ABSTRACT
A number of factors have contributed to the low esteem in which Sir John Stevenson's work is viewed today and these seem to work exponentially against him when measured next to the success of the Irish Melodies. Without doubt, Stevenson's settings, particularly those in the style of three- and four-part glees, have fallen totally out of fashion and are now rarely, if ever, performed. Henry Rowley Bishop was charging a lot more for his settings than had Stevenson, and this cost was being born by Thomas Moore, a source of annoyance for the poet at a time when his finances were in an extremely precarious state. Furthermore, the string of law suits to which the songs were held hostage must have damaged public perception of the later numbers as well as the relationship between Moore and his publisher.
