I know of a "Fiddler's (or fiddlers') Green", a sort of heaven for
worn out Irish sailors, in a song recorded by the Dubliners under that very
title of "Fiddler's Green". It's a sort of land of Cokaign (or however you
spell it).
Like many folk songs, and especially sailors' songs, it's bound to
have many versions, each of which is THE
authentic-genuine-from-the-horse's-own-mouth version.
I should add that I much prefer it to anything Elgar composed, but
that's French-Irish solidarity and those sneers should be banned on
cyberspace, I deem... especially as the Rugby Union World Cup has just
begun ;=)
But I own that for all their attempts to break from the traditions
of Church music to write revolutionary music, French musicians like Mehul
never achieved anything of lasting interest, if what was unearthed for the
1989 celebrations is anything to go by. Church music had (and has) a
tradition, and could enrich it innovatively, but the new ceremonies of the
revolution had no musical stock to build on, as regards ritual, of course.
For the rest, they had military marches, but is this music? Don't think I'm
being Chouan in anyway at all by saying so either.
Yet, when Berlioz came and composed his huge Requiem, I think he
was relying on both contributions: the Revolution --for the size of the
orchestras and choirs-- AND the Church. I only realised the
Revolution-music's influence when I heard some of the music they recorded
in 1989. Yet, aesthetically speaking, the revolutionary was Berlioz, not
his predecessors of the Revolution period.
Yours,
Luc Borot
**********************TIME TRIETH TRUTH********************
Luc Borot <lb@alor.univ-montp3.fr> home 33-67 52 07 98
<lb@bred.univ-montp3.fr> fax 33-67 14 24 65
work 33-67 14 24 49/33-67 14 24 48
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur la Renaissance Anglaise
Universite Paul Valery --- Montpellier (France)