The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn Volume I Part 23

Chap. VI. Tartar dance-melodies: the nomad dancing girls. (50 beautiful coloured plates.)

Chap. VII. Circa.s.sian and Georgian Dances, with Music. Examples of Daghestan melodies (49 plates).

Chap. VIII. Oriental War-Dances (480 melodies).

Vol. VII. THE WEIRD IN SAVAGE MUSIC (with 169 highly curious examples).

Vol. VIII. HISTORY OF CREOLE MUSIC IN THE OCCIDENTAL INDIES.

Part I. Franco-African Melody, and its ultimate development. (298 ex.)

Part II. Spanish. Creole music and the history of its formation (359 examples of Havanese and other West Indian airs are given).

Vol. IX-X-XI. Melodies of African Races. (This highly important work contains no less than 5000 different melodies, and a complete description of all African musical instruments known, ill.u.s.trated with numerous engravings.) Price per vol., $27.50.

Vol. XII. RECONSTRUCTION OF ANTIQUE MELODIES AFTER THE IRREFUTABLE SCIENTIFIC SYSTEM OF THE GERMAN SCHOOL OF MUSICAL EVOLUTIONISTS. (By this new process of anthropological research, it is now possible to reconstruct a lost melody, precisely as it was previously possible to affirm the existence of an extinct species of mammal which left no fossil record of which we know.)

Vol. XIII. MAGICAL MELODIES. The music of Apollo and Orpheus.--The Melodies of Wainamoinen.--The Harp-playing of Merlin the Great.--Exhumation of the extraordinary Wizard-music referred to in the Kalewala.--Melodies that petrify.--Melodies that kill.--Melodies which evoke storms and tempests.--The Havamal of Odin.--Scandinavian belief in chants which seduce female virtue.--The Indian legend of Amaron.--Polynesian magic song.--The thief's song that lulls to sleep: a musical "hand-of-glory."--The invocation of demons by song.--Examples of the melodies which fiends obey.--Songs that bring down fire from heaven.--Strange Hindoo legend of the singer consumed by his own song.--The melodies of the greater magic.--The chants that change the colour of the Moon.--Deva-music: the conch-sh.e.l.ls sounded at the birth of Buddha.--Notes on the Kalewala legends of singers who made the sun and moon to pause in heaven and changed the courses of the stars.

Vol. XIV. THE MELODIES OF MIGHTY LAMENTATION. Isis and Osiris.--Demeter and Persephone.--"By the Rivers of Babylon."--Jeremiah's knowledge of music.--Lamentation of Thomyris.--The musicians of Shah Jehan, etc.

Apocalyptic music of the Bible.

Vol. XV. MOURNING FOR THE DEAD. History of cries of mourning in all nations.--Description of ancient writers.--Howling of the women of the Teutoni and Cimbri.--Terror of the Romans at the hideous sounds. (With 1300 examples of musical wailing among ancient nations.)--Modern wailing.--Survival of the Ancient Mourning Cry among modern peoples.--The Corsican _voceri_.--African funeral-chants.--Negro-Creole funeral-wail. (_Tout piti cabri--ca Zoe non ye_).--Irish keening.--Gradual development of funeral-music, etc., etc.

Vol. XVI. SONGS OF TRIUMPH.--"Up to the everlasting Gates of Capitolian Jove."--Triumphal Chants of Rameses and Thotmes.--a.s.syrian triumphal marches.--A Tartar triumph.--Arabian melodies of war-joy, etc., etc.

KOROL AR C'HLEZE (The Sword-Dance)

Ancient dialect of Leon (Bretagne)

Goad, gwin, ha Korol.

D'id Heol!

Goad, gwin, ha Korol.

_Tan! tan! dir! oh! dir! tan! tan! dir ha tan!

Tann! tann! tir! ha tonn! tonn! tir ha tir ha tann!_

Ha Korol ha Kan, Kan, ha Kann!

Ha Korol ha Kan.

Tan! tan!...

Korol ar c'hleze, Enn eze; Korol ar c'hleze.

Tan! tan!...

Kan ar c'hleze glaz A gar laz; Kan ar c'hleze glaz.

Tan! tan!...

Kann ar c'hleze gone Ar Rone!

Kann ar c'hleze gone.

Tan! tan!...

Kleze! Rone braz Ar stourmeaz!

Kleze! Rone braz!

Tan! tan!...

Kaneveden gen War da benn!

Kaneveden gen!

_Tan! tan! dir! oh! dir! tan! tan dir ha tan!

Tann! tann! tir! ha tonn! tonn! tann! tir ha tir ha tann!_

LITERAL TRANSLATION

Blood, wine, and dance to thee, O Sun!--blood, wine and dance!

And dance and song, song and battle! dance and song!

The Dance of Swords, in circle!--the dance of swords.

Song of the Blue Sword that loves murder!--song of the blue sword!

Battle where the Savage Sword is King!--battle of the savage sword!

O Sword!--O great King of the fields of battle!--O Sword! O great King!

Let the Rainbow s.h.i.+ne about thy brow!--let the rainbow s.h.i.+ne!

(The chorus is literal in my own translation, or rather metrification!)

(Rude metrical translation by your most humble servant.)

CELTIC SWORD-SONG

Dance, battle-blood and wine, O Sun, are thine!

Dance, battle-blood, and wine!

_O Fire!--O Fire!

O Steel!--O Steel!

O Fire!--O Fire!

O Steel and Fire!

O Oak!--O Oak!

O Earth!--O Waves!

O Waves!--O Earth!

O Earth and Oak!_

The dance-chant and the death-lock In battle-shock!-- The dance-chant and the death-lock!

_O Fire!--O Fire!

O Steel!--O Steel!..._

The Sword-dance, circling In a ring!-- The Sword-dance, circling!

_O Fire! O Fire!

O Steel! O Steel!..._