Petries Complete Irish Music

The work of 100 years and three generations of archivists, this compilation, which originally appeared in 1905, encompasses the musical wealth of a nation.

When the gates of St. Enda's opened in 1908 its headmaster and founder Patrick Pearse, declared that the school would be an 'educational adventure' for nationalist boys. Pearse's desire was that St. Enda's would create a modern Irish boy educated in the scholarly tradition of the early Celtic Church and in the ancient warrior culture of pagan Ireland. This heroic, yet Christian, boy would become the prototype of Irish masculinity educated into a life of public service and citizenship in order to serve the future nation state. St. Enda's was a radical experiment in education, not least for its liberal and enlightened curriculum but also in its focus on child-centred learning. Many children from eminent nationalist families attended the school and most of the leaders of Irish Revivalism lectured at or visited St. Enda's at some point between 1908 and 1916. Amongst its many admirers were W.B. Yeats, Douglas Hyde, Roger Casement, and Sir Robert Baden Powell, the founder of the English Boy Scouts movement. While Pearse was in favour of a liberal, Irish speaking education for all children, the focus of St. be ready to spend themselves in the service of their country. The task of creating a modern Irish boy, versed in mythologies and traditions of the past, was achieved in part by nationalising British and German imperialist ideologies on masculinity, history an education. This book explores how the cult of Irish nationalist boyhood at St. Enda's was expressed through mythology, pageantry, theatre, Gaelic Games and Celticism.

A facsimile edition containing the original collection of 1,850 melodies consisting of airs, jigs, reels, hornpipes, marches, and more for fiddle

From the hopeful anticipation of Mary, do you fancy me? to the bitterness of Hag, you've killed me, this extraordinary compilation of Irish melodies runs the emotional gamut, with melancholy airs and sprightly reels aplenty. Its source material, The Petrie Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland, ranks among the most important 19th-century collections of traditional Irish music, with its song texts in both Irish and English, plus George Petrie's detailed notes about the music's origins. Out of print for many years, the Petrie Collection became an extremely rare and much sought-after collector's item; this new edition will bring the cherished old songs into the repertoire of any student or performer of traditional Irish music.

Book Size: 8 1/2" x 11." Pages: 120 From the Preface. IN the year 1855 was published "The Ancient Music of Ireland," a volume which was edited by George Petrie, LL.D., under the superintendence of the "Society for the preservation and publication of the Melodies of Ireland." This volume contains a large number of airs, of which about twenty were contributed by me. It was my wish that all my collection, or all worthy of preservation, should be printed by the Society, but the publication ceased after the appearance of one volume. The death of Dr. Petrie, in 1864, put an end to all hope of continuing the work; for he left no one behind him who was, at that time at least, either able or willing to undertake the editorship. His death was indeed an irreparable loss: for he possessed an extensive and critical knowledge of the subject, which it is to be feared few or none will ever equal. My only anxiety was to secure the publication of the airs I had preserved, that they might be saved from possible loss; but as I failed to do so under the auspices of the Society, I am now doing what I suppose is the next best thing, publishing them myself. I spent all my early life in a part of the country where music and dancing were favourite amusements; and as I loved the graceful music of the people from my childhood, their songs, dance tunes, keens, and lullabies remained on my memory, almost without any effort of my own. I had indeed excellent opportunities; for my father's memory was richly stored with popular airs and songs; and I believe he never sang or played a tune that I did not learn. Afterwards, when I came to reside in 'Dublin, and became acquainted with the various published collections of Irish music, I was surprised to find that a great number of my tunes were unpublished, and quite unknown outside the district or province in which they had been learned. This discovery stimulated me to write down all the airs I could recollect; and when my own memory was exhausted, I went among the peasantry during vacations, for several successive years, noting down whatever I thought worthy of preserving, both music and words. In this way I gradually accumulated a very large There yet remains a great quantity of music among the people, unpublished and uncollected. But it is fast dying out; and those who are gifted with sufficient musical knowledge and taste should catch and write down the fugitive strains before they are extinguished forever.....