Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 17 Oct 19 - 11:41 AM

O'Farrell had quite a mixed bag of tunes in his collection. He was piper for theater productions in London His appearance in Oscar and Malvina is his most famous one. I can imagine how a tune became popular through Zorinski may have found him and led him to include it in his collections.

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: Lighter
Date: 17 Oct 19 - 11:08 AM

Pax vobiscum.

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 17 Oct 19 - 10:45 AM

Yes, I saw that just after I posted. Not exactly evidence of thorough thread reading before posting. Mea Culpa.

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: Lighter
Date: 17 Oct 19 - 09:56 AM

A ballad opera like "Zorinski"? ; )

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 17 Oct 19 - 09:08 AM

The tune appeared in both O'Farrell's Collection of National Music for the Union Pipes and Pocket Companion for the Irish or Union Pipes. I believe it was also in the Colclough tutor for the pipes but I would have to look that up.

I heard someone suggest it goes back to a late 18th century ballad opera but that is a very dim memory.

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: Lighter
Date: 16 Oct 19 - 12:54 PM

The tune has been around for a while in Irish tradition.

Robert Dwyer Joyce's poem "The Dying Ballad Singer" (1861) includes the lines,

It was a sunny morn in June,
The winds and waves were sweetly playing,
And you struck up your favourite tune,
"The Piper in the meadow straying!

P. W. Joyce included the melody in his 1909 collection.

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: GUEST,jim bainbridge
Date: 16 Oct 19 - 04:35 AM

I first heard it in the 60s, played by Finbar Furey- where he got it from I don't know, but would suggest from the Irish tradition or his dad & that may well be the source of its popularity with Northumbrian pipers.

I have a memory that it was used as the theme tune for Geoffrey Smith's gardening programme on BBC TV -30 years (or more) ago?

I tend to morph from it into Sam Cooke's 'Amnother Saturday Night' but don't tell the folk police please....

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: Lighter
Date: 15 Oct 19 - 02:31 PM

And the entire play is here:


https://tinyurl.com/yysfhc4o

The song is on p.36.

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: Lighter
Date: 15 Oct 19 - 02:26 PM

According to the Traditional Tune Archive,

"'A piper on the meadows straying' was a duet in the three-act musical play Zorinski (1795), for which music was selected and composed by Dr. Samuel Arnold (1740-1802) (sung in the original production in the Little Theatre in the Haymarket by Mrs. Bland and Mr. Fawcett), although whether he composed this air or simply adapted an existing melody for the vehicle of his song in not known. "

The lyrics appear in Thomas Morton's "Songs, duets, chorusses, in Zorinski: a play in three acts. Performed at the Theatre Royal, Hay-Market" (London: Cadell and Davies, 1795).

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: GUEST,Brian MacRiocaird
Date: 15 Oct 19 - 01:10 PM

John Parry (Parri Ddall - Blind Parry) a Welsh harper is credited with first transcribing Deck the Halls (Nos galan).
He is also credited with inspiring the poet Thomas Gray to write his 1757 poem, The Bard.

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: Scotus
Date: 01 Jan 08 - 03:44 PM

refresh

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: Scotus
Date: 31 Dec 07 - 02:37 PM

It certainly confirms to me the similarity and Matsuko's second last post in that thread seems to confirm the connection. But I'm still a bit puzzled as to how a Welsh tune became an Irish one and which came first! Piper in the Meadow is a pretty popular tune (I've heard it played by many Northumbrian pipers, just to further complicate things) but I've never heard anyone make the connection to 'Deck the Halls' (maybe I just don't get around as much as I should).

Jack

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: Stewart
Date: 30 Dec 07 - 11:10 PM

It's fun to play "The Piper in the Meadows" and then morph into Deck the Halls. Then explain that it really isn't a Christmas carol.

Cheers, S. in Seattle

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: Stewart
Date: 30 Dec 07 - 11:06 PM

Here it is
And the midi is here

Cheers, S. in Seattle

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: Scotus
Date: 30 Dec 07 - 10:23 PM

Yes Bonnie (and Stewart),

I tried a search before posting but it brought up a gazillion and none had anything about 'piper' in the titles.

Anybody remember which thread?

Jack

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 30 Dec 07 - 06:45 PM

Welsh title is Nos Galan (which means something like New Year's Night or perhaps New Year's Eve, so it's quite timely). The forum search facility for that name brings up a whole feast of pages.

Subject: RE: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: Stewart
Date: 30 Dec 07 - 05:47 PM

I believe there's already a Mudcat thread on that somewhere.
Try the Search.

Cheers, S. in Seatle

Subject: Origins: piper in the meadow/deck the halls
From: Scotus
Date: 30 Dec 07 - 04:42 PM

I was listening to 'Deck the halls' last week and it suddenly dawned on me that the tune is almost identical to 'The Piper in the Meadow Straying'! I believe that 'Halls' is a Welsh carol - is 'Piper' Welsh, and is there a connection?

Jack