Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-12-03
SONG.WRITERS
And Their SOngs-The Melodies Oh the
Past and observation-disclosures
of National Airs.
The Days OF the Observation-Disclosures
and GIeemen-HeW spleen Aroon
Became ssRobin Adair."


subject of Songs and Song Writers" was
read by Chief Justice Charles z. Daily before
the Long Island Historical Society at It's re-
cent meeting in Brooklyn. Although
special aspects OF the topic have peen
treated by various writers, and tue history
OF the minstrelsv Of certain nations has re-
ceiyed some attention from their chroDIeleTs,
the subject has not been dealt with SO com
p.ehensiveiy as il Was by the author oil last
nights paper. Judge Daily spoke oil Inc
birth and growth Of song, not IN com
mnnity, but in human history. song, ue
said. has probably no better definition than
that given to a Iay-namely, "A piece OF
verse that il fit to be sung" In poetry there
/. a rhythmical measure IN the verse ana
its movement Just az there Is IN music Inc
beat Of the drum, perhaps the oldest music,
pieases by its measured taps, and from this
capacity for receiving ,aiisidctlon from
rhyth songs we're doubtless begotten. Inc
verse and music OF a song are reciprocity
dependent on each other, and the enecl oil
one is enhanced by the other. There are
beautiful melodies, OF which the music
would amount to little if Invested oil the
woris ard the wnrds Rnn11- hA tElhza II
stripped OF the music. Frequently, almost iu-
yari sblv. one suggests the other, ana poih
B----4-sid Moore framed their choicest lyme
eomposiiions upon 7se -ze 3 hao oeea
great antiquity. Among the earliest Egyp-
Ian hieoroglyphics is the picture oil
guitar. The Assyrians had musicai instru-
ments and rejoiced in song, while the He
brews through all their history seemed to
practice and encourage music. OF the very
old songs which hieroglyphics preserve, one,
perhaps the Oldest, is simple rustic refrain
OF "Ihe Thresher." The Greeks had their
songs of war Few of their love songs sur
IL fn1a.d lftf1a ia kn0Wn nj their
songs or of those of their coiemporaries. 10
pass from the aneients 10 the time OF the
troubadours is long stretch, but lyric COM
positions differed in little up to that time.
The early Christians had their religious me-
odies, the Scaids of the North sang of their
gods and heroes, and the Gregorisn and Am
brosian chants were composed. But II was
with the rise of the troubadours that songs
took place in story and became an epiiome
of the habits and fancies of the times.
Properly speaking, the troubadours were
lyric poets, who wrote in various forms oil
poetical composition aud carried the art OF
Composing verse, as respects meter aud
rhyme, to a perfection never surpassed.
Their songs were chiefly OF love and chiv-
airy, and they served 10 those rude times 10
inculcAte a respect for woman and enabled
her to exercise an asceudsncy over society.
THE DAYS OF THE rRoUBADoUks
The ladies whose charms the verse OF the
troubadours gloriisd were not necessarily
their wives or mattresses. Frequently
welded life was not conteIs plated at alt by
these warrior-bards, and the ladies TO whom
their vows of faith were made were ss likely
as rot other mems wives. Chivalry permit
ted the gallant 10 swear 10 be lady's knight
and VOW 10 peril his life thereafter in her
behalf and ever TO do her bidding. He did
it on Bonded knee, and when she accepted
his pledge and raised him up she sealed her
acceptance with kiss, which was the first
and last bestowed upon him. The devotion
of the knight and that which was breathed
by The song OF the iroubsdour WAS purely
ideal sentiment, but il was an elevating and
ennobling one, and many a life was laid
down in supporting it. The troubadours
sang no. o. the life Of the people. They
were OF good birth, they were favored by
princes, and formed privileged class, which
for the time made up the republic of let
tiers. The hogperes Of Northern France, who
came after the troubadours, unlike the lat
ter, sprang f:om the people. Among them
were comprised all ranks and conditions,
and on various phases of life did the must
cal compositions touch, until, like the trou-
badourr, they, too, becsms an exclusive
class. The songs of the minnesingers of
Germany, who were cotemporaneous with
The hoaueres, were marked by a greater
healthiness and purity. Their fret songs
we're OF battles and the exploits Of cham
pion. bot in time they assumed a softer and
a geutIer tone. The human affections made
subjects for the verse, as did the scenes of
quiet, rustic beauty, and the bucolic avoca-
lions of the people.
MINsIRELs AND GLEEMEN.
The jougleurs were a later set of song sing
ers They we're sometimes called MINISTRIES
and were also Known as harpers and glee-
msn. Ii is probable that it was these who
composed the popular songs which have
been perpetuated among the people. There
were two CLASSES of jongleurs. The lowest
and largest consisted OF the strollers who
sang al the hostelries or upon the village
greens. They went about like showmen-
sometimes with trained animals, sometimes
performing feats OF jugglery. The other
class were the real composers and versiiers
who went about from castle to castle and
sang to the accompaniment of lutte or harp
OF bold and chiyalric deeds. They we're
great fsvorites and were always Hospitality
received wherever they went, and their wan
dering life enabled them to gather and pre-
serve much of the gossip and the romance
that was to be heard in the communities Of
those days. Judge Daily then followed the
history OF song to our own days, and told a
beautiful story about tn at sweet Gong Eileen
Aroon," which had, through series of ro-
mantle incidents which he detailed, become
known to fame as "Robin Adair.n He then
went into an elaborate and studious expo
siiion of the characteristics of the songs of
| different countries. He showed that while
Italy has done more than any other nation
to foster music, it has no essentially national
| music of It's own. The pessantry OF the
Northern countries, on the contrary, have
an abundance of folk songs, from the melo-
dies Of which eminent song writers have
been willing to draw Inspiration and ma
terial. Judge DAILY showed, too, that a ma
TONS songs are the reflex OF its national
character, and detailed the peculiariiies OF
the lyrical compositions of all the countries
of Europe and the East.