The Survival of Irish Music

by Gail Smith

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There are thousands of Irish tunes that have survived from the past to the present. There are reels, jigs, hornpipes, marches, slow airs, flings, slides, set dances and polkas. The songs all translate the rich culture and history of the people of Ireland into sound. This rich heritage of Irish music covers the whole range of human emotion from mourning to merriment. Some Irish music was born out of love, famine, war, or poverty. Half the population died during the terrible potato crop failure. Every conceivable incident of human life from the cradle to the grave is reflected in the music of the Land of Shamrocks, Shillelaghs, and Leprechauns.

One reason the ancient music of Ireland has survived was because it was passed down from one generation to the next through singing or playing the music on the harp. An important man in the history of Irish music was Edward Bunting (1773-1843). Edward Bunting was a preserver of Irish music. He organized the Harp Festival of 1792 held in Belfast. The object was to bring together the old harpers, and have them all play the most ancient tunes and airs as they remembered them. The ten most qualified harpers all assembled and played and played and played on their harps. Edward Bunting collected and took down the songs. He then studied the tunes, edited and published two volumes of the ancient airs and traditional tunes of the day, for posterity.

In the Preface to his first volume, Edward Bunting states:

"Ireland from a remote period has been celebrated for its cultivation of music, and admitted as one of the parent countries of that art, yet the present is the first general collection of its national airs; most of them are so old, that their authors, and the eras in which they composed them, are unknown."

This book contains poems and sixty tunes. It has a historical and critical dissertation on the Harp with pictures as well. Also included are the works of the two most popular composers of the day, Conollan and O'Carolan.

Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738) O'Carolan was a great composer who, though blind, traveled on horseback with an attendant, giving concerts throughout Ireland. O'Carolan memorized easily and would also compose new melodies. In a periodical of the time, Monthly Review, it was said, "At the house of an Irish nobleman where Geminiani was present, O'Carolan challenged that eminent composer to a trial of skill. The musician played on his violin, the fifth concerto of Vivaldi. It was instantly repeated by O'Carolan on his harp, although he had never heard it before. The surprise of the company was increased when he asserted tht he would compose a concerto himself, at that moment. The more so, when he actually played that admirable piece known ever since as O'Carolan's Concerto."

The concerto mentioned is in Edward Buntings rare book and is reprinted in the Celebrate the Piano Series Book Four.