The Last Rose of Summer by Leroy Anderson

Here I present The Last Rose of Summer by Leroy Anderson. The piece was arranged in 1947 and forms part of his Irish Suite. A solo violin is featured. The background is provided by strings and harp, reinforced only by horns and trombones. The original composition was based on a traditional Irish tune called Aislean an Oigfear, or The Young Man s Dream, which was transcribed by Edward Bunting in 1792, based on a performance by harper Denis Hempson (Donnchadh Ó hÁmsaigh) at the Belfast Harp Festival. The poem, written by the Irish poet Thomas Moore in 1805 and the tune together were published in December 1813 in volume 5 of Thomas Moore s A Selection of Irish Melodies. The original piano accompaniment was written by John Andrew Stevenson, with several other arrangements following in the 19th and 20th centuries. A solo violin is featured. The background is provided by strings and harp, reinforced only by horns and