Author Archives: Sarah McCleave

Lalla Rookh in Europe: the first twenty years

31st May 2016

Lalla Rookh is the story of an oriental princess regaled with several fantastic tales by the handsome young poet Feramorz whilst travelling to her own wedding. It is the quintessential romantic epic. Feramorz (Lalla Rookh’s betrothed, the King of Bucharia, in disguise), successfully courts his bride through his story-telling, and so by the time they reach his kingdom he has captured Lalla Rookh’s heart. Moore, who had started writing Lalla Rookh in 1813, began sending it in installments to Longmans of London between March and May 1817. On the 27th of the month it was ‘out’; by December of that year it was in its sixth London edition.

London was also the site of the initial song sheet publications. The poem itself has several song texts, either sung by Feramorz to the princess or sung by characters within the tales he tells. Moore’s regular music publisher James Power issued songs by Dr John Clarke and well as Sir John Stevenson in 1817; this was swiftly followed by settings from Thomas Attwood (4), J.C. Clifton (1), W. Hawes (2), and G. Kiallmark. 1817 also marked Longman’s first edition of Royal Academician Richard Westall’s engraved ‘Illustrations of Lalla Rookh’.

Lalla Rookh continued to stimulate a notable number of vocal and artistic publications, as well as translations of its poetry, up until the first World War. Possibly the first theatre piece inspired by Moore’s poem was Charles Edward Horn’s Lalla Rookh, or the Cashmerian Minstrel to a text by M. J. Sullivan, which opened at Dublin’s Royal Theatre. The next theatrical setting appears to have been Gaspare Spontini’s ‘Festspiel’, Lalla Rûkh, to a text by S.H. Spicker, which was staged at Berlin’s Royal Palace on 27 May 1822. This stimulated a ‘lyrical drama with ballet’ by Spontini for Berlin’s Royal Opera House in 1822, named after Moore’s enchanting odalisque, Nurmhahal. That beauty continued to inspire the German song market, with Carl Maria von Weber setting “From Chinadara’s warbling fount”, otherwise known as the ‘Song of Nurmahal’, by 1826.

Moore’s Paris agents Galignani included Lalla Rookh in their 1819 English-language edition of Moore’s works; the brothers Schumann of Zwickau issued the first German translation in 1822. Vienna had its own translation, by Baron de la Motte Fouqué, in 1825. In its second decade Lalla Rookh would travel to the orient (literally; Moore reports that the East India Company had named a ship after his creation in 1827); the poem is published in Swedish translation (Turku, 1829), and again in German at Frankfurt-am-Main (1830). Moore’s tale of the hideous (both morally and physically ) ‘Veil’d Prophet of Khorassan’ is translated into Spanish (El falso Profeta de Cora-san, Barcelona, 1836) as well as Italian (Il Profeto velato, Torino, 1838). As the Victorian era advanced, there was a particular emphasis on illustrated editions of Moore’s poem–but that is a tale for another time.

Are you aware of any translations of Lalla Rookh not mentioned here? Please tell us on the blog!

Irish Song Project at Queen’s (by guest contributor Conor Caldwell)

18th May 2016

The Irish Song Project at Queen’s University (irishsongproject.qub.ac.uk/) sought to redefine the parameters through we which we view the history of singing in Ireland. While the majority of studies of Irish song, such as Hugh Shields’ monumental Narrative Singing in Ireland, are rooted in an examination of texts, the Irish Song Project concentrated on melodic development.
A second innovation in the project was the attempt to redefine what is meant by the term ‘Irish song’. This term is loaded with connotations of a politico-religious nature, as well as being further complicated by aspects of eighteenth and nineteenth century social class and linguistic divisions in Irish society. In addressing the concept of Irish song, we mapped out a holistic approach which included many forms of music previously excluded from discussion in this field, including medieval plainchant, eighteenth century parlour songs and, of course, the works of Thomas Moore.
The historically contested nature of Moore’s work has led to his exclusion from considerations of ‘traditional’ singing in Ireland, with the poet occupying his own space in scholarly discussion. The overtly literate nature of his work, wedded with a performance aesthetic so widely popularised by the mid-twentieth century through singers such as John McCormack, caused further distantiation between Moore and the traditional music world.
However, Moore’s rehabilitation in recent years, firstly from within the art music community and more recently within traditional music circles has been aided by the breaking apart of the false oral/literate dichotomy that has existed in scholarship of Irish music. In particular, Julie Henigan’s elucidating Literacy and Orality in Eighteenth-Century Irish Song (2013), deconstructs this conceptual position and lays the foundations for a reconsideration of Moore as not only relevant within the context of the history of Irish song, but also, as has been considered by the Irish Song Project, an influence upon the emergence of a dance music canon throughout the nineteenth century.
In my next post, I will explore this idea further by looking at some musical examples from across Moore’s Irish Melodies which are demonstrative of Moore’s impact on this dance music canon.

The Irish Melodies in Europe: 1808-1880

20th April 2016

Although Moore himself was adverse to the separation of music and text for his Irish Melodies, by 1817 J.P. Reynolds – an enterprising publisher in Salem, New York— had issued Irish Melodies, Sacred Melodies, and other Poems. This appeared to open the way for a spate of similar publications across Europe, led by Moore’s Parisian agents the Galignanis, who issued various compilations of his poetic works in 1819, 1820, 1823, and 1829. This firm and Baudry’s European Library—also based in Paris—appeared to be addressing an English-language market. Moore’s four titles with Baudry (1821, 1841, 1843, and 1847) made him—along with Walter Scott and Washington Irvine—their fifth most represented author. The 1820s was the most intense decade for English-language publications of the Irish Melodies, which—in combination with the poems for the National Airs—were issued in Brussels (1822), Pisa (1823), and Jersey (1828).

Title-pages for the Jersey (1828) and Paris (1841) editions

of Moore’s Poetry

By 1825 we also have an actual translation of Moore’s poetry, Louise Swanton Belloc’s Les amours des anges et les Mélodies irlandaises. It is interesting to note that Belloc, whose father was Irish, also translated selected works of Moore’s Irish contemporaries Oliver Goldsmith and Maria Edgeworth as well as Moore’s own Memoirs of Lord Byron for various Parisian publishers. By 1835 we have the first Swedish translation of the Irish Melodies; by 1839 the first German. Leipzig (1839, 1843, and 1874), Berlin (1841) and Hamburg (1875) each published Moore’s Irish Melodies in translation. Added to the polyglot profile of Moore’s Irish Melodies were a new French translation by Henri Jousselin (1869), a Spanish translation issued in New York (1875), and an Italian translation issued in Pisa (1880). By a strange quirk of market forces, the first Latin translation of the Irish Melodies (1835) preceded the first in Irish (1842) by some seven years. If we add to this the some seventy editions of the Irish Melodies issued by Moore’s London-based publisher Longmans, and the over 100 editions issued in Dublin, we can appreciate that Moore’s response to the native tunes of his own country held a universal appeal.

“The Harp that once in Tara’s Halls” in Latin and Irish

Are you aware of editions of the Irish Melodies at locations or in languages not mentioned here? If so, we would welcome a comment on the blog.

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

CALL FOR PAPERS

14th April 2016

As part of the Horizon 2020 project ERIN: Europe’s Reception of the National Airs and Irish Melodies; Thomas Moore in Europe, Dr Sarah McCleave and Dr Triona O’Hanlon of Queen’s University Belfast are seeking proposals towards a volume of essays on the theme, ‘Thomas Moore and the Global Marketplace’. The purpose of this project will be to track Moore’s reception across the globe.

Proposals of circa 1000 words are invited by 1 July 2016; please send to erin@qub.ac.uk. We will be collecting completed essays by 1 July 2017. If you have any questions, please contact us at the project email.

Image Courtesy of ContentDM Thomas Moore Music Project

http://cdm15979.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15979coll12

THE IRISH MELODIES: SONGS THAT STILL SPEAK

9th April 2016

The Minstrel Boy from Irish Melodies Number 5

Thomas Moore’s Irish Melodies are his best-known works. These 124 Irish tunes, arranged for voice and piano with newly-minted lyrics by Moore, were published in ten numbers between 1808 and 1834. The Gibson-Massie Moore collection evidences their popularity as domestic entertainment in the Romantic era with the multiple distinct imprints of each number (thirty for Number one alone) and in the multi-national circulation of Moore’s lyrics (a topic for a future blog post). The series gained a renewed popularity in the Victorian period through the 1846 edition illustrated by Irish artist Daniel Maclise.

Indeed, the most iconic of Moore’s Melodies have become thoroughly ingrained in our modern culture. Foremost amongst these is The Minstrel Boy from Number five. This is often associated specifically with the cause of Irish political freedom–for example as featured in ‘Reflecting the Rising’, the RTÉ centenary concert to mark the 1916 Easter Rising–but which in brass band arrangement has also become a regular feature during the annual Remembrance Sunday service held at The Cenotaph in Whitehall, London in November to honour all who have suffered or died in war. The Minstrel Boy, with its celebration of freedom and homage to brave personal sacrifice, has also been adopted by film-makers to mark or commemorate actions as diverse as those of the ‘1^st United States Voluntary Calvary’ in the Spanish-American War of 1898 (Rough Riders, 1997), the American Invasion of Normandy in World War II (Saving Private Ryan, 1998), and a failed US Army mission in Somalia during the early 1990s (Black Hawk Down, 2001). It is Moore’s poignant lyrics that have given the tune, ‘The Moreen’, this particular resonance:

“The Minstrel-Boy to the war is gone,

In the ranks of death you’ll find him;

His father’s sword he had girded on,

And his wild harp slung behind him.

‘Land of song!’ said the warrior-bard,

‘Tho’ all the world betrays thee,

‘One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,

‘One faithful harp shall praise thee!’

The Minstrel fell! – but the foeman’s chain

Could not bring his proud soul under;

The harp he lov’d ne’er spoke again,

For he tore its chords asunder;

And said, ‘No chains shall sully thee,

‘Thou soul of love and bravery!

‘Thy songs were made for the pure and free

‘They shall never sound in slavery.’”

Are you aware of any arrangements or recordings of Moore’s The Minstrel Boy? If so, we would be delighted to learn of these through the comments page of this blog.

Images Courtesy of Special Collections, The McClay Library, Queen’s University Belfast

NAME THAT TUNE: PART TWO!

20th March 2016

20 March 2016

Where are the Visions from National Airs Number 5

In our previous blog we mentioned that a total of 72 songs were published across the 6 Numbers of the National Airs. The origin of all but two of the airs used is identified i.e. Slumber, Oh! Slumber and Where are the visions, both from Number 5. Our previous blog was about Slumber, Oh! Slumber, and today’s blog is about Where are the visions. Where are the visions is set in the key of F major and in 3/8 time. Following a 16 bar piano introduction the singer begins in bar 17. Each of the four verses is divided by a piano interlude. The piano accompaniments for all songs in Number 5 were composed by Henry R. Bishop. Many of the National Airs include an option for more than one voice and are listed in the index in Power’s early editions as ‘Harmonised Airs’. As can be seen in the photograph Where are the visions may be performed by one singer or as a duet; the duet is set in thirds. The words of the song are transcribed below:

“Where are the visions that round me once hover’d,

Forms that had grace in their shadows alone,

Looks, fresh as light from a star just discover’d,

And voices that music might take for her own?”

Time, while I spoke, with his wings resting o’er me,

Heard me say “where are those visions, oh, where?”

And, pointing his wand to the sunset before me,

Said, with a voice like the hollow wind, “There!”

Fondly I look’d, when the wizard had spoken,

On to the dimshining [sic] ruins of Day,

And there, in that light, like a talisman broken,

Saw the bright fragments of Hope melt away.

“Oh! Lend me thy wings, Time” I hastily utter’d,

Impatient to catch the last glimmer that shone;

But scarcely again had the dark wizard flutter’d

His wing o’er my head, ere the light all was gone.

If you know the origin of the air for Where are the vision please let us know in the comments.

Image Courtesy of Special Collections, The McClay Library, Queen’s University Belfast

NAME THAT TUNE!

10th March 2016

10 March 2016

Image blog Post 5 — Slumber, Oh! Slumber
Moore’s National Airs Number 5

While examining copies of Moore’s National Airs extant in Special Collections at the McClay Library, QUB, I was amazed at the number of different countries and cultures which inspired the poet-songwriter. The song series includes airs from Spain, India, Hungary, Russia, Denmark and Malta. There are 12 songs in each of the 6 Numbers. That makes a total of 72 songs in the National Airs series. Slumber, Oh! Slumber from Number 5 is one of only two songs in the whole series where the origin of the air is not identified. The song is in the key of B flat major, set in 2/4 time and has two verses. The singer begins in bar 11 after a 10 bar piano introduction. The two verses are divided by a 6 bar piano interlude. I’ve transcribed the words below:

“Slumber, oh! Slumber if, sleeping thou mak’st

My heart beat so wildly, I’m lost, when thou wak’st!

Thus sung I to a maiden, Who slept one summer’s day,

And like a flow’r o’er laden With noontide sunshine, lay.

Breathe not, oh, breathe not, ye winds, o’er her cheeks,

If mute thus she charm me, I’m lost when she speaks.

Thus sing I, while awaking, She murmurs words, that seems,

As if her lips were taking Farewell of some sweet dream.”

Perhaps some of our readers might know the origin of the air.

Let us know in the comments.

Image Courtesy of Special Collections, The McClay Library, Queen’s University Belfast

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: MOORE’S NATIONAL AIRS

20th February 2016

20 February 2016

Moore's National Airs Number 1 — Moore’s National Airs Number 1

During October and November I spent time examining 32 editions of Moore’s National Airs extant in Special Collections at the McClay Library, Queen’s University Belfast. Original titles for Moore’s National Airs include National Melodies and Airs of all Countries. Examination of Moore’s letters show that his publisher, James Power, appears to have proposed the former title while the poet-songwriter’s own preference was for the latter title. I believe that what eventually became the final title, i.e. National Airs, encompasses the best of what was proposed while also capturing the essence of this particular song series.

The images in this blog show the title pages from two different editions of the First Number of National Airs. The edition shown in the first image was published by James Power, 34 Strand, London and bears the date of publication; April 23rd 1818. The edition shown in the second image was published by James’ brother William who was based at 4 Westmorland Street, Dublin. Each title page provides us with information about the various individuals involved in creating these early editions; the composer of the piano accompaniments was Sir John Stevenson; the words, of course, were by Thomas Moore; both title pages include an illustration drawn by T. [Thomas] Stothard. Do you notice any differences between the two title pages? They may be somewhat difficult to identify in the photographs. The price shown on the James Power edition (on left) is 12 shillings, the price shown on the William Power edition is 13 shillings. Despite including an illustration by the same artist each publisher engaged a different engraver; J. Mitan is the engraver attributed on James Power’s edition and Martyn of Dublin is the engraver attributed on William Power’s edition. If you enjoyed this post share it on Twitter and Facebook. Thank you!

Images Courtesy of Special Collections, The McClay Library, Queen’s University Belfast

PLANNING A VISIT TO SPECIAL COLLECTIONS?

10th February 2016

10 February 2016

The McClay Library, Queen’s University Belfast

My work often involves visiting library and archival institutions in order to view and examine manuscript and/or printed music collections relevant to my research. It can sometimes be difficult to gain access to material, especially if it is very old or rare. Understandably, libraries and archival institutions need to have rules and regulations in place for readers; these include terms for admission, rules of conduct while using their facilities and procedures for examining material. It is necessary to be aware of reading room hours and to find out if you can or need to order items in advance of your visit. All this will help you to plan and use your time more efficiently while there.

During the past few months I have been carrying out research for our project in Special Collections & Archives at the McClay Library, Queen’s University Belfast. The Special Collections Unit is located on the first floor of the library and provides an ideal environment for researchers. The bright and spacious reading room has a seating capacity of 40. The Gibson-Massie-Moore collection is a very large archival resource so I always order items in advance of my visit; this practice not only assists library staff, giving them time to locate items, but also benefits me as I know the items I’ve ordered will be there when I arrive so I can start my work without delay. The information desk is located directly beside the reading room and the excellent library staff are very helpful and approachable. On arriving at the desk I present my staff card and then I am issued with a locker key which also includes a tag which you swipe to gain access to the reading room. Readers can store their personal belongings in the lockers which are located to the right of the information desk. Readers also have the option to book the seminar room which is very useful if a team of researchers wishes to meet to examine and discuss items of relevance to their research.

Since our project is based at Queen’s we are very lucky that the majority of sources relevant to our research are located on campus. The ERIN research team would like to take this opportunity to thank Deirdre Wildy, Head of Special Collections, and all the staff at Special Collections for the constant assistance, support and co-operation shown to us throughout the course of our research project. For more information about Special Collections & Archives please visit the link below.

Images Courtesy of Queen’s University Image Bank; Special Collections, The McClay Library, Queen’s University Belfast and Thomas Moore in Europe Blog

https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/InformationServices/TheLibrary/SpecialCollections/.

www.qub.ac.uk/imagebank

ERIN: THE ACRONYM AND LOGO

30th January 2016

30 January 2016

Today’s blog aims to tell our readers about the inspiration behind our project name and logo. The acronym ERIN stands for Europe’s Reception of the Irish Melodies and National Airs. I can think of the titles of three Irish Melodies that include the word ‘Erin’: “Erin, the tear and the smile in thine eyes”; “Erin, Oh Erin” and “Let Erin remember the days of old”. The word Erin used in this context is very powerful as it has both nostalgic and nationalistic connotations; themes very central to Moore’s work. When it came to choosing an acronym for our project we felt it was important to come up with something catchy yet suitable to the subject area. The acronym had to be decided at the funding application stage. During the early stages of our project we decided to have a logo designed. We were particularly inspired by Moore’s Egan harp, which is now owned by the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) in Dublin. We were very keen to incorporate an image using or based on this beautiful and ornate harp into our logo. We would like to acknowledge our thanks and appreciation to Siobhán Fitzpatrick and the staff at the RIA who very kindly and generously facilitated our request. We would also like to thank and acknowledge Darragh Neely of Darragh Neely Design Works who designed our logo. For more information about the Royal Irish Academy Library and Darragh Neely Design Works please visit the links below. Let us know in the comments what you think of our acronym and logo. Check out the Wikipedia entry for the word Erin and see what varied logos you can find if you Google search Erin!