Irish Melody, Op. 17 No. 1
- Instrumentation
- Cello, Piano
- Composed
- 1894
- Duration
- 3'8''
- Publisher
- Joseph Williams, London, 1894 (Irish Melody and Country Dance, Op. 17); ABRSM official edition ((c) 2023 ABRSM), Cello Syllabus from 2024, Grade 6, also sold as a single digital download
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About this piece
Amy Horrocks was born in Brazil to English parents and studied piano and composition at the Royal Academy of Music from 1882 [1]. Irish Melody is the first of the pair she published in London in 1894 as Irish Melody and Country Dance, Op. 17, and ABRSM now sets it for Grade 6 [2]. Five bars of piano lead to a tune marked "Andante e semplice" [2]. A flat-side middle section builds to a fortissimo "appassionato", and the melody later climbs into the treble clef before dying away to pianissimo [2]. Catherine Wilmers and Simon Marlow recorded it on Cello Century of British Women Composers [3]. Reviewing that disc, Rob Barnett called the piece "rollingly soulful" [4].
Technical overview
G major, 3/4, quarter note = 76. The line moves between bass, tenor and treble clefs and rises to the E at the top of the treble staff, about seventh position, with printed fingerings for the shifts. Dotted rhythms and grace notes run through a long-breathed melody, and the middle section adds flats and naturals with dynamics from pp to ff and two rallentandos.
Technical focus
- 4 Note Slurs
- Accidentals
- Dotted Rhythms
- Dynamics
- Grace Notes
- Hairpin Dynamics
- Legato
- Rubato
- Shifting
- Tenor Clef