“Marble Halls’ was actually composed in 1843 and was for a very long time known for being a Victorian Parlour song although it actually comes from a musical called ‘The Bohemian Girl’. To make matters worse it is actually considered by actors as the bringer of bad luck to all those who whistle or sing it in the theatre in the same way as no actor should ever mention the name of ‘The Scottish Play’. Luckily for me I can’t whistle.
This version by Enya was on the ‘Shepherd Moons’ album in 1991, which was a huge hit at the time I was at drama school and provides some excellent songs to dance to most notably ‘Caribbean Blue’ another Enya favourite. I must admit I had always enjoyed Enya’s music from the time of ‘Clannad’ and ‘Orinoco Flow’ and by the time ‘Shepherd Moons’ had come along I was a big fan (as was Mrs G who was my girlfriend then) and we played it a lot in the flat where we lived.
I am particularly fond of ‘Evacuee’ as well, which has a small section of ‘Marble Halls’ at the start and then the wonderful sound of a brass band and rain fall leading into the song, but it is this version of ‘Marble Halls’ that I love the best on that album.
I have heard this song performed many times (at drama school) and on television and in films etc but I adore this version. Please be careful clicking on the link if you are an actor and in the theatre….
Listen to the song…
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