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COMPOSERS OF SULLIVAN'S DAY 163
composers also; but Clay's has been the one to live. It is still sung constantly by Plunket Greene, and those who have heard him sing it will never want a finer interpretation.
Of Clay's other songs "The Reaper and the Flowers " and " She wandered down the mountain side" are probably the best rememÂbered to-day, though neither of them enjoyed anything approaching the popularity of "Araby."
In a curious little magazine entitled Musical Jottings, which had a brief existence during the seventies, there used to appear each month a column of so-called criticisms on the songs of the day. Some of these make distinctly amusing reading, and I shall take the opportunity of quoting a few here and there throughout this and succeeding chapters. Of Clay our critic has the following to say :—
" Frederic Clay's new song 'The Reaper and the Flowers' is gaining in popularity; it is like all Mr. Clay's songs, well written, and will soon equal the success of his song ' She wandered down the mountain side.'"
For a song of an entirely different type there is Odoardo Barri's "The Old Brigade," which, though it has probably outlived its popularity now, was an immense favourite for many years. I wonder whether this is the song referred to in the following "musical jotting"? If so, the |
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