Prompted by the claim that Mrs Bach* might have written JS’s cello suites, I thought this thread might be of interest.
Here are two tunes composed by women, yet based upon folk tunes. There is still room for people to disagree, but I think these are now the most likely explanations.
Londonderry Air/Danny Boy
Jane Ross of Limavady sent this nameless fiddle tune - which she said was “very old” - to George Petrie, who published it in The Ancient Music of Ireland in 1853. For years no-one could identify the tune as existing before that date. It was believed by some that Ross had written it herself but, believing she would not be taken seriously as a woman, pretended it was a folk tune and sent it to Petrie.
It now seems it’s not as straightforward as that: in 1972, the fiddle tune Aislean an Oigfear (The Young Man’s Dream) was unearthed in a transcription from 1792. It’s not identical by any means, but there’s enough similarities to make it the best candidate for the “very old” tune Ross heard. But she definitely improved it beyond recognition in her version.
Stanford made use of it in his first Irish Rhapsody and Percy Grainger made a famous version (several, actually) but it really became popular because of WW1 in the 1908 song version Danny Boy (words by Frederick E. – I come up from Zummerzet where the zoider apples grow – Weatherley).
Waltzing Matilda
This came out of a strike in 1891 by shearers at Macpherson’s Woolshed in Dagworth, NSW. Macpherson was a friend of the poet “Banjo” Paterson, who visited at the time, during which the woolshed burned down and a man died. Christina Macpherson, the owner’s sister, played the zither and was much taken with an unidentified Scottish tune a brass band had played at the nearby races in Warrnambool. She played it from memory and Banjo Paterson wrote words to it. The song was published in 1895.
This is the original in Mcpherson's hand:
The brass band piece has been identified as a march, Craigielea, which used as its trio the tune “Thou bonny woods o’ Craigielea”. This tune – again very different from Waltzing Matilda – is nevertheless clearly related.
*[Mrs Pabs – aka Mrs Brookes – is quite chuffed that she is a sort of namesake.]
Here are two tunes composed by women, yet based upon folk tunes. There is still room for people to disagree, but I think these are now the most likely explanations.
Londonderry Air/Danny Boy
Jane Ross of Limavady sent this nameless fiddle tune - which she said was “very old” - to George Petrie, who published it in The Ancient Music of Ireland in 1853. For years no-one could identify the tune as existing before that date. It was believed by some that Ross had written it herself but, believing she would not be taken seriously as a woman, pretended it was a folk tune and sent it to Petrie.
It now seems it’s not as straightforward as that: in 1972, the fiddle tune Aislean an Oigfear (The Young Man’s Dream) was unearthed in a transcription from 1792. It’s not identical by any means, but there’s enough similarities to make it the best candidate for the “very old” tune Ross heard. But she definitely improved it beyond recognition in her version.
Stanford made use of it in his first Irish Rhapsody and Percy Grainger made a famous version (several, actually) but it really became popular because of WW1 in the 1908 song version Danny Boy (words by Frederick E. – I come up from Zummerzet where the zoider apples grow – Weatherley).
Waltzing Matilda
This came out of a strike in 1891 by shearers at Macpherson’s Woolshed in Dagworth, NSW. Macpherson was a friend of the poet “Banjo” Paterson, who visited at the time, during which the woolshed burned down and a man died. Christina Macpherson, the owner’s sister, played the zither and was much taken with an unidentified Scottish tune a brass band had played at the nearby races in Warrnambool. She played it from memory and Banjo Paterson wrote words to it. The song was published in 1895.
This is the original in Mcpherson's hand:
The brass band piece has been identified as a march, Craigielea, which used as its trio the tune “Thou bonny woods o’ Craigielea”. This tune – again very different from Waltzing Matilda – is nevertheless clearly related.
