Irish Melodies

I’ve always admired how Confucius claimed he was not very original and liked to learn from tradition. “I am not one who was born in the possession of knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity and earnest in seeking it there.” It seemed telling that there were no copies of “Moore’s Melodies” in the bookshops. The past was forgotten. But the Internet soon sorted that. Thanks to Richard Kopp’s online archive, now available at http://www.musicanet.org/robokopp, I could start to learn and sing these songs. My plan was to record them in some new revitalised way, but that was over ten years ago and I still haven’t started. In fact I’ve already forgotten most of what I learnt over the years to sing by heart. Take back the virgin page, for example, walking around the dog lake in Berlin. Moments fade quickly yet linger. Believe me, if all those endearing young charms..