from Heaven’ from number 3 of Moore’s National Airs). Moore, who was generally a ‘chatty’ writer in both his journal and in his letters, has likely left us more tales of interest to discover over the course of our project.

Opening bars of Moore and Henry Bishop’s arrangement of the Roman bagpipe air, National Airs, number 3.

Images courtesy of Special Collections, McClay Library, Queen’s University Belfast.

Thomas Moore and European Art Music part I

19th August 2016

Moore had a profound response to music, which could move him to tears–even in a public setting. This blog will sketch its presence in his every-day life. Oddly, he was not given music lessons as a child, but seems to have been stimulated by his sister’s lessons on the piano and the presence of the instrument in his family home. Music for Moore was a form of release. On 27 Sept. 1818, after a day of hard work on his biography of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, he relaxed by copying out a Benedictus of Mozart and the “Et incarnatus est” of Haydn, describing these composers as “both the ‘merum sal’ of music”, playing and singing his new acquisitions before supper with his wife Bessy and one “Mary D”. After the ladies retired that evening, Moore played some piano sonatas of Muzio Clementi, an act which reminded him of hearing his own sister play the very same pieces when he was a child. And so as a youth Moore developed a particular appreciation for the leading European masters of the ‘Classical’ era — Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). His Journal frequently details his encounters of theirs (and other’s) music in domestic settings — remember at this time people made their own entertainment in the evening, and informal concerts or music-making sessions amongst friends was common. Continue reading →

Thomas Moore: A European in the New World

27th July 2016

After graduating from Trinity College Dublin, Moore was a promising young man in need of employment. His amiability secured him the interest of Lord Moira, and it was through this connection that he was offered an administrative post in Bermuda. And so the young poet set sail from Portsmouth to Norfolk, Virginia in September 1803, writing home whenever he could about his adventures. Unsurprisingly, he responded to the brave new world of America as a well-educated, cultured, European. After a “boisterous crossing”, the young Irishman was touched by the “homely … and genuine civility” of Colonel Hamilton, the British consul. Moore was genuinely reassured by the presence of a harpsichord at the Hamiltons’, taking this to be a sign of “civilisation”. He relished opportunities for music-making and dancing, describing his role once he reached Bermuda as acting as the “whole orchestra” for music parties and attending balls once or twice a week. His sensibility as a cultured young man led him to pity the young women of St George’s, for although they were generally good dancers, they were so evidently untutored, being “thrown together in this secluded nook of the world, where they learn all the corruptions of human nature, without any one of its consolations or ornaments.” And Moore so valued the rare literary culture of Philadelphia that he was actively disappointed to have to leave there.

The young writer had a very profound response to the natural beauty he encountered, describing the Passaick Falls as “sweetly romantic”, the Coho Falls as “impressive”, and Niagara Falls as a “mighty flow of waters descending with calm magnificence”. This last experience was a spiritual one, as Moore “felt as if approaching the very residence of the Deity”. He was also moved by the Mohawk river, whose “immense banks” possessed a “holy magnificence”. Moore conveyed a profound respect for nature in his poetry of the time, including his “Lines Written on a Storm at Sea”:

Oh! There’s a holy calm profound

In awe like this, that ne’er was given

To pleasure’s thrill;

‘Tis as a solmen voice from heaven,

And the soul, listening to the sounds,

Lies mute on still.

While describing himself as “amused … by the novelty of [the] appearance” of the Oneida Indians, Moore was genuinely impressed with their chief, Seenando, describing him as “courteous … gentle and intelligent”. Moore’s Whig sensibilities are evident in his indignant response to the plight of the Oneida with regards to their land, which the American government had been “continually deceiving them” into surrendering. Moore’s deep appreciation of human fellowship is seen in his first success as a lyricist, the “Canadian Boat Song”– stimulated by his first experience of riding a canoe:

Faintly as tolls the evening chime, Canadian Boat Song, PW Routledge 1864

Our voices keep tune, and our oars keep time;

Soon as the woods on shore look dim,

We’ll sing at St. Ann’s our parting hymn.

Row, brother, row, the stream runs fast,

The rapids are near, and the daylight’s past.

Who is your favorite “nature poet”? Do you have a verse you would like to share on the blog?

Images courtesy of Special Collections, the McClay library, Queen’s University Belfast

Thomas Moore in Paris

16th July 2016

This month of national natal days suggests a couple of blog posts about Moore’s reactions — both as a person and as an artist– to other nations in which he lived. He had a strong connection with France, having lived there for the best part of four years (January 1819-November 1822), during which time Moore recorded his impressions in his Journal. Upon arriving in Paris he secured “a little fairy suite of apartments” on the fashionable Rue Chanterine, venturing to the boulevard theatres the very next day, where he was “much amused”. Of Spontini’s Olympie at the Paris Opera Moore declared “Nothing can be more poetically imagined than the scenery and ballet of this opera.” After hearing Rossini’s music at a ball, Moore described it as “delicious”, the socialite in him appreciating “the ease with which all Rossini’s lively songs and choruses may be turned into quadrilles and waltzes”. He quickly made the acquaintance of the fashionable novelist Madame de Souza-Bothello, discussing her current romance (novel) whilst it was in progress. With the arrival of wife Bessy and his brood of children, the family moved to a cottage with a garden on the Champs Elysees. Moore swiftly became part of Madame de Flahault’s social circle, singing at intimate gatherings attended by other ex-pats. By May 1820 Moore had a wide social circle that he entertained at home, al fresco with champagne under the trees when the weather permitted. In the summer of 1820 he joined with the rest of Paris in watching various adventurers travel by hot-air balloon, including the ill-fated Mademoislle Garnerin (who was eventually lost on one such voyage). Moore reported a new-found appreciation for “the charms of inanimate nature” on a walk from St. Cloud to Ville d’Avray (this appreciation of natural scenery certainly comes across in some of the Irish Melodies). Although he was underwhelmed by a ball given by the Gardes du Corps at the Chateau of the Tuileries (“not so fine as a I expected”), Moore expressed complete delight with his family’s summer residence in La Butte, declaring “as far as tranquility, fine scenery, and sweet sunshine go, I could not wish to pass a more delightful summer.” He met Princesse Tallyrand at a dinner in May 1821, taking pleasure in her evident engagement with a French prose translation of his Lalla Rookh, as well as her kindness in praising the beauty of his wife; Moore’s uxoriousness was legendary, and he cheerfully reported in his Journal that an acquaintance declared “every one speaks of your conjual attention, and I assure you all Paris is disgusted with it.” The Journal records Moore’s personal impressions rather than his political views, but he tells with sympathy an anecdote he learned of a French Royalist he met, whose young lady was arrested (and subsequently imprisoned for six months) merely for wearing a tricolore ribbon to a masked ball. Initially admiring of Napoleon (“this thunder-storm of a fellow”), Moore described his exile to St Helena as “unsportsmanlike”. Moore was inspired by his Parisian period to write the epistolary satire, The Fudge Family in Paris, which, as Ronan Kelly notes in his Bard of Erin, has “an autobiographical ring” to certain of its details. Moore also featured no fewer than ten French Melodies in his six-volume series of National Airs (1818-1827). Moore’s presence (through publications of his work) in Paris will be charted further through other outcomes of this project.

Are you aware of the past-times and impressions of other visitors to Paris during the 1810s and ’20s? If so, tell us about it on the blog!

Images reproduced courtesy of Special Collections, the McClay Library, Queen’s University Belfast.

Nora Creina and the two Lesbias

30th June 2016

Picking up on the previous posting by Conor Caldwell, today we will consider further the dissemination of the highly popular tune, “Nora Creina.” Beethoven and Moore appear to have noticed this tune at around the same time, for the former is believed to have acquired it by 1810 (to honour a commission from the Edinburgh-based published George Thomson), while the Moore-Stevenson arrangement of it appeared in Irish Melodies number four of 1811. ‘Nora Creina’ subsequently inspired various transcriptions for piano, including Augustus Meves (London, 1818), William Vincent Wallace (London, 1856), and R.F. Harvey (London, 1872). Its lilting 6/8 metre also made is a popular choice for dance compilations, including Admired cottillions for balls and private parties (Philadelphia, c. 1835), as well as Pop goes the weasel! (London, c. 1850). With Moore’s lyrics, “Lesbia hath a beaming eye,” the tune was circulated in a small 1814 compilation issued by an anonymous Waterford printer ( held in the National Library of Wales); in 1828 an enterprising publisher in Falkirk issued “Lesbia” as part of Three excellent new songs (held by University of Glasgow Libraries). Continued interest in Moore during the Victorian era saw all of Moore’s Irish Melodies subsequently edited by J.W. Glover ( Dublin: Duffy, 1859), as well as by official copyright holder Francis Robinson (Dublin: Robinson and Russell, [c. 1865]). “Lesbia” attracted at least one additional arrangement, by the London-based composer Alexander S. Cooper (1869). While Lalla Rookh (1817) was perhaps the first of Moore’s works to be issued with numerous illustrations, arguably the most famous of such presentations is the mid-century Longmans edition of the Irish Melodies, with one or more illustrations for each and every Melody by Daniel Maclise.

The bibliophiles amongst our readers may enjoy tracking the different variants to Moore’s poem, most of which were promoted by the poet himself–perhaps with some unintentional variants introduced by ‘the printer’s devils’ variously associated with music publisher James Power in London. The very opening of the song, initially presented as “Lesbia hath a beaming eye” in both poem and lyrics, first became “Lesbia has a beaming eye” as early as the letterpress poem of the 1813 J. Power edition. While Moore favoured has exclusively from 1815 in his editions with James Power, by the time the London-based Longmans firm issued his Poetical Works (1840-41), he had reverted to hath. We find both these variants (and others with different dates of origin) live and flourishing in posthumous editions of the Victorian era. And also illustrations celebrating the sophisticated charms of Lesbia as compared with the artless appeal of young Nora Creina.

Do you know of editions or arrangements of ‘Nora Creina’ not mentioned here? Do you think they were stimulated by Moore, or another variant of the tune? Tell us about it on the blog!

Images reproduced courtesy of Special Collections, McClay Library, Queen’s University Belfast.

Moore’s Impact on Irish Instrumental Music (by guest contributor Dr Conor Caldwell)

10th June 2016

Perhaps the most noteworthy example of Thomas Moore’s impact upon the Irish instrumental music repertoire is seen through the song ‘Lesbia Hath a Beaming Eye’, which is set to the single jig tune ‘Nora Chríonna’ (single jigs are marked by 12/8 time signature and the predominance of crotchet-quaver movement). This simple tune is one of the most collected in the entire Irish repertoire. Thompson collected a three-part version as early as 1755 under the name ‘Ranger’s Frolick’, from which we can see the development of the A part familiar to us today.

A later version appears as ‘Norickystie’ in James Aird’s A Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs (1790-97). It was almost certainly Moore’s song to the air that standardised the melody in 1810, although Capt. O’Farrell’s four-part version (with the C and D parts set as repeats of the A and B parts an higher octave) must also have been prominent. Later versions were also published by celebrated Irish collectors Francis O’Neill and Breandán Breathnach. The following transcription of the tune comes from the playing of the Donegal fiddler John Doherty (1900-1980) and is particularly noteworthy for his use of continuous tonic pedal in imitation of the highland pipes, achieved through the use of open tuning on the fiddle.

A key similarity between Moore’s setting and the contemporary dance tune is the retention of the flattened seventh in bars 11 and 8, respectively, of the Moore and Doherty transcriptions below. This feature is reminiscent of the Gaelic scale system which Moore’s rival, Edward Bunting overwrote in his publications.

Of course the Irish instrumental tradition is defined by more than just renditions of dance tunes. Indeed, instrumental airs form one of the core strands of the modern tradition and a fine example of this is seen in the Dublin fiddler Tommy Potts’s (1912-1988) iconic setting of ‘Believe me if all those Endearing Young Charms’.

These are just two examples of Moore’s wider influence on the musical discourse of subsequent generations in Ireland and beyond. The teaching of Moore’s songs in Irish national schools after the formation of the Irish Free State in 1922 undoubtedly brought them into the consciousness of young musicians. His influence on the oral tradition should be acknowledged, not just in his own time, but in the decades which have followed.

Thomas Moore in Europe

For further resources see www.erin.qub.ac.uk