Edward Bunting made what looks like a live transcription of a harp performance of Bob Jordan, apparently in 1792. You can see the transcription notation at Queen’s University Belfast, Special Collections, MS4.29 page 162/160/169/f79v.
Continue reading Bob JordanTag: Carolan
Eleanor Plunkett
Carolan’s song addressed to Eleanor Plunkett, which begins “A Nelly an chúil chraobhaigh”, is fairly well known nowadays.
Continue reading Eleanor PlunkettMolly George
The next couple of pages of Bunting’s transcription notebook (Queen’s University Belfast, Special Collections, MS4.29 p.158-60) are tunes from Denis O’Hampsey, and so I skipped over those to get to MS4.29 page 161 which has a tune titled “Molly George”.
Continue reading Molly GeorgeMadam Cole
Edward Bunting made a live transcription of the tune of Madam Cole, from the playing of an old Irish harper, probably in the summer of 1796. The transcription is in Queen’s University Belfast, Special Collections, MS4.29 page 149/146/155/f72v. However, the transcription is too fragmentary to reconstruct a performance.
Continue reading Madam ColeFairy Queen
There are two separate transcription notations of Carolan’s Fairy Queen in Edward Bunting’s manuscripts. I don’t think anyone had noticed them before I found them while compiling my MS29 index PDF last year, because they are fragmentary and/or hidden.
Continue reading Fairy QueenBetty O’Brian
I was going to make a video demonstration of Edward Bunting’s live transcription of the tune of Betty O’Brian, but I didn’t because it is too corrupt.
Continue reading Betty O’BrianPléaráca na Ruarcach
I made a video demonstration of a version of Pléaráca na Ruarcach, from Edward Bunting’s transcription notation in Queen’s University Belfast, Special Collections, MS4.29 page 107/103/112/f51r.
Continue reading Pléaráca na RuarcachMadam Maxwell
I made a video demonstration of Madam Maxwell (DOSC 101), based on Edward Bunting’s live transcription from an old Irish harper in the 1790s.
Continue reading Madam MaxwellMiss Dillon
I made a video demonstration of the first half of Miss Dillon and Jigg, by Carolan (DOSC 35).
Cupán Uí Eaghra
I was hoping to make a video demonstration of the Carolan song air Cupán Uí Eaghra (O’Hara’s Cup), but in the end I don’t feel that I understand it enough, based on the transcription manuscript. It is an interesting and slightly unexpected aspect of this Old Irish Harp Transcriptions Project that there are tunes which are clearly notated live from the playing of a harper informant, but which it is very hard to convincingly reconstruct the harp performance behind the transcription.
Continue reading Cupán Uí Eaghra