• Price $12.99
  
• By Irene Sazer
• Sheet Music
• Published by String Letter Publishing

“Star of the County Down” is a sentimental Irish ballad. This popular folk tune was the basis for Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus. The tune is a pentatonic melody with a romantic feel.

“After the Battle of Aughrim” is a beautiful account of the last great defeat of the native Gaelic army in Ireland. It offers a real tug on the heart. Easy for students to play, this tune’s yearning tonality reflects the sobriety of the war and subsequent loss that inspired this piece.

ABOUT THE MUSIC (Excerpted from the Performance Notes)

“Star of the County Down” is an Irish ballad set near Banbridge in County Down in Northern Ireland. The tune is a pentatonic melody that sometimes goes under the title “Dives and Lazarus.” This popular folk tune was the basis for Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus for harp and string orchestra, commissioned for the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. The tune was also arranged by Vaughan Wi l l iams as the hymn “Kingsfold,” sometimes known as “O Sing a Song of Bethlehem” or “I Heard the Voice of Jesus.”

Lyrically, the original folk song—with words by Cathal Garvey (1866–1927)—is from the point of view of a young man who chances to meet a charming lady by the name of Rosie McCann, referred to as the “star of the County Down.” From a brief encounter the narrator’s infatuation grows until, by the end of the ballad, he imagines marrying the girl. The melody is sentimental and can be thought of as romantic.

I discovered this tune about 20 years ago. I was especially drawn to how the melody interacts with the chords. There’s one spot where the melody moves on, but the chord lingers behind, and I’ve always found this pure magic. The first iteration of this is in m. 24. There are a precious few pieces, gems really, like Bach’s “Air on the G String,” that I never tire of playing. This is one of those.

"After the Battle of Aughrim” is descriptive of the last great defeat of the native Gaelic army in Ireland, a battle that took place on July 12, 1691, following the defeat of the Stuart forces at the Battle of the Boyne. Aughrim is located near Ballinasloe, County Galway, about 30 miles from Galway city. It is a small village.

The victory of the Williamite forces over the Irish marked the end of the old Gaelic aristocracy, an event that is commemorated in the present-day Orange celebration of July the Twelfth. I first discovered this tune about 15 years ago. I was drawn to it because of its minor-key and yearning tonality. I teach this tune often because it’s beautiful and easy for students to play, primarily because of its placement on the fiddle.

It has its musical rewards: the ascension of the line into the beginning of the B section, which we first hear at m. 27, is most satisfying—it is an emotional tug on the heart.