Sources and Style in Moore’s Irish Melodies

Once regarded as Ireland¿s national bard, Thomas Moore's reputation rests on the ten immensely popular collections of drawing-room songs known as the Irish Melodies. At home and abroad, these 124 songs created a realm of influence that continued to define Irish culture throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth. In this book, Una Hunt provides the first detailed assessment from a combined musical and literary standpoint, contextualizing the songs through an examination of their `sources¿ and `style¿. Further attention is given to the collaborative work of composers Sir John Stevenson and Henry Rowley Bishop and the study is completed by a reappraisal of the musical sources.