|
A DOUBLE TREAT THIS MONTH... 2
NEW SONGS!!!
The Rose of Tralee
(ca. 1845)
Words:
F. Mordaunt Spencer
Music:
Charles W. Glover
Arr:
Merv Rowley
Most collections of Irish music contain The
Rose of Tralee, although its origins are somewhat
uncertain. Nothing seems to be known of the lyricist,
whose name may well be a pseudonym. The composer,
Charles Glover (1806-1863) has been identified as an
English violinist, songwriter and music director of the
Queen’s Theatre in London. Authorities are agreed that
the music was first published in London (ca. 1845),
although the sheet music from which this arrangement was
prepared was published in Boston by C. Bradlee & Co. (undated, but thought to be 1912).
Today, it seems that The Rose of Tralee
has taken on a life of its own, with a ballad having
been written about the “true story” of the song,
plus an international festival held annually. Details
are listed in the links below.
♫♫♫
Whatever its background may be, this is a truly
lovely piece of music that plays beautifully on the
dulcimer. Seldom do we find music of the folk variety
whose music and lyrics complement each other so
perfectly. This may become one of your favorites.
Music files for download:
PDF file
- Rose_of_Tralee.pdf
TablEdit file - Rose_of_Tralee.tef
MIDI file -
Rose_of_Tralee.MID
Historical
Links:
http://ireland.iol.ie/~rose/story.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rose_of_Tralee
* * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Harrigan
(1907)
Composer:
George M. Cohan (1878-1942)
Arr:
Ruth Randle
The composer of Harrigan, George M. Cohan, was already a legendary
name on Broadway’s Tin Pan Alley by the time he was 26, having produced, directed, and
starred in his first stage show. Among his first hit
tunes were Give My Regards to Broadway and Yankee
Doodle Boy. A few years later, he composed Harrigan for another production
titled Fifty Miles From Boston. Cohan was a
highly patriotic American, born of Irish parents and
proud of his heritage. Both of these facts dominated the
themes of much of his music. He claimed to have been
born on the Fourth of July. Readers may recall James
Cagney’s portrayal of Cohan in the 1942 movie Yankee Doodle Boy.
Interestingly, the title for Harrigan refers
to Edward “Ned” Harrigan (1845-1911) who was also a prominent name in the musical theater during a somewhat earlier
era, He and his partners, Tony Hart and David Braham, in
1873, composed The Mulligan Guard, a
buoyant march for uniformed, quasi-military groups organized to ridicule corrupt
politicians in their neighborhoods. Harrigan
was apparently written as a tribute to the memory of the
composer of that name. Here we see a statement of Irish pride, deserving of respect.
♫♫♫
Music files for download:
PDF file -
Harrigan.pdf
TablEdit
file - Harrigan.tef
MIDI
file -
Harrigan.mid
Historical links:
http://www.parlorsongs.com/issues/2004-7/thismonth/feature.asp
|
A
