Tuesday 5 May 2015
Tune of the Day: Kate Kearney
Traditional Irish tune
This Irish tune can be played as a waltz or as an air. The words to the song “Kate Kearney” were written by Irish novelist Lady Morgan around 1807; the melody, however, had previously appeared as “The Beardless Boy” in Bunting's General Collection of the Ancient Irish Music, published in 1796.
As the famous music collector Francis O'Neill noted, “As a waltz tune Kate Kearney lacked a sufficiently distinct second part, which some orchestra leader eventually supplied. This though serviceable for the purpose intended is devoid of any trace of Irish feeling”.