The Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) is committed to providing free, universal access to the rich cultural tradition of Irish music, song and dance. If you’re able, we’d love for you to consider a donation. Any level of support will help us preserve and grow this tradition for future generations.
Series 1, Episode 4
Royal Irish Academy, Dawson Street, Dublin
William Forde Publishing Subscription Project RIA MS 24 O 19
Researchers Caitlín Uí Éigeartaigh and Nicholas Carolan have studied the 12 volumes of Forde manuscripts and have deduced that approximately half derive from printed sources, with the remaining recorded from manuscript and oral sources. The melodies, mostly song airs, were organised systematically by Forde in the manuscripts in order to compare the various versions he had sourced.
Example of Forde's systematic organisation of melodies RIA MS 24 O 19
Unfortunately, as with many other nineteenth century collectors the words of the songs have not been documented. His sources extended beyond Munster to Connacht, Ulster, London, and in Leitrim he collected approximately 190 tunes from the piper Hugh O’Beirne.
Patrick Weston Joyce (1827–1914)
Patrick Weston Joyce (1827–1914) acquired the Forde-Pigot Collection from members of the Pigot family and a selection of the melodies was published in his 1909 Old Irish Music & Songs reproduced here.
P.W. Joyce donated the Forde-Pigot Collection to the Library of the Royal Irish Academy. An article by Nicholas Carolan ‘The Forde-Pigot Collection of Irish traditional music’ was published in Treasures of the Royal Irish Academy Library (Dublin, 2009).
Nicholas Carolan, Director Emeritus, Irish Traditional Music Archive
John Blake selected two jigs from RIA MS 24 O 19 for Mary and Tony to learn, The Basket of Oysters and The Sprightly Widow.
We now invite you to learn the jigs. By learning and playing these tunes you can ensure the labours of William Forde are not forgotten and are shared with future generations.
ITMA’s Interactive Score facility gives you the opportunity to listen to the tune, speed it up/slow it down to play along with as you need, and follow the transcription.
The Basket of Oysters RIA MS 24 O 19
ITMA’s Interactive Score facility gives you the opportunity to listen to the tune, speed it up/slow it down to play along with as you need, and follow the transcription.
The Sprightly Widow RIA MS 24 O 19
ITMA would like to sincerely thank the Royal Irish Academy for permission to use images from RIA MS 24 O 19.
The text used above in the section ‘William Forde & Irish traditional music’ is an extract from an earlier ITMA Feature on William Forde’s printed publication 300 National melodies of the British Isles. Vol. 3. 100 Irish airs. (London, ca. 1841). It was written by Nicholas Carolan.
