video – Simon Chadwick

Edward Bunting as Collector

This is the video of the online talk I gave for Cruit Éireann last month, summarising some of my work on the Old Irish Harp Transcriptions Project. I hope you find it interesting and useful!

Edward Bunting made what looks to me like a live transcription notation of the tune of Casadh an tSúgáin, probably in Summer 1792. He writes 50 years later that he took this down from the harper Rose Mooney, but I don’t know if we can rely on his memory. Anyway, the transcription notation is very interesting and presents a very lovely version of the tune with a lot of what I assume is old Irish harp idiom and style in it.

Bonny Portmore

Edward Bunting made a live transcription notation of the tune of “Bonny Portmore” into one of his collecting pamphlets in the 1790s.

Bob Jordan

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.

Molly 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”.

Miss Hamilton’s Delight

I done a video demonstration of the tune “Miss Hamilton”, as apparently noted down live by Edward Bunting from the playing of an old Irish harper about 220 years ago.

Seónin Ó Raghallaigh, fear gasda

I made a video demonstration of part of the tune of Sean O’Reily, as transcribed by Edward Bunting probably in the summer of 1792.

Peigí Ní Shléibhín

I made a demonstration video of a version of the tune Peigí Ní Shléibhín, based on a live transcription from a harper in the 1790s.

Bonny Shannon Water

I made a video demonstration of the tune of “Bonny Shannon Water” from Edward Bunting’s manuscript notation which I think was written as a live transcription from the playing of an old Irish harper in the 1790s.

Madam 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.