Stanford: Songs of Erin

Stanford, Charles Villiers. Songs of Erin: A Collection of Fifty Irish Folk Songs. London: Boosey and Co., 1901.

Songs of Erin was published in 1901. It contains a collection of fifty Irish folk songs with words by Alfred Perceval Graves and music arranged by Stanford. Among the collection are three divisions of traditional Irish music comprising of the Gauntree (jigs, reels and quick-step marches), the Golltree (lamentations and loves songs), and the Soontree (lullabies and fairy slumber songs). While the collection comprises adaptations of medieval Irish lyrics, as well as a number based on Hiberno-English folk songs, the majority of the collection is comprised of original works.

Stanford, Charles Villiers. Songs of Erin: A Collection of Fifty Irish Folk Songs. London: Boosey and Co., 1901.

Stanford, Charles Villiers. Songs of Erin: A Collection of Fifty Irish Folk Songs. London: Boosey and Co., 1901.

Songs of Erin was published in 1901. It contains a collection of fifty Irish folk songs with words by Alfred Perceval Graves and music arranged by Stanford. Among the collection are three divisions of traditional Irish music comprising of the Gauntree (jigs, reels and quick-step marches), the Golltree (lamentations and loves songs), and the Soontree (lullabies and fairy slumber songs). While the collection comprises adaptations of medieval Irish lyrics, as well as a number based on Hiberno-English folk songs, the majority of the collection is comprised of original works.

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Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) was Irish by birth, but spent most of his life in England. Born in Dublin, he travelled to England, where his gift for classical musical forms gained him a scholarship to Queen’s College, Cambridge in 1870. From 1874 to 1877 he studied composition with Carl Reinecke in Leipzig and with Friedrich Kiel in Berlin.

He became highly influential in his time, as a professor, conductor and composer. He was appointed professor of composition at the Royal College of Music in 1883 and Professor of Music at Cambridge in 1888.

Although most noted for his choral works, he composed in almost every music form with his output including symphonies, operas and concertante works, as well as chamber, piano and organ pieces. While much of his influence has been overlooked since his death, his work has been increasingly credited for its unique combination of both German and Celtic traditions which has had a marked influence on succeeding generations of composers.

Songs of Erin was published in 1901. It contains a collection of fifty Irish folk songs with words by Alfred Perceval Graves and music arranged by Stanford. Among the collection are three divisions of traditional Irish music comprising of the Gauntree (jigs, reels and quick-step marches), the Golltree (lamentations and loves songs), and the Soontree (lullabies and fairy slumber songs). While the collection comprises adaptations of medieval Irish lyrics, as well as a number based on Hiberno-English folk songs, the majority of the collection is comprised of original works.