Simon Chadwick – Page 12

Ailí Gheal Chiúin Ní Chearbhaill

I first came across the song of Ailí Gheal Chiúin Ní Chearbhaill from the singing of Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin. You can read her commentary about this song in her book A Hidden Ulster (2003) p.220-223, or on her Oriel Arts website where you can also see a video of Pádraigín singing the song with harp accompaniment by Sylvia Crawford.

The Jointure, or the Golden Star

The Jointure or the Golden Star is an interesting old Irish harp tune. In this blog post we will look at Edward Bunting’s earliest notations of the melody and the jig that goes with it.

Caitlín Ní Uallacháin

Caitlín Ní Uallacháin was one of the personifications of Ireland in poetry and song. There is a whole nest of variant and different tunes titled Caitlín Ní Uallacháin (Anglicised as Cathleen or Kitty Nowlan), but we don’t have enough time or space to go into them all here. All we can do is look at four versions of the tune in Bunting’s manuscripts.

Irish harpers alive c.1790

When I went to Achill to do my pre-recorded talk for the forthcoming Achill International Harp Festival online, one of the things I was thinking about was connecting to local traditions and so I was wondering about Mayo harpers.

Hugh O’Donnell

Bunting wrote the tune of Hugh O’Donnell into his little collecting pamphlet, perhaps in 1792. You can see the tune written neatly and clearly on Queen’s University Belfast, Special Collections, MS4.29 page 12/12/021/f5v.

Miss Kelly

Some time in the 1790s, Edward Bunting made what looks like a live transcription notation of the tune of Miss Kelly.

An gearrán buidhe

The Yellow Horse is a curious little song air. We have three independent transcription notations of variants or versions of this tune, under two different titles, in Edward Bunting’s transcription notebooks from the 1790s. They are all three a bit tricky to understand.

An londubh agus an chéirseach

The Blackbird and the Thrush is a very beautiful old tune. We have what may be a live transcription of a traditional harp performance, noted down by Edward Bunting in the 1790s. However, as usual with Bunting’s work, all is not straightforward, and he has messed us around a lot.

Doctor Hart

Edward Bunting made a two-page live transcription notation of a traditional Irish harp performance of the Carolan tune, Doctor Hart. I think this was done in 1792 from Hugh Higgins. You can see the manuscript pages online at Queens University Belfast Special Collections MS4.29 pages 90 and 91.

Jeremy Duigenan in Drumshanbo and Murhaun

Passing by Drumshanbo recently, I took a moment to stop and look for traces of Jerome Duignan.