The Fortune Teller; or, a tale of two brothers
1821, Dublin
Stevenson's setting
1825, London
Bishop's setting
1825, London
Bishop's setting
1840, London
Bishop's setting
By the time that the eighth number of the Irish Melodies was published (1821), James and William Power has parted company and were no longer publishing in collaboration with each other. And so this number, in which 'The Fortune Teller' appeared, was produced under peculiar circumstances, with William Power publishing a collection of Moore's lyrics as set by the well-established Dubliner Sir John Stevenson (1761-1833), while James Power published the same set of lyrics as set by the younger, fashionable, and London-based composer Henry Bishop (1786-1855).
Here we see how each composer responded to Moore's tale of a fortune teller promising a young maiden a phantom lover of unparalleled devotion, set to the tune 'Open the door softly'. Its jig rhythm, along with the modal inflection of the singer's tune (C natural as opposed to C sharp) points to its origins. Yet Moore moderates the characteristically giddy energy of this dance type with the instruction "Significantly and in moderate time". Stevenson's setting of the piano accompaniment, with its continuous flow of quavers in broken chord formation, is evocative of the harp and thus emphasizes the Irish origins of the tune. Bishop, in contrast, appears to fight against the jig stereotype with his accompaniment of chunky block chords in a marked or marcato articulation (specified by the wedge-shaped figures seen in the piano accompaniment), punctuated by frequent rests.
This gallery presents all known European editions of this song; Stevenson's setting was not issued as a single-sheet, nor was it edited by either John William Glover or Francis Robinson. Bishop's setting was issued in two different formats by James Power, as part of the eighth number and as a single-sheet (both 1825). Addison & Hodson, who assumed James Power's copyright shortly after his death, re-used his 1825 plates for their 1840 issue.