also "infected" with Italian music, as this style was quite in vogue with the composers. In Bunting's opinion, Turlough Carolan, though a wonderful composer, was particularly guilty of incorporating this foreign music into his compositions. The Dissertation Chapter 1 Bunting begins this chapter by refuting the established claim that the neglect or inclusion "of the fourth and seventh tones of the diatonic scale" are characteristic of the Irish tune. Through his study, Bunting has found that it is in fact the "presence" of the "Submediant or major sixth" (i.e. the sixth scale degree) in any given tune that lends it an Irish flavour. It is important to note, Bunting tells us, that what makes music Irish is not a "deficiency" of a tone or tones, but rather the inclusion of one. Continuing in his discussion of the "peculiarity" of "Irish melody", Bunting lays out what he considers to be the harmony of "three-fourths of our (Irish) song and harp airs", explaining that they "are for the most part in a major key, and in triple time; the modulation of the first part of the melody may be said to consist of the common cadence; the second part is generally an octave higher than the first; it begins with the chord of the Tonic, and proceeds to the tone of the Submediant with the major harmony of the Subdominant, or to the Submediant with its minor concord; but the harmony of this peculiar note is most frequently accompanied by the major concord of the Subdominant; the conclusion of the air is generally a repetition of the first part of the tune, with a little variation." Despite this eloquent description, Bunting contends that harp tunes (as opposed to airs) are "impossible" to fit into "any similar model". However, these tunes do sound Irish because of their inclusion of the sixth scale degree. Chapter 2 In this chapter, Bunting shares some harp music theory and performance practice. He begins by refuting the trend then current to give Irish music too much "plaintive," "national," and "melancholy" feeling. Bunting claims to have been quite "surprised to find that all the melodies played by the Harpers were performed with a much greater degree of quickness than he had till then been accustomed to". A few pages later, Bunting includes a table of Irish words for different harp parts, practices, and strings. For example, Bunting claims that