Dublin Bound: A Song History

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"Dublin Bound" appears in Ellen Pratt's Ensemble Arrangements For The Mountain Dulcimer, Volume 6, a book of multipart dulcimer ensemble arrangements that Pratt publishes herself, set there for four dulcimers in DAC tuning.[1] It is the only piece in the volume set in DAC; the parts for the other pieces call for DAD or DGD, with ADA for the baritone parts.[1] Pratt's contents page lists it in 4/4 time and gives it no composer or source credit, although it does credit other pieces in the book, among them a Bach minuet and the traditional "Rosin the Beau" and "The Wellerman."[2]

Etching of a single-masted sailing boat crowded with passengers on choppy water, with a second boat and a distant town skyline behind

Wenceslaus Hollar, The Brussels Packet, etching, 1625–77. A packet boat, not one bound for Dublin; shown for its subject, it has no connection to the tune.

Pratt describes the volume as a mix of original and traditional arrangements, but the sources consulted here do not say which kind "Dublin Bound" is, who wrote it, or how it got its name.[1][2] Pratt started composing for the dulcimer around 2004, and her ensemble writing and arranging dates from after she joined a dulcimer orchestra in northeastern Connecticut.[3]

Our book that contains the song "Dublin Bound"

Sources

  1. Ellen Pratt: "Ensemble Arrangements For The Mountain Dulcimer, Volume 6".
  2. Ellen S. Pratt: "Ensemble Arrangements for Mountain Dulcimer Volume 6".
  3. DulcimerDownloads: "Ellen Pratt".
  4. Image: Wenceslaus Hollar, The Brussels Packet, etching, 1625–77. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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