Irish Set (LHS)

“The Minstrel Boy

                The old Irish air “Moreen” was set to words and titled “The Minstrel Boy” by Thomas Moore.  “Moreen” was notated as a one-line melody in Arthur O’Neill’s collection dated 1787.  This collection was included in Charles Villiers Stanford’s The Complete Collection of Irish Music as noted by George Petrie (1789-1866).  The Stanford collection was published in London during the years 1902-1905…The arrangement of this memorable Irish air is an expanded version…Traditional and contemporary harmonic elements were blended in chords and counter melodies to create some expressive treble and bass interplay.

The Foggy Dew

                The Foggy Dew ha[s] a long history of musical variants with different titles.  The tune appeared in old Irish collections and later in English compilations.  This arrangement adds yet another variant for all harps…The harmonization contains well-spaced chords with some contrapuntal writing.  The final chord changes to major with the addition of an F#; the only time a pedal or lever change is required.

The Girl I Left Behind Me

                The origin of The Girl I left Behind Me is not known.  This old tune was popular in Ireland as well as England in the 19^th century.  The English titled it Brighton Camp referring to the coastal encampments which monitored the French fleet years earlier….This extended arrangement begins with a simple early version of the tune.  It develops into a short set of variations containing active melodic imitation and scale passages.  The variations are interlaced with short newly composed interludes.

Carolan’s Concerto (Homage to Geminiani)

                Turlough Carolan (1670-1738) occupies a place of great esteem in the line of major Irish composers…Equipped with a harp and a horse, Carolan frequented the great houses of Irish nobles and landed gentry.  He composed over 200 airs, the majority created for specific patrons.  Carolan was at the height of his fame when he came under the influence of the Italian composer Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762) who was then living in Dublin.  Consequently, Carolan was one of the first Irish composer[s] to break away from the traditional tune structure and blend elements of conventional Irish music with the Italian Baroque style…” E. Schuman

Download a sample