The Irish Caruso-Garibaldi was in superlative form
The Irish Caruso-Garibaldi was in superlative form and his stentorian notes were heard to the greatest advantage in the timehonoured anthem sung as only our citizen can sing it. His superb highclass vocalism, which by its superquality greatly enhanced his already international reputation, was vociferously applauded by the large audience among which were to be noticed many prominent members of the clergy as well as representatives of the press and the bar and the other learned professions. The proceedings then terminated.
Episode 12 proceeds with various parodic sections suddenly inserted into the story told by the narrator. This part is one of the parody sections.
The setting for this Episode is Barney
Kiernan's pub. People come and go in the pub. In the room now are the narrator,
Joe Hynes, a nationalist with the nickname 'the Citizen', Terry the barman, Garryowen
the dog, Mr Bloom, the novel's protagonist, and Alf Bergan in the back room. At
least these faces.
This is the scene right after the 33rd
issue of this blog. The bar’s customers were talking about Irish sport, and
then, presumably, the Citizen sang the Irish patriotic song, A Nation Once
Again.
The passages in this issue are a parody of
that scene. A parody of a conference report text that praises the group. The
discussion in the pub and the singing of the drunks are poked fun at in the
style of the report text of the political group's conference.
Enrico Caruso (1873 - 1921) was the most
famous Italian tenor in the history of opera. At the time of this novel (1904)
he had achieved international fame.
Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807 - 1882) was an
Italian republican and revolutionary. He was active in the War of Italian
Unification. Hailed as a national hero.
The Citizen' is likened to a hero of
Italian unification and a famous singer.
A Nation Once Again, was written by Thomas Osborne Davies (1814-1845) to inspire the Irish independence movement in the 1840s. Davies was an Irish writer, lawyer and one of the organisers of Young Ireland, a radical nationalist organisation advocating Irish independence.
Young Ireland was formed on the model of
Young Italy, a political organisation that aimed to unify Italy, and Garibaldi
was a member of Young Italy.
A Nation Once Again can be easily heard on YouTube and other search engines. The middle
choral part of the melody is said to be taken from the second movement of
Mozart's Clarinet Concerto. Interesting. I think this song is quite a
masterpiece.
The parody text describes the the Citizen
as the chairperson and singer of the organisation, but then who are the clergy
(who are enumerated after this passage), the press and bar representatives in
attendance?
The first thing that comes to mind is Hynes.
He is a newspaperman, so he would represent the press.
As mentioned in the 45th issue in this
blog, the narrator of this episode is a self-proclaimed 'Collector of bad and
doubtful debts'. Bergan is also an assistant to sub-sheriff who enforces the
law and is also a collector. That is why they are referred to as
representatives of the bar.
So who are the clergymen in the attendance?
The remaining is Mr Bloom. He is of Jewish descent, but was baptised a protestant at birth, converted to catholicism on marriage and is rumoured to be
a freemason, a man of no religious inconsistencies. Joyce may have been poking
fun at him by likening him to a clergyman.
File:Enrico Caruso in costume cph.3b09167.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
The method of this blog ⇒ Here