Author: Simon Chadwick

Grace notes and ornaments

One question that regularly comes up is how one deals with grace notes and ornaments. In the Gaelic harp tradition we have the system of left hand gestures published by Edward Bunting in 1840 (online edition), and in the Welsh harp tradition we have the ‘alphabet to learn the pricking’ on p.35 of the Robert ap Huw manuscript (online facsimile). These describe series of notes that are played as a single fluid connected motion, and which are often treated as ‘grace notes’ preceeding a ‘principal note’.

Two questions immediately arise; how quickly to play them, and whether the accent and stress should lie at the start of the sequence, with the principal note displaced, or whether the ‘grace notes’ should be played before the beat.

Arnold Dolmetsch, in his book The Interpretation of Music of the 17th and 18th centuries, gives copious quotations and discussion from historical treatises, on different kinds of ornamentation. Here is an extract from page 96:
And this from p.98-99:

In his book piobaireachd, Seamus MacNeill explains the piping grace notes:

The time taken in playing gracenotes is not counted when reckoning note values in a bar. They are supposed to take time from the note immediately following.

To my mind and ear, these clusters of notes have a consonantal, rhetorical function, creating a crunch of dissonance on the beat or pulse which resolves a moment later into the sustaining melody note. Playing these auxiliary notes before the beat completely removes this dissonant, consonantal sound, and replaces it with an effectively un-ornamented music filled with dance-like upbeats.

James Macpherson’s “Ossian” set to music

This is one of 9 extracts from James MacPherson’s romantic fantasy confection, set to music and published in the late 18th century in London by James Oswald. The texts are generally agreed to be completely new creations, loosely based on material taken from the old Gaelic Fenian lays. I was wondering if the tunes have any connection with the old lay tunes but I don’t think so. It is not yet clear to me where these tunes do come from though, and what their nearest musical comparisons are.


X:25
T:Number 1
N:The following Airs have been handed down since the Time of OSSIAN. The Musick taken from Mr. Mc.Pherson’s singing by Mr. Oswald.
Z:transcribed by Simon Chadwick from James Oswald, The Pocket Companion for the Guittar (Wighton 32001)
L:1/8
M:3/4
Q:220
K:C
c A|G2 z A c d|(d2e2) (ag)|e2 d c d e| g4 (c’b)|
w:It is Night, I am a-lo-ne fo-r-lorn on the hill of storms, – the
a4g2|e3d (cd)|e2a2zg|c’4b2|(ag) e2 (d>c)|
w:wind is heard in the – moun-tain, The Torr-ent shre-ks down – the
c4g2|(g2a2)b2|c’3b a g|(g2a2) g2|e2d2e2|
w:Rock, no Hut – re-cieves me from the rain, – for-lorn on the
{ga}b4 ag|g4 ga|_b4d’ c’|a4 c’/2a/2g|e4z2|
w:Hill of – Winds; rise – Moon, from be-hind thy – – clouds
d2c2d2|(e2c’a) (ge)|(e2d) c c d|({d}e2)z2g a|
w:stars of the Night – – ap- – pear – Lend me some light, to the
_b3 b a g|g2a2c’ a|c’a c’a (ge)|(e2d2)c2|
w:place where my love rests – from the toil – of – the – chace, – his
c4z2|d2c2(de)|({e}g4) ab|c’b c’b ag| e2 a2zg|
w:Bow near him un- – strung – his dogs – pan- – ting a-round him, but
g2g g a b|c’4a g|e2e d c e|d4c2|
w:here I must sit a-lone by the Rock of the mos-sy Stream, the
c2 c c (d>e)|g4 a2|(_b2a2)g>a|c’4 a>g|e3d (e/2d/2c)|[c4G4E4]:|
w:stream & the – wind roar nor can – I – hear – the Voice of – my – Love.

Do things to this ABC notation using the Convert-O-Matic

Lewis Game pieces

On Tuesday I visited the perhaps misleadingly titled “Lewis Chessmen” exhibition in Edinburgh. This gaming-piece here is particularly interesting – the curators suggest it is a locally-made replacement piece. The decoration on the chair back matches that on the Queen Mary harp and on other 15th century West Highland sculpture. It’s British Museum 1831,1101.82

Early Gaelic Harp Emporium – June update

New this month, the Emporium is pleased to be carrying an unusual title, a book that was published in 1992 — I have got hold of some of the last copies left. Linda Gowan’s technical study Am Bròn Binn documents the survival of a medieval ballad into the 20th century living tradition.

There are a number of Gaelic ballads which survived late enough to be recorded by collectors. Few have been published or studied though, which makes this book all the more valuable. Click here to see some videos of recent performances of the ballad ‘Am bròn binn’ by the tradition bearers.

If you are interested to find out more about this kind of music, I would recommend Breandán Ó Madagáin’s book Caointe agus Seanceolta Eile which includes an audio CD of him singing the various kinds of old Irish music.

These traditions were of course common to Ireland and Scotland, but they seem to have mostly died out earlier in Ireland.

Other items new for June are two rare and hard to find items. I have perhaps the last new, shrink-wrapped copies ever of Bill Taylor’s long-out-of-print CD Two Worlds of Welsh harp Music. Very limited numbers.

Also I have Seamus MacNeill’s useful book Piobaireachd, a great overview of the Scottish Highland piping traditions.

Medieval sacred music in St Andrews Cathedral


On Tuesday 1st June at 12.45pm, historical harp specialist Simon Chadwick will be playing medieval sacred music in the ruins of St Andrews Cathedral.

Using his decorated replica of the medieval Scottish ‘Queen Mary’ harp with gold and silver wire strings, Simon will play music from medieval manuscripts from Fife and beyond.

The programme will include repertory from the ‘St Andrews Music Book’ – a medieval manuscript compiled and written in St Andrews in the 13th century, which is now preserved in a library in Germany, as well as tunes from the priory on the Isle of Inchcolm in the Firth of Forth.

This event is part of Simon’s summer series of medieval harp concerts in the cathedral. Performed in the Priors House, a medieval vaulted chamber set within the ruins of the Cathedral in St Andrews, the concerts are every month until September.

Also featuring examples of religious music from Ireland and Wales, this series brings to life different aspects of ancient and historical Scottish music.

The harp Simon uses is a unique replica of the clarsach of Mary Queen of Scots. The 500-year-old original is preserved in a glass case in the National Museum in Edinburgh. Simon commissioned his replica from Irish harp maker Davy Patton in 2006-7. With its amazing soundbox carved out of a single huge willow log, and its intricate carved and painted decoration, the replica harp is a precious medieval art object that fits very well into the ancient ambience of the cathedral.

Admission is free. Tickets can be reserved in advance by calling the Cathedral visitor centre on 01334 472563.

More information at www.simonchadwick.net/cathedral

A set of three variants of this famous tune. Composed by Irish harper Miles O’Reilly, it was taken to Scotland by Thomas Connellan. Celebrating (or lamenting) the defeat of the Jacobites in Ireland in 1691-2, the first section (King James March to Irland) is from a Scottish viol manuscript of 1693. The middle section (Lochaber, or Limerick’s Lamentation) and the third section (the Wild Geese, or Ireland’s lamentation) are from Edward Bunting’s field notebook, c. 1800 (ms33(1)), noted down from the performance of Partick Quin in South Armagh.

The Fife Traditional Singing Weekend

On Sunday I was at the Fife Traditional Singing Weekend, in a fine, airy windowed building in the Fife countryside by Collessie. It was very interesting to see and hear so many different traditional singers, many from the East of Scotland but a number from further afield. So many different styles of vocal delivery, and types of song.

There was little really ancient, to connect with my work here (in a direct form anyway), but I have a lot to think about and it was great to see people like Sheila Stewart there.

My favourite moment was an anecdote from Phyllis Martin, of visiting an old lady in Galloway to collect songs. The lady said “I’ll get some tea”, and came back with a tray with 2 cups of tea and a large sponge cake, cut neatly in 2 down the middle. Phyllis said, she asked if they should have a knife. The lady replied, no, this half is for you, and this half is for me.

It was also a lovely day, sunny and quite warm.