The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1903-08-15
Preserving Irish Sonus.

y
dies with quaint words for her son.
Many of the airs had been handed
down for generations by voice alone,
perpetuated only by the efforts of the
ancient bards, says the Chicago Chron-
icle
Yesterday they We're recorded OH the
musical staff for the first time, when
Chief O'Neill received the first fruits
of a labor Of love that has extended
over six years, in the shape of a
green bound volume of the music of
Erin fresh from the printing presses.
The compilation of Irish melodies,
which is the most comprehensive ever
printed. is the tangible result of meet
ings held i'll the Brighton Park police
station by Il coterie of music lovers,
who for years had fingered with fiddle
and pipes over the songs of their lEl-
tive land. Chief among these musical
spirits was Francis O'Neill, who play
ed the flute at the gatherings and soon
became greatly interested in the pres
ervation of the folk songs of the Irish
race. For ten years the chief collected
manuscripts and then he started on a
search for ancient airs that existed
only i'll the memories of the Irish
peastlntry. Immigrants from remote
parts of the isle We're sent to the
l. Ni So1,f 1,, Do,,I ,%,
whistled or sang the tunes Of their
localities to James O'Neill, a patrolman
whose deNterity with the fiddle ell
abled him to produce the strains and
later write them on score sheet. A
year ago the chief had nearly 1000
songs in his possession and the work
then began of preparing them for pub
LEGATION.
Patrolman o,Nell played the pieces
over for the chief, whose keen ear
detected Implications and flaws in set
ting. The rules of modern musical
composition We're put aside and the
descendants of the bards worked with
a view to reproducing the songs as
actually sung, with the racial plain
tiveneSs untouched. The result is a
volume of new strains on which en-
perts have passed the opinion that it
will furnish themes for modern musi-
cians for years to come and may act
as the nucleus of new school of
collection was sent to Ireland yester-
day to Rev. Richard Henneberry. for
merly connected with the University
OF Washington, who has taken great i'll
terest in the labors of Chief O'Neill.
The collection embraces 1850 pieces,
classified as follows: Airs and songs.
G2a: O'Carolan's compositions, 10:
double .iigs, 415: slip jigs. GO: reels.
$50: hornpipes, Do: long dances. 20:
marches and miscellaneous. 80.
The book is printed from copper
plates and the title page is from Il
special design ny the chief in which
he has tried to perpetuate the ancient
style Of Gaelic oriamelltatiol. On the
front of the book is Il drawing of an
Irish harp that was taken from Il plate
made in 1856. The lettering is antique
Irish with interElced work borders.
The work is dedicated ITO the multi
tude of non-prOfessional musicians of
the Gaelic and English-speakiny races
all over the world who enjoy and
cherish the melodies of Ireland" From
coal HEAVIER to preserver of the airs
of old Ireland is the career of James
O'Neill. who gave the selections their
settings. O'Neill was found by his
chief fourteen years ago shoveling coal
i'll the Bridgeport rolling mills and was
given IL place on the police force. His
love for the violin made him the bosom
friend of the head of the department,
who spends much of his spare time at
the Brighton Park station.
1T has been gigantic labor the
chief said yesterday. I'VE had to have
special type made fer the headings of
the harmonies, which are in Gaelic.
The music of Ireland is like the mag
nificent ruins of building from which
Il multitude takes material. l dedicat-
ed the hook to the non-professionals
the persons who like to scrape fiddle
or blow Il flute. but l was told to-day
by an. expert composer that the VOL
llme contains new strains that will
furnish inspiration for musicians for
years to come. There's nothing like
the old music. 1t has flavor. Why
thirty of those pieces We're sung to us
by Ed Cronin. They We're the tunes
of his part of the isle and they had
never been set to type. Half the
songs have never been on paper be-
fore. James O'Neill played some of
them over to German musician the
other night and he cried. If Irish
music makes IL German weep it must
he that it lEls something worth pre-
serving. Operas have been built With
Irish airs for theme Take the
opera MARTHA for instance. Flotow
used The Last Rose CT Summer as the
theme. and he got it from Ireland
Ida-Before the wedding she used
to say he was a Zion" Does she call
him that now?