Ī "warrior bard" is forced into silence by slavery. Its central icon is the image of a harp, which is a romantic symbol for Ireland, torn asunder but, in contrast to the Irish political songs of some of Moore's contemporaries, with no promise of restoration implied for the future. Like with several other of the Irish Melodies, "The Minstrel Boy" is melancholy and nostalgic. These were also sold in North America, to which Moore's popularity also extended. Īfter his death, large numbers of special editions of what were later re-titled Moore's Melodies were sold at premium prices, with lavish illustrations, expensive green leather bindings, and embossed images of shamrocks and golden harps. The Irish Melodies were overall immensely popular in Ireland and Great Britain when they were published, reaching a diverse audience, and "The Minstrel Boy" was one of the most famous songs from that collection. The tune appears in George Thomson's collection of Scottish and Irish airs in 1816, under Moore's title, leading to the suspicion, albeit no documentary evidence for which has been found, that Thomson sent the tune to Moore. Similarly according to Hunt's research, Aloys Fleischmann mistakenly claimed as sources several works that in fact post-date Moore's own publication. Moore, according to Hunt's research, had greater access to manuscripts and to printed sources than previous researchers had believed. Charles Villiers Stanford published a "restored" collection of Irish songs in 1895, asserting a source for the tune but scholars Veronica Ní Chinnéide in the 20th century and Una Hunt in the 21st century think Stanford to have not properly researched things, with corrections to several of his attributions having followed in 1898 in Alfred Moffatt's Minstrelsy of Ireland. There is no prior record, and no source for it has been firmly traced by the several scholars who have looked into the sources for Moore's work. The record of the melody to which the song is set, The Moreen, begins in 1813 with Moore's publication of it, which is the sole source of the statement that it is a traditional Irish air. The song was published in 1813 as part of Moore's Irish Melodies project, which spanned the years 1808 to 1834. Moore himself came to be nicknamed "The Minstrel Boy", and indeed it is the title of Leonard Strong's 1937 biography of Moore. "The Minstrel Boy" is an Irish song written by Thomas Moore (1779–1852) and published as part of his Irish Melodies. By request of Moore to James Power during publication, the harmonized air of the song (as found in the Gibson-Massie collection of the Irish Melodies at Queen's University Belfast) is in the key G major, whilst this, the solo of the song, is (in Moore's words) a "note lower" in F major.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |