manx celtic music and dance

Research Article 5 by Speers Barbara Allen

01 Jul 2014

David Speers - Research article number five

Histories and Mysteries – the secret life of traditional music in the Isle of Man by David Speers

This is the fifth in a series of articles that sets out to explore some of the links between the traditional music collected in the Isle of Man and that found in Ireland and Britain, to discover some of the hidden histories behind our traditional music, and to show that the Island has produced beautiful music to match any found elsewhere.

The full article can be found here

BARBARA ALLEN - The manuscript music books contain two different tunes with this title, but they each appear again in the Manx traditional music collections under other names. Barbara Allen was one of the most widely known ballads in Britain and Ireland and travelled to North America and beyond. It also became a recording success in the 20th century for many recording artists, including Joan Baez and Simon and Garfunkel. The Manx tunes are distinct from the tune made popular by the recordings, and are equally beautiful.

 

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