I have heard the King Henry the Eighth theory before and I am not entirely
convinced it is possible. I have always loved a good mystery, and the
mystery of Greensleeves is no one really knows who wrote the melody. The
identity of the author of both original lyrics and melody is lost in
antiquity and still widely debated today. Theories abound, but none can say
definitively. Written versions of it first emerge in the mid 1400s, so the
song has been around at least more than half a millennium, which means it
was not originally composed for piano, because the piano was not invented
until 1709. I also do not believe it was composed originally on a
harpsichord as is widely believed.
My theory is Greensleeves' melody was probably originally composed by a
Celtic harpist on a psaltery, and it later became a favorite of
harpsichordists and pianists. The harpsichord (origin middle 1300s) is, at
the end of the day, just an encased stringed harp with reeds aligned to
pluck the strings of the internal harp when the keys are pressed, hence the
name, Harpsichord. The acoustic piano is an evolved version of the
harpsichord with internal hammers striking the strings laid out in a harp
pattern. The way melodies and chords are formed on harp, harpsichord and
piano are basically the same.
But the first published music written specifically for harpsichord was in
the 1600s http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpsichord and the first written
music for Greensleeves is in mid 1400s
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greensleeves. The various lyrics for the song
we know today, both the unrequited love song version and the later Christian
holiday version, were undoubtedly add-ons after the melody was already
written.
Since the musical melody of Greensleeves has distinctive Celtic patterns and
overtones, and the harpsichord was not available to the Celtic region of
northern Europe until the late 1400s, early 1500s, the origin of
Greensleeves as a song melody composed by a Celtic harpist is most likely.
Whatever you choose to believe, please enjoy my version of Greensleeves as
you ponder the mystery of its origin.
Wishing you peace and good will always and best wishes for the New Year.
Jack Rooney
http://home.att.net/~JackRooney
"Sam Green" <ssamgree@NObigSPAMpond.net.au> wrote in message
news:I8mkh.13995$HU.7993@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> The author of Greensleeves was King Henry the eighth of England
> it is out of copyright as he died many years ago
> Kind Regards,
> Sam Green www.mrmusicman.com
>
> "JackRooneyEmail" <JackRooney@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
> news:qP4jh.555736$QZ1.386754@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>> Merry holiday season. A musical holiday gift for you.
>>
>> http://home.att.net/~jackrooney/Greensleeves.mp3
>>
>>
>>
>> Title: "Greensleeves", alt. "What Child is This"
>>
>> Original Author: Unknown.
>>
>> Artist: Jack Rooney
>>
>> Style: Classical-form Grand Piano, irregular with refrain.
>>
>> Length: 2:30
>>
>> Format: Mp3, 128kbps, 44 kHz, stereo
>>
>> SIZE: 2.30 MB
>>
>>
>>
>> Wishing you peace and good will always.
>>
>> Jack Rooney
>> http://home.att.net/~JackRooney
>>
>> Copyright 2006 Jack Rooney. Sharing authorized for non-commercial
>> personal use. All commercial rights reserved except as allowed by law for
>> Internet streaming and terrestrial broadcast of recorded music. Jack
>> Rooney is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and
>> Publishers (ASCAP) and SoundExchange.
>>
>>
>
>
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