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O'CAROLAN THE HARPER
by Mike McCormack
O'CAROLAN THE HARPER
The ancient Irish harpers were
professionals of the highest order. Because their status was one of
great honor, their training was long and rigorous. It generally began
before the age of 10, and the student had to become the absolute master
of three forms of Irish music, the history of the instrument, its
maintenance, and all of the scales and arpeggios related to it. It’s no
wonder that then, that the excellence of Irish harpers was recognized
world wide. Dante praised them with rare admiration, as did Francis
Bacon, who wrote, “No harp hath a sound so melting and prolonged as the
Irish harp.” In 1165, Giraldis Di Barri wrote, “On musical instruments
the Irish are incomparably more skilled than any nation I have seen.”
Vincenzo Gallileci, famed opera master of Florence, revealed in 1581
that the Italians derived their knowledge of the harp from Irish
masters.
Harpers were so highly respected that Irish Kings competed to maintain
the best in service to their court, and there are many accounts in
ancient Irish manuscripts that indicate the esteem in which they were
held. One reads, “At the banquet, there were nine seated in front, with
nine blue flowing cloaks and nine brooches of gold. Nine crystal rings
were upon their hands, a thumb ring of gold on the thumb of each, clasps
of gold on the ears of each, a torque of silver on the neck of each, and
nine shields with golden emblazonment above them on the wall. There were
nine wands of white silver in their hands for they were the King's nine
harpers.”
Originally supported by Gaelic aristocracy, Irish harpers later found
patrons among the Norman Irish families like the Butlers and Fitzgeralds.
However, that was soon to change. One of the ways in which England tried
to subdue Ireland, was by replacing her heritage, culture, and
traditions with English values. But the bards and harpers kept that
ancient tradition alive. Because their song and verse praised Ireland,
freedom, and their Gaelic lifestyle, the English considered harpers,
rhymers, and poets as dangerous and seditious persons. By the close of
the 17th century, laws were enacted forbidding Norman or English homes
from supporting Bards and Harpers. As Gaelic aristocracy was gradually
subdued or disenfranchised, many of the harpers lost their patrons and
took to the roads in an effort to keep their tradition alive. Across the
face of Ireland, they composed and sang of their Gaelic past in return
for a night of food and shelter.
Of all the Bards Erin ever produced, the last and perhaps the greatest
was Turlough O'Carolan. Born in 1670 in Co. Meath, he was blind - either
from birth or from a childhood bout with smallpox. A kindly local woman
named McDermott Roe felt that she could help, and had the young man
trained on the harp. The young O’Carolan was inspired and truly
motivated by music. It was obvious that he was gifted with a natural
ability, and Mrs. McDermott Roe became his patron. O’Carolan absorbed
not only the sean nos, or old style, singing of his forebears, but the
contemporary music of his own time. He became renowned as a poet,
musician, and composer, singing his own verses to his harp. When he
decided to take to the road to expand his learning and to share his
ability with others, Mrs. McDermott Roe bought him a beautiful harp and
a horse with which to travel.
O'Carolan seemed destined for his calling for he was gifted with an
extraordinary memory. Once when challenged by another musician to a test
of skill, O'Carolan played back the challenger's composition note for
note with enhancements that made it a far superior composition – a feat
that was later attributed to Mozart.
O'Carolan married once in his career and had several children, but when
his wife died in 1733, he took to the road again, gladly received and
provided for in return for his beautiful compositions - more than 200 of
which have survived to this day. Most have become a standard part of the
musical repertoire of some of the most respected classical companies and
artists in the world. Throughout the years, O’Carolan’s melodies,
originally composed for the harp, have been translated to dozens of
instruments by hundreds of artists and used to support various sets of
lyrics. One O’Carolan Planxty, used to support a poem written by the
President of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century amateur musicians
club in London, became their official song. In 1814, that tune was used
to support a poem called the Defense of Fort McHenry which was published
as the Star-Spangled Banner. In 1992, Shanachie Records released a CD
entitled The Music of O'Carolan containing 14 of his works performed by
classical guitarists.
O'Carolan remained a wandering minstrel until March of 1738. It was then
that the ailing 68-year-old Bard returned to the Alderford, Co.
Roscommon home of the McDermott Roe family, where he was met at the door
by the surviving members of the McDermott Roe clan. “I have returned,”
he said, “I have gone through it all, and only death is left. Shall my
patrons still provide like when I got my first learning, and my first
horse?” The old Bard was led to an upstairs bed to be cared for. On the
25 of March, he called for his harp, and lifting his beloved instrument
he composed his last beautiful melody - O'Carolan's Farewell to Music.
Then God’s angels welcomed the master into the heavenly choir.
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