Tag Archives: exhibitions

Introducing Project ERIN: Thomas Moore in Europe

ERIN documents two of Thomas Moore’s song series – the Irish Melodies (1808-1834) and National Airs (1818-1827) – as well as music inspired by his ‘oriental romance’ Lalla Rookh (1817). ERIN enables the user to track the production and dissemination of these pieces in Europe from their respective dates of creation through to 1880.

All of ERIN’s resources are now available at www.erin.qub.ac.uk. This website unites the previously available blog and OMEKA resources (images) with some new features, including podcasts, and a catalogue.

ERIN’s home page directs the user to its resources, and also to a user’s Survey that will help us to plan further projects on Thomas Moore. The ‘Irish Melodies’ tab leads to an introductory page, at the bottom of which are links to two collections of images dedicated to this series, which enable the user to discover different editions of the texts, illustrations inspired by the Irish Melodies, and also editions of the music. The reader can also access two digital exhibitions on the Irish Melodies. Likewise, the ‘National Airs’ tab leads to some introductory text, with a link to a collection of images documenting Moore’s series alongside some similar collections of European national songs, with another link to a digital exhibition. The ‘Lalla Rookh’ tab leads to a collection of images and a digital exhibition that document musical works and illustrations inspired by Moore’s Lalla Rookh. The Podcasts tab leads to recordings that document rarely heard music inspired by Lalla Rookh, and some of Moore’s Irish Melodies in rarely heard arrangements. The Blog tab leads to ‘Thomas Moore in Europe’, a resource with over 50 short essays that can be browsed, or searched through its index. Topics include: concert music, domestic music, exhibitions, illustrated editions, Irish music, European libraries, pantomime, publishers, songs, and theatre music. One blog provides details of our radio documentary, “An oriental romance: Thomas Moore’s Lalla Rookh”.

The catalogue: the ‘Home’ tab and the ‘Search resources’ tab leads to the ‘simple search’ interface of the ERIN catalogue, a resource which documents editions of Moore’s Irish Melodies, his National Airs, and also music inspired by these series as well as music inspired by Lalla Rookh. The time frame is 1808-1880; European publications only are featured; it represents the collections of eight European libraries in Ireland, the UK, France, and Germany. The introduction to this resource will be continued in the next blog.

Lalla Rookh as drawn by Kenny Jones. Image courtesy of Special Collections and Archives, Queen’s University Belfast.

 

‘Discovering Thomas Moore’ exhibition and launch of ERIN website

On this, the 240th- anniversary of Moore’s birth, we are pleased to announce a forthcoming exhibition, ‘Discovering Thomas Moore: Ireland in nineteenth-century Europe’, which will be held at the Royal Irish Academy for six months from 17th June 2019. This exhibition is a co-operative venture between the Royal Irish Academy and Special Collections and Archives at Queen’s University Belfast. ERIN’s on-line resource – including the previously inaccessible database-catalogue – will be launched at this exhibition, with computer terminals as part of the display. In autumn 2019 a series of lectures at the Royal Irish Academy will complement the exhibition. For further information see: https://www.ria.ie/discovering-thomas-moore-ireland-nineteenth-century-europe-0

Peri descending to fallen hero. Lithograph by Henry Warren, inspired by Thomas Moore’s ‘Paradise and the Peri’. Published by Day & Son, 1860. Image courtesy of Special Collections, Queen’s University Belfast.

Launching ERIN’S Collections and Exhibitions

We are pleased to launch four collections and four exhibitions on the OMEKA platform, as hosted by Special Collections & Archives, Queen’s University Belfast at the following link: http://omeka.qub.ac.uk

The collections, comprising a total of over 200 items largely drawn from the Moore Collection at Queen’s, are as follows:

Music to Moore’s Irish Melodies

Moore’s Irish Melodies: Texts and Illustrations
Moore’s National Airs in Europe
Lalla Rookh in 19th-century Europe

The exhibits are as follows:
Music to Moore’s Irish Melodies in Dublin and London
Moore’s Irish Melodies in Europe
The dissemination of Moore’s National Airs in Europe
The tales and travels of Lalla Rookh

 

Image courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, Queen’s University Belfast

Lalla Rookh
Lalla Rookh drawn by Kenny Meadows, engraved by J. Hollis