Deck the Hall – A Comprehensive History – Part 1

Introduction

In early October 2020 I started thinking about playing holiday music on my mountain dulcimer. It was a bit of an early start, but 2020 was a rough year, and I needed something to look forward to. I thought I’d give the Christmas classic “Deck the Halls” a try. I wanted to find an old version that I knew was in the public domain to avoid copyright violations, so I started looking into the history of the song. I had no idea the adventure I was beginning.

Right away it was clear that “Deck the Halls” evolved from an earlier Welsh song called “Nos Galan.” In Welsh, nos means night, and galan means first day, so nos galan translates to New Year’s Eve. Galan can also be written with the “g” transmuted to a “c,” calan. This is related the English word “calendar,” both stemming from the Latin “calendae/kalendae,” meaning the first day of the month. “Calendae” comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *kele- meaning “to shout,” as Roman priests would proclaim the new moon as the start of the month. When the Celtic new year actually started is a matter of some debate, but whenever it was celebrated, this song seems to be related to the new year, which partly explains how it came to be associated with our modern winter holidays.

Looking for a tune called a variety of names, including:

  • Nos Galan,
  • Nos Calan,
  • Nos Galen,
  • Nos Calen,
  • New Year’s Eve,
  • New Year’s Night,
  • The Mountain Fires,
  • Fal lal la,
  • Favourite Welch Air,
  • A Piper O’er the Meadow Straying,
  • and sometimes even “Deck the Hall,”

I found myself careening down a hole filled with misinformation, missing pages, and mystery. I couldn’t let it go – I needed to get to the bottom of it. I wanted real answers and evidence, but every new discovery seemed to raise more questions than it answered. Now I’m sharing what I found to set the record straight.

I think this is the most comprehensive collection of “Nos Galan” and “Deck the Hall” variations ever compiled. I have traced the tune from the earliest known written record in 1752 all the way through modern versions.

In the sections below you’ll find links to and images of the originals, my transcriptions, MP3s to bring the old music to life, and even mountain dulcimer arrangements. You’ll learn about the history of Welsh music and the evolution of folk song collecting, and even a little music theory.

SPOILERS:

June 2022 Update: This article was originally published in November 2020 as one continuous article. The number of PDFs attached, however, seemed to overwhelm my website’s servers. I have now broken it up into multiple parts to try to alleviate the strain. This change required updating a lot of links, and I apologize if I have missed any.

July 2022 Update: I am continuing to expand my research and update this page. One of the biggest changes I’ll be implementing is removing the bulky PDFs and replacing them with a Javascript rendering of the music from ABC notation, as well as images of the originals or embeds of the Archive.org/GoogleBooks/HathiTrust pages. I think this will make the music more accessible. I’ll still link directly to my sources, and eventually I’ll move the PDFs to the password protected “Printables” section of the website. All you need to do to get the password is become a Patron through Patreon or Buy Me A Coffee and I’ll share the most recent password with you. Or use the “Contact Me” page to get in touch about a particular PDF.

Contents

Part 1: 1700s

Part 2: 1800-1850

Part 3: 1850-1900

Part 4: 1900 – Present

1752: Nos Galan – The Fiddler’s Tune-book by John Thomas (1752-FT-Thomas)

The earliest written evidence of a tune named “Nos Galan” is in John Thomas’ The Fiddler’s Tune-book, circa 1752, digitized and available to view on the National Library of Wales website. In her article “Fiddle tunes in eighteenth-century Wales,” traditional Welsh fiddle expert Cass Meurig describes Thomas as “a working fiddler rather than an amateur collector of tunes.” The tune book is not a formal, type-set publication, but rather the hand written, personal manuscript of a musician, a musical diary. 

Meurig explains,

“He wrote down 526 tunes, most of which are in modern notation. A small proportion are in an idiosyncratic form of violin notation probably invented by himself, consisting of a kind of musical shorthand in which notes appear as note-heads with ascending and descending passages written vertically, joined by lines to indicate the direction of the melody. Key, tonality and pulse are not shown and only the bare bones of the melody are recorded; it seems to have worked as an aide-mémoire to remind him of tunes he already knew by heart. In addition, he made several lists of tune titles which include a further forty tunes which he did not trouble to notate; these may have been the tunes with which he was most familiar.” Some tunes he clearly copied from other printed sources, but others “seem, by the irregular nature of their notation, to have been written down from oral tradition.”

Cass Meurig, Fiddle tunes in eighteenth-century Wales

“Nos Galan” is one of those tunes that he appears to have known well. It is listed twice (folios 70 r. and 83 v.), but only notated in his own “idiosyncratic” shorthand (folio 78r). If it is the same melody as those recorded later, it lends credence to the idea that the tune was truly well-known and widespread as early as the 1750s, and subsequent claims of its “antiquity” are more than just marketing tactics. The claim that the song comes from “the Druids,” however, remains dubious.

But is it the same tune? We have some useful clues. For one thing, Thomas included some tunes in both standard notation and his shorthand. By comparing the two notation methods, we can get some idea of how to interpret his shorthand. I demonstrate below that, as Meurig explained, while his shorthand doesn’t indicate much in the way of rhythm or key, the general contour of the melody is clear. 

Thomas’s notation brings to mind a more modern, simple method of comparing melodic contour, known as “Parsons code.” Denys Parsons developed this text based system for his 1975 book “The Directory of Tunes and Musical Themes,” and it is now a fairly popular method for tune recognition. The first note of the melody is generally identified with an *, and the next notes by one of three letters: U = up, D = down, R = repeat. A “Parsons contour” is a graph or visual representation of the Parsons code. Overlaying two Parsons contours on the same graph makes a nice visual demonstration of tune similarity.

We’ll start by comparing the shorthand (75 v.) and standard (54 v.) versions of “Rakes of Mallow,” or as Thomas titles them, “Rakes of melo/Rakes of mellow.” In the standard notation we see the eighth notes in the first three measures bouncing up and down rapidly, followed by a longer descent in the fourth measure. In parallel, in the shorthand, we see three sets of close, rapid, up and down notation, followed by a larger descent at the end. In the next section of the shorthand we see much longer descents and ascents, and as we might expect, the next line of the standard notation also shows much longer runs of ascent and descent.

1752 John Thomas | Comparison of Rakes of Mallow shorthand and standard musical notations and Nos Galan shorthand and standard musical notations | Deck the Halls | HandyFinch.com
Shorthand vs. standard notation | Images from National Library of Wales Digital Archives

For a more direct comparison, I thought it would be an interesting exercise to turn both notations into Parsons codes. This task is fairly straightforward for the standard notation, but his shorthand notation does include a few odd symbols that are open to interpretation. In the following table, I lined up the Parsons codes measure by measure, but there are some gaps where the shorthand was unclear. They aren’t identical, with measures 4 and 8 especially different, but they certainly share a lot of overlap.

Rakes of Melo/Mellow Parsons Code

Measure 1
Melo*UUDUDURD
Mellow*UDUDUUDD
Measure 2
MeloDUDUDURDD
MellowDUDUDUUDD
Measure 3
MeloUUDUDURDR
MellowDUDUDUUDD
Measure 4
MeloD?UDD
MellowUDDDDUDRRR
Measure 5
Melo*DDDDDUU
Mellow*DDDDDUU
Measure 6
MeloUDDDDDUD?
MellowUDDDDDUUD
Measure 7
MeloUDDDDDDU
MellowUDDDDDDU
Measure 8
Melo?UDD?UDD
MellowDDDDDUDRRR

The Parsons contours make the differences a bit more obvious:

Parsons contour Rakes of Melo v Rakes of Mellow A Parts from John Thomas "The Fiddler's Tune-book" | HandyFinch.com
Parsons contour Rakes of Melo v Rakes of Mellow B Parts from John Thomas "The Fiddler's Tune-book" | HandyFinch.com

Even when the lines diverge, however, they are still very parallel and close. The few differences we see might just be due to misinterpreting his shorthand, or they might show the difference between a version noted from oral tradition and one copied from a printed source. At the very least, however, this comparison between his two notation styles shows that his shorthand is sensible and interpretable. And his shorthand has the advantage over Parsons code of seemingly maintaining the relationship between the notes.

Next, let’s take a closer look at his shorthand of Nos Galan and see how it compares to the melody recorded in standard notation by later musicians.

I laid the shorthand out in standard notation with every note the same length, just following the direction of the notes, ascending and descending. I assumed that the notes maintained the same ratios throughout, meaning the notes on the same horizontal line in the shorthand are the same pitch in standard notation.


Written this way, we hear elements of the familiar melody, but it isn’t quite right, and a few things are immediately clear.

First, the first 8 notes and the second 8 notes are the same. They sound like the “A” part repeating, but without the “fa la la” chorus. We can only speculate as to why the chorus isn’t notated, but I think it’s likely that since it is a call and response tune, he would have sung or played the melody and others would have filled in the chorus, and perhaps he didn’t feel the need to note it down.

Second, when every note is the same length, the B part is longer than the A part. So the tune is either crooked (uneven in length) or some of the note lengths need to be altered. Here it is notated using the more familiar rhythms, leaving space for the “fa la la” choruses. The result is a much more recognizable melody; not necessarily the “Deck the Halls” we know today, but something much closer to other early versions.


And to demonstrate just how similar it is, here are Parsons contours of the A and B parts compared to the A and B parts of John Parry’s version published in 1781.

Parsons contour comparison Nos Galan from John Thomas "The Fiddler's Tune-book" and Nos Galan from John Parry 1781 | HandyFinch.com

Given this evidence, I think it’s fair to say that John Thomas’ shorthand notation of “nos galan” is without a doubt the same “Nos Galan” as those that follow, and therefore should be counted as the earliest written record of the melody.

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1761: Air 7th – A Collection of Welsh, English & Scotch Airs by John Parry (1761-CW-Parry-R)


The earliest published, standard notation evidence of the tune comes from John Parry, a blind harpist from Ruabon, Wales, in A Collection of Welsh, English & Scotch Airs with new Variations, also Four new Lessons for the Harp or Harpsichord Composed by John Parry, To which are added Twelve Airs for the Guittar [sic] published in 1761. It is one of the guitar airs, titled only “Air 7th,” on page 64.

  • A Collection of Welsh, English & Scotch Airs by John Parry - Title Page | HandyFinch.com
  • A Collection of Welsh, English & Scotch Airs by John Parry - Page 64 | HandyFinch.com

Note, Nos Galan does not appear, even unnamed, in John Parry and Evan Williams’ “Antient British Music” from 1741, as claimed on the Wikipedia article on John Parry. You can check for yourself as both “Antient British Music” and “A Collection of Welsh, English & Scotch Airs” are fully digitized and free to view on the National Library of Wales Welsh Traditional Music Archive.

This version includes the original melody and 3 variations, but no lyrics. The first measure of the tune is unusual compared to later versions, with ascending notes rather than the typical descending. The rest of the tune, however, is consistent with other early renditions. The B part is almost identical to the B part of 1752c-FT-Thomas. The variations are merely exercises in complexity, not actually different versions of the tune.

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1778: A connection to Mozart?

As far as I can tell, there is no actual connection between Mozart and the tune “Nos Galan.” Unfortunately the claim seems to have cemented itself into the “Deck the Halls” lore.

The earliest I’ve seen the reference to Mozart is the 1930s. Here:

“Deck the Hall with Boughs of Holly” (No. 100) is probably the best known of any secular Christmas carol. It is a legendary carol from Wales, and it is sung universally in Great Britain and America every Christmas. The air has always been very popular; it was once used by Mozart for a set of variations for violin and piano.” [emphasis added] Noels; a new collection of old carols by Marx and Anne Oberndorfer, 1932 (p. 28)

And here:

“Deck the Hall with Boughs of Holly comes from that land of marvelous singers – Wales. It is a very old tune. Mozart used it for a piano-violin duet, but its history is obscure.” [emphasis added] Christmas Carols Illustrated and Done Into Simple Music by Grace Castagnella and Hendrik Willem van Loon, 1937 (p. 61)

I believe the myth was repopularized by William Studwell, professor emeritus of Northern Illinois University, well known for his “Carol of the Year” series, which ended in 2010 with his passing. Or perhaps more accurately, perpetuated by the Chicago Tribune’s list of the series, where they write that “Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly” was written in the 16th century (1500s) by an unknown person, and that “The melody was used by Mozart in a duet for violin and piano, “Sonata No. 18.”” which was published in 1778. I have not been able to locate a copy of Studwell’s original publication about the song to verify the “fact”, so perhaps Studwell had his facts right and it is the Chicago Tribune distorting them.

Whatever the source of confusion, this claim has subsequently been repeated, without further verification, in many places across the internet, including on the wikipedia article about the song “Deck the Halls.” A similar, though less specific claim appears in the Christmas Music Companion Fact Book by Dale V. Nobbman, published in 2000, as well as in Christmas Favorites, published by Sourcebooks in 2004.

However, a score of Violin Sonata No. 18 in G (KV 301), can be found for free online at the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe: Digitized Version, run by the Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum. I’ve looked at the score and listened to it played, and nowhere in it do I hear any reference to or variation of the “Deck the Halls” melody. I’ve listened to ton of variations of the melody, some of which are quite a stretch to call the songs related, and I just don’t hear it. You can listen and judge for yourself here:

I thought, perhaps Studwell just got the number wrong, and I couldn’t help myself, so I listened to all Mozart’s piano-violin sonatas listed at NMA, and did not recognize the “Deck the Halls” melody in a single one. I also listened to all of his “variations,” mentioned in the 1930s books, and only found one that had any remote resemblance: 10 Variations in G (KV 455). This piece is also in G, so my guess is that Variations in G became Sonata in G in the Chicago Tribune article, which has been repeated in so many places. You can see a copy of the music here and listen here:

There is still, however, not a likely link to the melody “Nos Galan.” The variations are based on the aria “Unser dummer Pöbel meint” written by Christoph Willibald Gluck. Mozart first improvised the variations at a performance attended by Gluck on March 23, 1783, and entered the work into his thematic catalogue in 1784. There is a copy of the first page of the original score and more information about Mozart here: Mozart & Material Culture > Musical Work > K455 10 Variation on ‘Unser dummer Pobel meint.’ A draft fragment of Mozart’s 10 variations is available online from the Biblioteka Jagiellońska, Kraków.

“Unser dummer Pöbel meint” is one aria from the music for the comedic opera “La rencontre imprévue, ou Les pèlerins de la Mecque,” in English “The Unexpected Encounter, or The Pilgrims to Mecca,” also known by the German name “Die Pilgrime von Mekka.” Louis Dancourt wrote the libretto based on an earlier comedy “Les pèlerins de la Mecque” by Alain-René Lesage and d’Orneval, and Gluck wrote the music in 1763. The National Library of France has digitized a copy of the score, where “Unser dummer Pöbel meint” can be found on page 8 r, the third aria. You can view the libretto (the script for the opera) in French here, and in German here.

While Gluck did spend some time in London around 1745, and it’s possible he crossed paths with Welsh musicians and heard some versions or variations of “Nos Galan,” which he subsequently used, consciously or subconsciously, when writing arias for French comedic operas, this connection seems a bit far-fetched to me. Especially when the aria and “Nos Galan” do not sound all that similar.

Perhaps it is in another of Mozart’s works that he used the Welsh air for inspiration and I’m just not seeing it or hearing. I would be most eager to hear the evidence if anyone can bring it my attention. Or evidence that Gluck crossed paths with Welsh musicians. In the meantime, however, I’m going to label this claim as debunked.

1781: Nôs Calan – British Harmony by John Parry (1781-BH-Parry-R)


The melody next appears as “Nôs Calan” in John Parry’s 1781 publication, “British Harmony, Being a Collection of Antient [sic] Welsh Airs, The traditional Remains of those Originally Sung By the Bards of Wales, carefully compiled and now first published with some additional variations,” also digitized and free to view on the National Library of Wales Welsh Traditional Music Archive p. 12.

  • British Harmony by John Parry - Title Page | HandyFinch.com
  • British Harmony by John Parry - Page 12 | HandyFinch.com
  • British Harmony by John Parry - Page 13 | HandyFinch.com

This version includes the melody and four additional variations. Again, there are no lyrics, but “nos calan” is just another way of writing “nos galan,” or New Year’s Eve. The melody is closer to the version we know today, beginning with the descending dotted quarter and eighth notes, rather than the ascending eighth notes of “Air 7th.”

There is some doubt about the authenticity of the melodies found in this and Parry’s other publications. After all, claiming “antiquity” adds an air of intrigue and mystery that “my latest jamz” can’t match. By “never before published” he most likely means that it is only these particular arrangements and “variations” which were previously unpublished, since clearly he used this melody in at least one earlier collection.

As with other musicians publishing similar music around the same time, he seems more eager to show off his own musical and arranging skills than to accurately collect and record “folk” tunes. For this melody at least, however, it seems safe to conclude that the melody was in circulation before this publication, rather than its popularity being a product of this publication. This is validated not only by the references and shorthand notation in 1752-FT-Thomas, but also given the number of times the melody and variations turn up elsewhere in the next few decades. That does not mean that the tune dates back to druidical times, but it is not something Parry created.

Meurig corroborates that while doing so imperfectly compared to today’s standards, “Both John Parry and Edward Jones [see below] are clearly aiming to authenticate the antiquity of the Welsh musical tradition.” And while unfortunately, “many tunes are printed with footnotes supplying pseudo-historical pedigrees,” they “did secure the preservation and promotion of that element of the Welsh repertoire which was ‘made in Wales’ (and which included some genuinely old material).”

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1784: Nôs Galan – Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards by Edward Jones (1784-MR-Jones)


The next publication of the melody is “Nôs Galan” in Edward Jones’ 1784 edition of “Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards: Preserved, by Tradition and Authentic Manuscripts, From Very Remote Antiquity; And Never Before Published,” p. 64. This is the first time that the melody appears with lyrics:

O mor gynnes mynwes meinwen, fal lal &c
O mor fwyn yw llwyn Meillionen; fal lal &c
O mor felus yw’r cusanau,
Gyda serch a mwynion eiriau, fal lal &c

In the 1784 edition, Jones does not provide an English translation; a literal translation is:

Oh! how warm my sweetheart’s bosom
Oh! how sweet a clover grove is
Oh! how sweet are the kisses
With affection and tender words.

I was quite surprised when I made the translation – these words have nothing to do with New Year’s Eve! Understanding the origins of this verse requires some context about Welsh music.

Bards in Wales were part of an elite, regulated class of musicians, with different levels of mastery, akin to the levels of other crafts, i.e. apprentice, journeyman, master, etc. In contrast to these “high” musicians were the “low” musicians, what we might now call folk musicians, and what Jones calls the “Rustic Muse.” The music that everyday people sang in their homes is known as the Pennillion. Jones writes,

“These have been transmitted to us by oral tradition from time immemorial, and still are the domestic and colloquial Poetry of the natives of Wales, a people uncommonly awake to all the impressions of sorrow, love, and joy.”

He tells us that,

“The word Pennill is derived from Pen, a Head: because these stanzas flowed extempore from, and were treasured in, the Head, without being committed to paper. Pennill may also signify a brief head, or little subject.”

The system of the bards was oppressed, Jones says “toward the reign of Queen Elizabeth,” and Meurig corroborates, “by the eighteenth century [1700s] it had virtually disappeared.” When the “high music” died out, Jones explains,

“the only Poetry that survived, was poured forth in unpremeditated Pennillion, around the hearths of husbandmen, and in the cots of shepherds. What contributed to keep alive, under every discouragement of foreign oppression, the poetical vein of the Welsh peasantry, was their primitive spirit of hospitality and mirth; which assembled them to drink mead, and sing, and dance, around the harmony of the Harp, Crwth [a type of bowed lyre], Pipe, and Drum; and what has preserved from very distant times many of these little sonnets, is their singular merit, and the affection with which they are remembered.”

Importantly, Jones continues,

“There are several kinds of Pennill metres, that may be adapted and sung, to most of the following tunes; and some part of a tune occasionally converted into a symphony. One set of words is not, like an English song, confined to one tune, but commonly sung to several.” [emphasis added]

The pennill singers

“strike into the tune in the proper place, and conduct it with wonderful exactness to the symphony or the close. While the Harp to which they sing is perhaps wandering in little variations and embellishments; their singing is not embarrassed, but true to the fundamental tune.”

He then goes on to include many verses of the Pennillion in Welsh, with a few English translations. He notes,

“Every language has peculiar beauties. The thoughts and words of these Pennillion are so uncommonly simple and expressive, that I do not presume to offer the annexed English stanzas as an adequate translation, but merely (for the sake of the English reader) as an imperfect sketch and idea of them.”

The “O mor gynnes” stanza is included among these verses, without translation. Given this context, contrary to our modern conception of “songs,” the lyrics printed with this arrangement aren’t “the” words of the song “Nos Galan,” but rather one option. This is somewhat similar to what are often today called “floating verses” or “floating stanzas.” A skilled singer knows which stanzas work with which melodies and fits them in accordingly. In this case, the verse serves as an example of a Pennillion stanza applied to a tune, and it is safe to assume that it could be, and was, replaced with other verses.

Like the 1781 version, Jones also included variations on the melody; in this case 6 instead of 4. But again, as the variations become increasingly complex (triplets, sixteenth note runs, etc.), they are more of an opportunity to show off his own technical and arranging skills, not an attempt to record the melodic variations within an oral tradition.

1788: Nôs Calen – Selection of Scotch, English, Irish, and Foreign Airs Vol. III by John Aird (1788-SA-Aird)


This version appears on p. 224 of the third volume of John Airds “Selection of Scotch, English, Irish, and Foreign Airs.” The volumes do not include a copyright date, so I rely on information from Scottish music collector John Glen. In “The Glen Collection of Scottish Dance Music / Strathspeys, reels, and jogs, selected from the earliest printed sources, or from the composer’s works / arranged, with new accompaniments for the pianoforte,” published in 1891, he dates Vol I/II to 1782 and III to 1788 (p. xix). He provides additional information in his  “Biographical Sketch” of Aird, p. x-xi:

“The announcement of the publication of his First Selection was made in August, 1782. It is as follows:—”Just Published and to be had at James Aird’s Shop in King Street Glasgow, I:—A Selection of 200 Scots English Irish and Foreign Airs, adapted to the Fife, Violin, or German Flute Vol Ist price 3s; 2—John Riddel’s (in Air) Collection of Scots Reels, &c. The 2nd Edition greatly improved for the Violin, German Flute, or Harpsichord, 5s; 3. Cumming’s Strathspey Reels for the Violin, German Flute, with a Bass for the Harpsichord or Piano Forte 5s, &c. N.B. Vol 2 of the Selection is nearly finished, and will be delivered to Subscribers at 3s each copy.”

p. x-xi “The Glen Collection of Scottish Dance Music”

Followed later by,

“No further information is to be found until 1788, when this announcement is made:—”A Sale of Music Books and Musical Instruments, &c. There is to be sold off immediately, considerably lower than usual (here follows an enumeration of the articles). For further particulars enquire at James Aird Junior at his room in Mr McNair’s Land, New Street, Glasgow, who will show the above articles to any who intend to purchase. N.B. Subscribers for J. Aird’s 3rd Selection of 200 Airs will please call or send for their Subscription copies. Non subscribers may also be served at 3s 6d each.”

p. x-xi “The Glen Collection of Scottish Dance Music“

Finally, Glen notes,

“Aird’s 4th Selection was published in 1794; and in the following year he died of fever aged 45, and was buried on 15th September in the High Church Yard, Glasgow. McFadyen issued the 5th Selection in 1797. The 6th Selection appeared later on.”

p. x-xi “The Glen Collection of Scottish Dance Music“

John Glen’s collection is now owned by the National Library of Scotland, and many manuscripts and publications have been digitized and are viewable online.

1794: Nôs Galan – New year’s Night Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards by Edward Jones (1794-MR-Jones)

Jones published a second edition of “Relicks” 10 years after the first. There are several subtle, but important, differences to note between these two versions. 

First, Jones includes a translation of the title, “New year’s Night,” as well as a footnote, “The Druids always commenced their celebrations from the preceding Night. Caesar’s Commentaries Book 6 Chap:16. So, feasting and mirth are universal in Wales, to this day, on the Eve of the New year.”

Secondly, he includes an English translation of the lyrics in addition to the Welsh Pennillion stanza in the 1784 edition:

Oh! how soft my Fair one’s bosom! fal lal &c
Oh! how sweet the grove in blossom! fal la &c – – – da dal la.
Oh! how blessed are the blisses, dadlea dadlea lal lal la;
Words of love & mutual Kisses. fal lal &c

Note the additional “da dal la” after the second line, and the “dadlea” chorus after the third line. In the 1784 edition, there was no chorus after the third line; it was a purely instrumental run. He has altered the notes of third chorus significantly as well.

In his writing about the Pennillion, Jones also includes this alternate translation of the Welsh verse:

Oh! how lovely is my Love,
Oh! how happy coos the Dove,
Oh! how blessed are the blisses,
Crown’d with love and mutual kisses!

Finally, there are small differences between the two melodies. He introduces two changes that are often repeated in later versions:

  • in the second measure of the A part, in this version the first and second notes are the same, while in earlier versions the second note is a step up from the first.
  • in the final “fa la la” chorus, the third measure of the final A part, rather than the highest “la” occurring on the second beat or “and” of the second beat as it does in the first two choruses, the highest “la” occurs on the “and” of beat 1

Perhaps these differences were necessary so that he could continue to claim that the songs were “never before published.”

Here’s an mp3 of all the variations:

1794: Nôs Galan – New year’s Night – Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards by Edward Jones

“Nos Galan” is reprinted in several “Choice Collection” variants by publisher H. Humphreys, Castle Square. In A Choice Collection of 51 Welsh Airs it is just a reprint of the 1794 version, without words and without all the variations appended to it; in this version of A Choice Collection of Welsh Airs digitized by the Biblioteca Nacional de Espana in appears on p. 36 with words and no variations; but it does not appear in this publication of A Choice Collection of Welsh Airs held by the National Library of the Netherlands.

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c. 1790: Nos Galen – Personal Music Album of Jane Austen (1790-MA-Austen)


Yes. THE Jane Austen!

In addition to being an author, Austen “played the piano and sang throughout most of her life. She and her family carefully copied music by hand into personal albums, and collected the sheet music that poured from London presses. These albums of individually copied or purchased sheet music items, bound together, show the personal tastes of their owners – just as a digital music collection on a mobile phone or MP3 device would today,” according to a University of Southampton press release announcing the digitization of the entire Austen Family Music Books collection, now available at Archive.org.

“Nos Galen” was copied by hand into album “CHWJA/19/2.” According to the Archive description, “The manuscript is notated in a pre-ruled music book produced by the firm of Longman and Broderip, No. 26 Cheapside and No. 13 Haymarket. The company traded at this address between 1782 and 1798; the watermark of James Whatman the Younger suggests the book was produced before 1794.” 

Further, “The title page features the publisher’s engraving of a cherub holding a blank label that purchasers were intended to fill in; this label has been completed in ink, “Juvenile Songs & Lessons,” and below this, in smaller writing and what seems to be a different hand, “for young beginners who don’t know enough to practise”… The verso of the title page features a manuscript index to the contents in the same hand as the main contents.”

And most importantly of all, “The repertoire appears in printed publications from c.1790 to 1810, suggesting that the manuscript was copied from the early to mid-1790s onward. The hand for both the contents and the manuscript index… has been securely identified as belonging to Jane Austen.” Nos Galan is the fourth of about 30 tunes that Jane Austen herself copied into the ~100 page album.

This copied version of Nos Galan has no lyrics, but a whopping 10 variations. If it were any other author, I would not have bothered transcribing them all. But I’ll do anything in the name of Austen, hence a 9 minute long mp3 that I made using Tabledit:

1790: Nos Galen – Personal Music Album of Jane Austen

Overall, the Austen version seems most similar to 1784-MR-Jones. There are a few differences between the basic melody and the variations, and Austen’s are ordered slightly differently than Jones, with four additional variations that are not in the Jones publication.

This leads me to wonder – did she write in some variations of her own? Or did she copy in her music from another as-yet-unknown source? I think, given the context that the book is labeled “Juvenile Songs & Lessons,” it’s more likely that she wrote in a few additional variations, or “lessons,” of her own contrivance. The differences between her version and Jones’ may be minor transcription errors or reflections of her own playing preferences.

Next to the title of the song some words are scratched out and are unfortunately indecipherable. If we could read the note, it might shed light on her original source, possibly uncovering another earlier, unpublished version.

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circa 1798: Nos Galan – T. Haigh (1798-NG-Haigh)

The full title of this piece is “Nos Galan: A Favorite Welsh Air, Arranged as a Rondo for the Piano Forte.” The National Library of Wales holds a copy that has not been digitized, but they list the printer as L. Lavenu.

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1794-1801: Nos Galan At the Opera – The Cherokee, Zorinski, and Blue Beard (1794-FL-BB)

I include these variations in the history of the melody because they demonstrate the widespread popularity of the tune. These two versions are quite different from the basic melody we are familiar with, having been reworked to fit their operas, but the basic outline of the tune comes through.

The Cherokee, 1794

The Cherokee came out in 1794 (according to this website and a WorldCat listing for a book of the songs), and a complete score can be found on Google Books, dated 1795. In the complete score, the tune is on page 38, listed as simply “Sung by Mrs. Bland.”


Google Book:

I’ve located many other versions of the song with lyrics, including: 1) “Fal Lal La, The Favorite Welch Air Sung By Mrs Bland in the Cherokee” available online at the Library of Congress, dated 1794; 2) “Fal Lal La, The Favorite Welch Air Sung By Mrs. Bland in the Cherokee” available online through Archive.org, in a composite volume dated 1798; and, 3) “The Little Bird From the Opera of The Cherokee” available online at the Johns Hopkins Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection, dated 1794-97. All of these versions have different lyrics, but all focus on a shepherd and a maid in a grove. The melody is roughly the same. The British Library also has a large selection of “Fal Lal La” sheet music, some digitized, some not.

I’ve also located the “Fal Lal La” melody in Aird’s 6th and last volume of Scotch, English, Irish, and foreign airs : adapted for the fife, violin or German-flute, published in 1801. It is actually included twice, first on page 20 as “A favourite Air,”


and second on page 37 as “Fal lal la.” Neither of these versions includes lyrics:


It also appears as

Zorinski, 1795

This version of Nos Galan is known as “A Piper O’er the Meadows Straying.” It first appeared in the play/comedic opera “Zorinski” by Thomas Morton. The libretto was published in 1795 and can be viewed on Google Books. The song is a duet between Winifred and Witski, on pages 36-37.

Winifred.
A Piper o’er the meadows straying,
Met a simple maid a maying,
Straight he won her heart by playing;
Fal de ral, &c.
Wedded, soon each tone grew teazing,
Fal de ral, &c.
His Pipe had lost the power of pleasing,
Fal de ral, &c.

Witski.
Wedlock’s laws are hard and griping,
Women fretful — arts are ripe in,
‘Twas his wife that spoil’d his piping,
Fal de ral, &c.
Her shrill note marr’d every sonnet,
Fal de ral, &c.
And crack’d his pipe, depend upon it,
Fal de ral, &c.

Winifred.
Silly wives too late discover,
When the honey-moon is over,
Harsh grows very piping lover,
Fal de ral, &c.

Witski.
Zounds why teaze, morn, night, and noon now,
With fal de ral, &c.

Winifred.
Your pipe, my dear, is out of tune now.
Fal de ral, &c.

Both.
Why then teaze, morn, night, and noon now?
Fal de ral, &c.

p. 36-37, Zorinski by Thomas Morton

A musical score, “Zorinski, as performed with the greatest applause, At the Theatre Royal Haymarket, Adapted for the German Flute, Composed & Selected by Dr. Arnold,” was also published in 1795, and can also be viewed on Google Books. The song is on pages 14-15 and is listed as “DUO: Sung by Mr. Fawcet and Mrs. Bland.”


Here is the melody:


Presumably this is the same Mrs. Bland who sang “Fal lal la” in “The Cherokee,” playing another character named Winifred.

While there are some significant differences between this version and the other early Nos Galan variations, especially the “fal de ral” measures, it is clearly inspired by Nos Galan. Also of note, the 3 measure of the final “A” part follows the variation that Jones introduced in 1794, just a year before. So how did this variation of a Welsh air become known as an Irish horn pipe tune?

I think the confusion can be traced to the Irish piper Mr. O’Farrell. Francis O’Neill writes about O’Farrell in his 1913 book “Irish Minstrels and Musicians,” and includes a picture “Copied from the Title Page of O’Farrell’s National Irish Music for the Union Pipes” of “OFarrell playing on the Union Pipes in the Favorite Pantomime of Oscar & Malvina.”

To the researches of the indefatigable Grattan Flood [A History of Irish Music] we are indebted for much of what little information we possess concerning this talented and enterprising piper. Of his early life we know nothing. His introduction to fame dates from the year 1791, when he played the Union pipes in the pantomime of Oscar and Malvina at London. A man of affairs, evidently, he was practical and farseeing, for after years of preparation, no doubt, he published a work entitled O’Farrell’s Collection of National Irish Music… Again in 1804 there came from the press O’Farrell’s Pocket Companion for the Irish or Union Pipes, etc., etc., two small volumes of music, chiefly Irish, suitable for the instrument. These were followed in 1810 by two others similarly named. This remarkable man, who must have been an excellent performer on the Union pipes, preserved, through his thoughtfulness and energy, many fine airs and dance tunes that but for his efforts would have been lost.

Irish Minstrels and Musicians, Francis O’Neill, p. 198

It’s possible that O’Farrell even performed in Zorinski. The Traditional Tune Archive annotation page for “The Piper Through the Meadow Straying” claims that the tune was published in both O’Farrell’s Collection of National Irish Music (which Flood dates to 1800-2) and O’Farrell’s Pocket Companion (which Flood dates 1804-10). I have not been able to find a digitized copy of National Irish Music, but I did find copies of Pocket Companion on Ross’s Music Page, hosted by Ross Anderson, Professor of Security Engineering at the University of Cambridge. He has links and information about piping.

“A Piper o’er the Meadows straying” appears in Volume III, p. 24 (page 16 of this PDF). Important to note, and what I suspect sparked subsequent confusion about this tune’s origin, it is labeled as “Irish.” There are some major differences compared to the score above, but it is even more closely related to Jones 1794 Nos Galan, particularly the second measure of the A part, third measure of the B part, and third measure of the final A part.


According to the Traditional Tune Archive, “A Piper On the Meadow Straying” appears in another compilation published in 1810, “Hime’s PocketBook for the German Flute or Violin,” Volume IV, p. 38. I haven’t been able to locate a digitized version of this book, but Aloys Fleischman included it in his 1998 compilation Sources of Irish Traditional Music c. 1600-1855 (2 volumes). Mudcat user masato sakurai posted ABC notations in the forum thread “RE:Lyric Req: DeckHalls Cymraeg Nos Galan,” which I copy below. Please note, however, that I have not yet been able to corroborate this with Fleischman since the set costs over $500.


Hime’s seems to have copied directly from the score by Dr. Arnold.

Finally, “A Piper O’er the Meadows Straying,” appears in Dudley Colclough’s “Tutor for the Irish Pipes,” also found on Ross’s Music Page, which he dates to 1840.

Here’s a picture of Colclough, from the Irish Traditional Music Archives:

In his Irish Minstrels and Musicians, 1913, Francis O’Neill writes of Colclough,

Of this “Gentleman Piper” little can be told except that he lived in the nineteenth century and that he was one of the landlord class, whose estates of over thirteen thousand acres included Tintern Abbey, in the southwestern part of the county of Wexford.

For more than three centuries the Colcloughs lived in great style on their property and were the leading magnates in that part of the county bordering on Bannow Bay. Living among their tenantry and spending their income for useful purposes at home, unlike most landlords, they enjoyed uncommon popularity.

One of them, Anthony Colclough, who became a Catholic and joined the “rebels” in ’98 was duly hanged for his patriotism.

Irish Minstrels and Musicians, 1913, Francis O’Neill, p . 189

Here’s Colclough’s version:


Please note, however, that I am not 100% sure of the source for this last version. On the website where I found the digital version of the MS, Ross’s Music Page, he attributes the book to Dudley Colclough, as his “Tutor for the Irish pipes.” The title page, however, is not included in the two digitized documents. The same tune is listed on the Na Píobairí Uilleann (NPU, the Society of Irish Pipers) website, but attributed to p. 14 of New and Complete Instructions for the Union Pipes by S. T. Colclough, circa 1820. I haven’t found any catalog listings for books by Dudley Colclough, but I have found catalog listings for the book by S. T. Colclough. The National Library of Scotland holds two copies, dated to circa 1802-31, but neither are digitized. They are both listed as being 21 pages, which is exactly the same length of the book uploaded by Ross.

Blue Beard, 1798

The next opera is The Grand Dramatic Romance of Blue Beard or Female Curiosity,” words by George Coleman and music by Michael Kelly, which was first performed in 1798. The complete score is available online through the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), and the script is available online through Google Books.

According to wikipedia, Bluebeard is a French folktale about a husband who successively kills his wives. It’s a common folk tale theme, evident in “Lady Isobel and the Elf Knight,” another popular yet melodically unrelated folk song with many variations of its own. This particular iteration of the Bluebeard tale is a pantomime, a type of comedic opera. The melody appears in the song listed in the score merely as “March,” with no lyrics. Again, the melody and accompaniment have been adapted to the needs of the opera; we hear a march rather than an air, but the melody is still recognizable to some degree.


Blue Beard’s March also gained popularity, appearing in several collections. It appears as “A March” in Aird’s 6th and Last Volume of Scotch, English, Irish, and Foreign Airs, Adapted for the Fife, Violin, or German-flute, by J. McFayden, 1801, p. 21.


And as “March in Blue Beard” in Logier’s Introduction to the Art of Playing on the Royal Kent Bugle, 1813, p. 21.


As well as “Grand March in Blue Beard” in The Flute Player’s Pocket Companion, Part III, by George Forrester, circa 1817, p. 84.


“March in Blue Beard” or “Grand March in Blue Beard” also appears in the following:

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Continue to Part 2

Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly | A Comprehensive Musical History | HandyFinch.com

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