Get downloading while it is available!

https://urresearch.rochester.edu/handle/1802/5471

http://www.earlygaelicharp.info/sources/thumoth.htm

A chàirdean,

To celebrate Mr Cready's Irish Tune availability online, I've posted a
copy of Mrs O'Donnel from John Lee p15.

Beannachdan,



Alasdair

Well Alasdair we learn a new thing every day, I did not know that
Seabhac na hÉirne / the Hawk of Ballyshannon / Katherine O'Moore /
Port Atholl by Rory Dall was in that book. I suppose that is the
complacency of having a copy, there is no incentive to read through
it meticulously...

What are we thinking of the rythym? Would we agree with Donal's
opinion on other tunes in Lee, that some of the bars mught be
streched out or compressed down?

I am thinking Bunting's piano arrangement from Arthur O'Neill in ms33
(3) p.10 is much more harp-idiom.

I also had not noticed it in Burk Thumoth (same excuse....) I see it
has been burk'd up a lot with the variation and the sharp 7th etc.

Who on earth is Mr. Creagh and what has he got to do with the wedding?

Simon

Dear Simon,

I certainly do find Arthur O'Neill's version is a lot more suited to
the kind of fingering I'm used to doing on the harp than the Thumoth
version; which is a salutory experience in relation to harp tunes
which have survived only in fiddle/keyboard versions.

I'd say that the view of harp puirt as being characteristically
metrically irregular in origin looks weak against the more likely
possibility that irregularities of metre are actually adaptations of
the original structure rather than adherence to it.  There is only
one Port Gordon but the amount of structural variation observable
from version to version is instructive.  Even Mrs Power isn't immune.

As regards the melodic metre of Port Atholl, Carolan's lyric suits
the metrically balanced versions of Bunting, Oswald and Thumoth.
Lee's structure would be explainable as not demonstrating the
original form.  Lee often needs adjustment but DJ hasn't always
adjusted correctly even when he has had access to the lyric.

And as for Mr Creagh ... the only musical one of that surname that I
know of is Pierce Creagh of an Daingean (Dangan) in Co. Clare who
made the "County of Limerick Buck Hunt" song in 1730.  This lyric is
of interest in connection with Carolan as the word 'Cremona' appears
in one verse clearly referring to the famous violin centre.  Dubourg
was a pupil of Geminiani.

Off, a score, we went bounding,
Sweet horns were sounding,
Each youth filled the air with a whoop and a halloo ;
Dubourg, if were he there,
Such sweet music to hear,
Would leave his Cremona, and follow, and follow.

Beannachdan,



Alasdair



--- In clairseach@..., simon@... wrote:
>
> Well Alasdair we learn a new thing every day, I did not know that
> Seabhac na hÉirne / the Hawk of Ballyshannon / Katherine O'Moore /
> Port Atholl by Rory Dall was in that book. I suppose that is the
> complacency of having a copy, there is no incentive to read
through
> it meticulously...
>
> What are we thinking of the rythym? Would we agree with Donal's
> opinion on other tunes in Lee, that some of the bars mught be
> streched out or compressed down?
>
> I am thinking Bunting's piano arrangement from Arthur O'Neill in
ms33
> (3) p.10 is much more harp-idiom.
>
> I also had not noticed it in Burk Thumoth (same excuse....) I see
it
> has been burk'd up a lot with the variation and the sharp 7th etc.
>
> Who on earth is Mr. Creagh and what has he got to do with the
wedding?
>
> Simon
>

>   There is only
> one Port Gordon

Really, I am dividing them into 2 separate camps, one is Oswald - Dow
- Bunting and the other is Balcarres - Bowie. Am I missing some deep
structural connection between these 2 versions?


> And as for Mr Creagh ... the only musical one of that surname that I
> know of is Pierce Creagh of an Daingean (Dangan) in Co. Clare

So no connection to the wedding then?

Simon

Dear Simon,

Very little information about that wedding survives.  Mr Creagh isn't
mentioned in connection with the wedding in the song lyric or anywhere
else that I know of.

With regard to Port Gordon, it's hard to decide which rescension is
nearest the original.

Were the MacLean-Clephane Port 2nd to have 32 bars in performance, it
would have a form something akin to (Ax2)+B1+B2 counting (8x2)+8+8.

This is different to the more common harp port form which has a melodic
structure of (Ax2)+B counting (8x2)+16 bars (assuming a 32 bar
performance).

Bunting follows Dow who follows Oswald and all have the tune in
reverse, B1+A counting 8+8 (although they write the main beat as a
minim instead of a crotchet so the tune is notated as 16+16).  This
rescension of Port Gordon has a bar's worth of material which appears
to be unique to it: in their barring, this is bars 3-4 of their second
half.

The MacLean-Clephane 'Carolan' belongs to this group and is B1+A.  To
regularise the first half, one would have to remove bars 7-9 and duple
the durations of the notes in bars 3, 6 & 13.  However, unlike the rest
of the group, the tune is not in reverse.

Bowie and Balcarres are likewise not in reverse but the metre is again
irregular in the first half.  Balcarres would have a structure of (Ax2)
+B1+B2 but counting (8x2)+8+9.  I've only got a copy of Fleischmann's
transcription of the Bowie but assuming that's accurate then the
structure there is (Ax2)+B1+B2 but counting (8+7)+6+9 - or (7+8)+6+9
depending on how you interpret the melody.

I regard the settings of the ten MacLean-Clephane harp puirt as being
in the original harp keys (barring the Bb which I think is an added
modification), so I would say that Port Gordon belongs in an all
natural tuning on a D final.

The harpers of Bunting's time may have moved a lot of F final tunes en
masse to G in one sharp tuning.  This may explain why the MacLean-
Clephane 'Carolan' is noticeably the only source I know to have Port
Gordon off the D final onto an E final in the key of one sharp.  Anyone
got the Murphy version handy?

The result of the extra bar's worth of material in the Oswald
rescension is a full A section of 8 bars.  Port 2nd gets 8 bars in its
A section by repeating a bar's worth of material already there, the
descending F E D C motif.  The big questions for me are:-

are the A or B sections the original beginning?

assuming this port to have been metrically built out of 8 bar phrases,
did Ruaidhri Dall originally use the F E D C motif to begin that half
or should the unique bar's worth of the Oswald rescension be employed
to make up the measure?

Beannachdan,



Alasdair



--- In clairseach@..., simon@... wrote:
>
> >   There is only
> > one Port Gordon
>
> Really, I am dividing them into 2 separate camps, one is Oswald -
Dow
> - Bunting and the other is Balcarres - Bowie. Am I missing some deep
> structural connection between these 2 versions?
>
>
> > And as for Mr Creagh ... the only musical one of that surname that I
> > know of is Pierce Creagh of an Daingean (Dangan) in Co. Clare
>
> So no connection to the wedding then?
>
> Simon
>

> Anyone
> got the Murphy version handy?

Yes... it's in 2 flats, 'b mode', g final. 2 bars in the B section
followed by 16 in the A section.

Thanks for this analysis Alasdair. I will have to do some more work
on this one... have you written them all out one above the other to
join the dots as it were?

Simon

> are the A or B sections the original beginning?

I'll call A since that is the version I play on my CD (straight from
Bowie). Also that's the version in Balcarres which would be the
earliest by over 50 years, for what that's worth. I admit I have not
gone through the Balcarres lute tab yet... must push it up my to do
list...

However against that, B seems to have more of that 'contemplative,
rising from low then falling back' feel to it while A might be
considered more 'dancey' which are my subjective impressions of how
the first half & second half of a port compare respectively.

People who want a quick fix can listen to Bowie's set on my CD
'Cláirseach na Bánrighe'
http://www.earlygaelicharp.info/CnaB/

And the other one from Oswald/Dow/Bunting on Alison Kinnaird's 'The
Silver String'
http://www.earlygaelicharp.info/emporium/CDs/alison.htm
(unfortunately played on a modern 20th century revival instrument
rather than an early Gaelic harp)

Simon

So how does the Port Atholl in Balcarres, Dow & Bowie relate to the
one Carolan used?

Here's my index so far

http://www.earlygaelicharp.info/rorydall/rory-dall-tune-list.pdf

All additions & corrections gratefully recieved

Thanks for this, Simon.  Super.

- Karen

--- In clairseach@..., simon@... wrote:
>
> Here's my index so far
>
> http://www.earlygaelicharp.info/rorydall/rory-dall-tune-list.pdf
>
> All additions & corrections gratefully recieved
>

Dear Simon,

What a lovely chart.  Thanks for that.  I notice a couple of things.

Concerning the Ballyhaunis attribution:- a folder of my material
mysteriously vanished on a trip to Belfast years ago and I therefore
lost my transcription of the lyric for Máire Bhéal Átha hAmhnais.  My
memory tells me however that the lyric fits tune number 40 in O'Neill's
Music of Ireland.  This has melodic similarities with Port Gordon and
is actually called 'Gordon's tune' by O'Neill.  However, it only has a
simple four line quatrain structure of AABA.

Taking Oswald as an exemplar, the third line of Gordon's Tune, the B
section is, interestingly, closest to bars 5-8 of Port Gordon.  Lines
1, 2 & 4, the A section, seems closest to the last four bars of the
first half (or the second half for that matter).

I've also put up a mystery version of the tune to see not on your chart
to see who in the group is first to tell me where I got it from!  Any
group members who haven't seen it before should be able to discover the
answer on the web.  The tune in this version appears to get out of step
with the lyric by one crotchet at the end of bar 22 and recover by
reducing a couple of melody notes to gracenotes at bar 27.

Thanks for raising the question of the Port Atholl in Balcarres, Dow
and Bowie.  These are not suited to the Seabhac na hÉirne lyric at all
and are a completely separate tune to the Oswald, Thumoth, Lee,
Bunting, Forde/Joyce and - 'mystery' Conchabhar ua Raghallaigh (see the
files section)!

Beannachdan,



Alasdair





--- In clairseach@..., simon@... wrote:
>
> Here's my index so far
>
> http://www.earlygaelicharp.info/rorydall/rory-dall-tune-list.pdf
>
> All additions & corrections gratefully recieved
>

something interesting -

http://www.archive.org/details/distinctivechara00culw

The pdf version is in the left hand window on the web page.

- Karen

A chàirdean,

I've uploaded a piece I transcribed from the Torloisk photocopy in
the National Library of Scotland, box (a), ff10-11 (pp9-10).  I
transcribed it purely on account of the harper reference in the
associated text.  It's got another typical 8x2+16 form but is a
lively song tune rather than a port.  'Mrs C', Mrs Clephane, is
indicated as the source.

The relationship of gracenotes to chording and bass seems to indicate
that the gracenotes were mostly if not all played anacrustically.

The piece dates itself however.  It is the usual hideous Fingalian
stuff air a chur a-mach airson maith coitcheannta muinntir na
Gàidhealtachd le Mac a' Phearsain.  The Gaelic title comes from the
end of the Gaelic version of Book VII of Temora which can be found in
Dàna Oisein Mhic Fhinn which is available online here:

http://www.archive.org/stream/daoiseinmhicfhin00macp/daoiseinmhicfhin0
0macp_djvu.txt

A lot of Fingalian stuff was set to popular Gaelic airs of the time.
I don't recognise this tune myself but the tune has got a kind
of 'Màili bheag ó'/'A rìbhinn àlainn aoibhinn òg' structure, ie,
eight lines with lines 2, 4 & 8 being a kind of internal melodic
refrain and so is very much of its time.

Although the text is divided into stanzas, only the eight line stanza
commencing 'buail teud' actually fits the metre of the tune as
notated.  The text also does not fit very well at all and I only
provide it here as a curiosity.  What follows is the English
original, the Gaelic and a literal translation of the Gaelic which,
in a slightly contradictory fashion, makes the Gaelic sound even
worse than it is!

Son of Alpin, strike the string.
Is there aught of joy in the harp?
Pour it then on the soul of Ossian:
it is folded in mist.
I hear thee, O bard! in my night.
But cease the lightly-trembling sound.
The joy of grief belongs to Ossian,
amidst his dark-brown years.

Buail teud, a mhic Alpain nam fonn.
Am beil sòlas an clarsaich nan nial?
Taom air Oisean, is osan gu trom,
Ta anam a' snàmh an ceò.
Chualas thu, bhàird, am oidhche :
Ach siùbhladh fonn eutrom uam féin.
S aiteas caoin thuireadh do Oisean
Am bliadhnaibh chiar na h-aoise.

strike string, o son of Alpin of the airs [vocal melodies]
is there joy/comfort in the harp of the clouds?
pour on Oisean as his sigh is heavy
his soul is swimming in mist
you were heard, bard, in my night
but let the light air [vocal melody] depart from myself
for Oisean is the joy of tender-lament
in the grey years of age


Beannachdan,



Alasdair

A chàirdean,

In tandem with 'buail teud', I just thought I'd mention that
MacPherson uses the word 'triobualadh' in his Gaelic in relation
to 'touching' the harp.

This would impact on Bunting's interpretation of the same term, as
the word is related to 'frith-bhualadh', which contains the
elements 'frith' (little/back) - not 'trì' (three) - and 'bualadh'
(striking).  It is the Gaelic equivalent of Latin 'repercussio' and
can refer to vibration.

Beannachdan,



Alasdair





--- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
<calumcille@...> wrote:
>
> A chàirdean,
>
> I've uploaded a piece I transcribed from the Torloisk photocopy in
> the National Library of Scotland, box (a), ff10-11 (pp9-10).  I
> transcribed it purely on account of the harper reference in the
> associated text.  It's got another typical 8x2+16 form but is a
> lively song tune rather than a port.  'Mrs C', Mrs Clephane, is
> indicated as the source.
>
> The relationship of gracenotes to chording and bass seems to
indicate
> that the gracenotes were mostly if not all played anacrustically.
>
> The piece dates itself however.  It is the usual hideous Fingalian
> stuff air a chur a-mach airson maith coitcheannta muinntir na
> Gàidhealtachd le Mac a' Phearsain.  The Gaelic title comes from the
> end of the Gaelic version of Book VII of Temora which can be found
in
> Dàna Oisein Mhic Fhinn which is available online here:
>
>
http://www.archive.org/stream/daoiseinmhicfhin00macp/daoiseinmhicfhin0
> 0macp_djvu.txt
>
> A lot of Fingalian stuff was set to popular Gaelic airs of the
time.
> I don't recognise this tune myself but the tune has got a kind
> of 'Màili bheag ó'/'A rìbhinn àlainn aoibhinn òg' structure, ie,
> eight lines with lines 2, 4 & 8 being a kind of internal melodic
> refrain and so is very much of its time.
>
> Although the text is divided into stanzas, only the eight line
stanza
> commencing 'buail teud' actually fits the metre of the tune as
> notated.  The text also does not fit very well at all and I only
> provide it here as a curiosity.  What follows is the English
> original, the Gaelic and a literal translation of the Gaelic which,
> in a slightly contradictory fashion, makes the Gaelic sound even
> worse than it is!
>
> Son of Alpin, strike the string.
> Is there aught of joy in the harp?
> Pour it then on the soul of Ossian:
> it is folded in mist.
> I hear thee, O bard! in my night.
> But cease the lightly-trembling sound.
> The joy of grief belongs to Ossian,
> amidst his dark-brown years.
>
> Buail teud, a mhic Alpain nam fonn.
> Am beil sòlas an clarsaich nan nial?
> Taom air Oisean, is osan gu trom,
> Ta anam a' snàmh an ceò.
> Chualas thu, bhàird, am oidhche :
> Ach siùbhladh fonn eutrom uam féin.
> S aiteas caoin thuireadh do Oisean
> Am bliadhnaibh chiar na h-aoise.
>
> strike string, o son of Alpin of the airs [vocal melodies]
> is there joy/comfort in the harp of the clouds?
> pour on Oisean as his sigh is heavy
> his soul is swimming in mist
> you were heard, bard, in my night
> but let the light air [vocal melody] depart from myself
> for Oisean is the joy of tender-lament
> in the grey years of age
>
>
> Beannachdan,
>
>
>
> Alasdair
>

Simon,

Does the entry in the M-C column ' Ancient Harp Air (3) Cannot Locate'
refer to you having mislaid your files or that you have not been able
to find it in the M-C MS ?

Although neither a correction or strickly speaking an addition within
the parameters of your table, it is interesting to note that as far as
I am aware there is no evidence for either a Gaelic or English title
for Da Mihi Manum before Bunting's 1840 volume.

Keith






--- In clairseach@..., simon@... wrote:
>
> Here's my index so far
>
> http://www.earlygaelicharp.info/rorydall/rory-dall-tune-list.pdf
>
> All additions & corrections gratefully recieved
>

Dear Simon,

Just noticed: don't forget to add that Port Gordon is also identified
as Ruaidhrí Dall by Arthur O'Neill.

Beannachdan,


Alasdair



--- In clairseach@..., Chad McAnally <chadmcanally@...>
wrote:
>
>
> I thought Dr. Purser had identified  "Da Mihi Manum", tune and
title, in a 17th cen. lute (c. 1640) MS? I am think of just the tune?
> CM
>
>
>
>
>
>
> To: clairseach@...
> From: sanger_keith@...
> Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:05:41 +0000
> Subject: [clairseach] Re: Rory Dall Tune List
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>             Simon,
>
>
>
> Does the entry in the M-C column ' Ancient Harp Air (3) Cannot
Locate'
>
> refer to you having mislaid your files or that you have not been
able
>
> to find it in the M-C MS ?
>
>
>
> Although neither a correction or strickly speaking an addition
within
>
> the parameters of your table, it is interesting to note that as far
as
>
> I am aware there is no evidence for either a Gaelic or English
title
>
> for Da Mihi Manum before Bunting's 1840 volume.
>
>
>
> Keith
>
>
>
> --- In clairseach@..., simon@ wrote:
>
> >
>
> > Here's my index so far
>
> >
>
> > http://www.earlygaelicharp.info/rorydall/rory-dall-tune-list.pdf
>
> >
>
> > All additions & corrections gratefully recieved
>
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Get more out of the Web. Learn 10 hidden secrets of Windows Live.
> http://windowslive.com/connect/post/jamiethomson.spaces.live.com-
Blog-cns!550F681DAD532637!5295.entry?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_domore_092008
>

Dear Simon,

Another thing!  'Bacach buí na léimní' uses the tune most noted in
Scotland for the 'Òran Cumhaidh' of Uilleam Ros (which recites the
story of Deuchainn Ghleusda Chalum Carmaig or whatever you want to
call him) but was also once well known as 'Robaidh Dona Gòrach' in
the sources.

Here are the lyrics for Robaidh Dona Gòrach from Albyn's Anthology
with a fairly literal translation.

Robaidh dona gòrach an còmhnaidh gam iarraidh
Gun dh'innis mi gam dheòin dhut nach pòsainn am bliadhna
S mór gum b' annsa Teàrlach [s] a ghràdh an cois an t-sléibhe
Na Robaidh dona gòrach a dh'òladh a léine.

Bad, silly Robaidh always wanting me
I've willingly told you that I wouldn't marry this year
I'm much fonder of Charles [and] his love on the hillside
Than bad, silly Robby who'd drink his shirt

Beannachdan,



Alasdair




--- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
<calumcille@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Simon,
>
> Just noticed: don't forget to add that Port Gordon is also
identified
> as Ruaidhrí Dall by Arthur O'Neill.
>
> Beannachdan,
>
>
> Alasdair
>
>
>
> --- In clairseach@..., Chad McAnally <chadmcanally@>
> wrote:
> >
> >
> > I thought Dr. Purser had identified  "Da Mihi Manum", tune and
> title, in a 17th cen. lute (c. 1640) MS? I am think of just the
tune?
> > CM
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > To: clairseach@...
> > From: sanger_keith@
> > Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:05:41 +0000
> > Subject: [clairseach] Re: Rory Dall Tune List
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >             Simon,
> >
> >
> >
> > Does the entry in the M-C column ' Ancient Harp Air (3) Cannot
> Locate'
> >
> > refer to you having mislaid your files or that you have not been
> able
> >
> > to find it in the M-C MS ?
> >
> >
> >
> > Although neither a correction or strickly speaking an addition
> within
> >
> > the parameters of your table, it is interesting to note that as
far
> as
> >
> > I am aware there is no evidence for either a Gaelic or English
> title
> >
> > for Da Mihi Manum before Bunting's 1840 volume.
> >
> >
> >
> > Keith
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In clairseach@..., simon@ wrote:
> >
> > >
> >
> > > Here's my index so far
> >
> > >
> >
> > > http://www.earlygaelicharp.info/rorydall/rory-dall-tune-list.pdf
> >
> > >
> >
> > > All additions & corrections gratefully recieved
> >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
> > Get more out of the Web. Learn 10 hidden secrets of Windows Live.
> > http://windowslive.com/connect/post/jamiethomson.spaces.live.com-
> Blog-cns!550F681DAD532637!5295.entry?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_domore_092008
> >
>

Dear Paul,

You could start by looking at Carolan's John Hart / John Jones / Robert
Jordan complex which is pentatonic.  Miss Crofton (25) is also an
almost completely pentatonic version of Thomas Connellan's Lady Iveagh.

Beannachdan,


Alasdair



--- In clairseach@..., paul best <hempson1@...> wrote:
>
>
> Hi Folks,
>
> I want to explore Pentatonic tunes - could you give me examples I
could learn from the Irish and Scottish traditions ??
>
> Paul
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Windows Live Messenger just got better .Video display pics, contact
updates & more.
> http://www.download.live.com/messenger
>

Dear Paul,

I've just had a quick look for other pentatonic harp items for you.

Port 8th in the Torloisk MS
Airs by Fingal, I & III, in Bowie
Gràdh Dhùghaill Òig in Dow
Se mo rùn an t-ògan in Dow
Port Priest / Port Robart / Fuath nam fìdhleirean / Féachaint Gléis
Thug Bonny Peigi dhòmhsa pòg / P. MacD. 141 / Burns' March

The following were probably or possibly also originally pentatonic.

Suipear Tighearna Leoid
Cumha Iarla Wigton in Dow
Fàilte Mhic Coinnich in Dow
Port Atholl (major 3rd)
Fàilte na Muisg

A number of the Clàrsair Dall songs also have pentatonic versions of
their tunes.  Not all the versions are published in Willie Matheson's
book partly because there are so many; it's quite interesting to note
that one of his songs was composed to a tune of which the Banks of
Claudy is a version.

As an aside, I do not at all consider Cumha Chraobh nan Teud to be
the tune of the Clàrsair Dall song Féill nan Crann.  The fact is that
the lyric of Féill nan Crann would more easily be squeezed into the
tune of A' Cheud Diluain dhan Ràithe than it would into Craobh nan
Teud.  The Craobh nan Teud sets clearly do not suit the Féill nan
Crann lyric metrically and one does them injustice by attempting to
make them do so.  Willie Matheson's published solution pits the
stresses of the lyric against the obvious stresses of the pipe melody
in a very unnatural way.

Rob Donn's song Òran nan Suirghean has a very similar melody to the
Angus Fraser set of Craobh nan Teud.  (It is no.112 in Patrick
MacDonald but unfortunately not barred consistently: the second half
should have the bar line placed one crotchet later to match the
system used for the first half.)  Having a different stress pattern
to the lyric of Féill nan Crann, the lyric of Òran nan Suirghean
could thus be made to fit the Angus Fraser tune with much greater
ease and highlights the unsuitably of the Féill nan Crann lyric to
the same tune.

Beannachdan,


Alasdair



--- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
<calumcille@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Paul,
>
> You could start by looking at Carolan's John Hart / John Jones /
Robert
> Jordan complex which is pentatonic.  Miss Crofton (25) is also an
> almost completely pentatonic version of Thomas Connellan's Lady
Iveagh.
>
> Beannachdan,
>
>
> Alasdair
>
>
>
> --- In clairseach@..., paul best <hempson1@> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Hi Folks,
> >
> > I want to explore Pentatonic tunes - could you give me examples I
> could learn from the Irish and Scottish traditions ??
> >
> > Paul
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
> > Windows Live Messenger just got better .Video display pics,
contact
> updates & more.
> > http://www.download.live.com/messenger
> >
>

Dear Paul,

Sorry, wrong pairing - Airs by Fingal I and III are in common time.

The first one only is pentatonic.  Airs by Fingal II & III are
hexatonic.

Beannachdan,



Alasdair



--- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
<calumcille@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Paul,
>
> I've just had a quick look for other pentatonic harp items for
you.
>
> Port 8th in the Torloisk MS
> Airs by Fingal, I & III, in Bowie
> Gràdh Dhùghaill Òig in Dow
> Se mo rùn an t-ògan in Dow
> Port Priest / Port Robart / Fuath nam fìdhleirean / Féachaint Gléis
> Thug Bonny Peigi dhòmhsa pòg / P. MacD. 141 / Burns' March
>
> The following were probably or possibly also originally pentatonic.
>
> Suipear Tighearna Leoid
> Cumha Iarla Wigton in Dow
> Fàilte Mhic Coinnich in Dow
> Port Atholl (major 3rd)
> Fàilte na Muisg
>
> A number of the Clàrsair Dall songs also have pentatonic versions
of
> their tunes.  Not all the versions are published in Willie
Matheson's
> book partly because there are so many; it's quite interesting to
note
> that one of his songs was composed to a tune of which the Banks of
> Claudy is a version.
>
> As an aside, I do not at all consider Cumha Chraobh nan Teud to be
> the tune of the Clàrsair Dall song Féill nan Crann.  The fact is
that
> the lyric of Féill nan Crann would more easily be squeezed into the
> tune of A' Cheud Diluain dhan Ràithe than it would into Craobh nan
> Teud.  The Craobh nan Teud sets clearly do not suit the Féill nan
> Crann lyric metrically and one does them injustice by attempting to
> make them do so.  Willie Matheson's published solution pits the
> stresses of the lyric against the obvious stresses of the pipe
melody
> in a very unnatural way.
>
> Rob Donn's song Òran nan Suirghean has a very similar melody to the
> Angus Fraser set of Craobh nan Teud.  (It is no.112 in Patrick
> MacDonald but unfortunately not barred consistently: the second
half
> should have the bar line placed one crotchet later to match the
> system used for the first half.)  Having a different stress pattern
> to the lyric of Féill nan Crann, the lyric of Òran nan Suirghean
> could thus be made to fit the Angus Fraser tune with much greater
> ease and highlights the unsuitably of the Féill nan Crann lyric to
> the same tune.
>
> Beannachdan,
>
>
> Alasdair
>
>
>
> --- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
> <calumcille@> wrote:
> >
> > Dear Paul,
> >
> > You could start by looking at Carolan's John Hart / John Jones /
> Robert
> > Jordan complex which is pentatonic.  Miss Crofton (25) is also an
> > almost completely pentatonic version of Thomas Connellan's Lady
> Iveagh.
> >
> > Beannachdan,
> >
> >
> > Alasdair
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In clairseach@..., paul best <hempson1@> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > > Hi Folks,
> > >
> > > I want to explore Pentatonic tunes - could you give me examples
I
> > could learn from the Irish and Scottish traditions ??
> > >
> > > Paul
> > >
> > >
_________________________________________________________________
> > > Windows Live Messenger just got better .Video display pics,
> contact
> > updates & more.
> > > http://www.download.live.com/messenger
> > >
> >
>

Dear Alasdair

Your comments on Feill nan Crann are certainly on the right lines,
but I don't think the blame can be solely laid at Willie Mathesons
door as in this case I think he was seriously led astray by Francis
Collinson who seems to have been his major source of information
regarding what was in the Angus Fraser MS.

Collinson on several occasions missed the obvious and this is a case
in point where he ignored what Angus Fraser himself actually tells us
when he makes what he has done quite clear. In the historical 'notes'
to the first part of the MS and on the same page as his expanded
version with fiddle variations Fraser states that;-

Craobh na'n teud the name preserved by the pipers along with their
set of this air has been retained but the vocal set of it found
associated with the old traditional song 'A Bhean Sith' or 'An
Leannan Sith' ie, the fairy lover has been adopted (for this work,
[crossed out]) as more in accordance with the style and object of
this work, than the pipers theme and variations. Mr Angus McKay late
piper to her Majesty published the set adapted to his own instrument
and he tells us that it is a very old and excellent piobaireachd.
  The old song to the fairy lover may be seen in a collection of
Gaelic poetry published at Inverness  by James Fraser in 1821 page
69. This air is a remarkable instance of the great difference that
exists between the vocal and pipe sets of Gaelic airs and urges upon
all patriots to collect without delay the remains of our music before
the voice of Song becomes utterly extinct in our land.

Angus MacKay in his note on the tune adds a further layer of
confusion because he states that 'In the north it is called Bean
Sith, either from being the 'fairy tune' or so named from a noted
hill in Sutherland distinguished as the fairy mountain'. Although
that would geographically bring it quite close to the actual site
of 'Coire an Easa' but as far as the pipe tune of that name goes it's
actual authenticity is 'not proven'.

So logically there is no reason why either the Angus Fraser or the
pipe varients should fit the Clarsair Dall song.

The Banks of Claudy tune is interesting especially as a varient of a
tune that Matheson himself traces back to fourteenth century France,
reminding us of course that nothing is totally original and that just
as the origins of 'Danta Gradha' lay in the courtly love poetry of
Provence so many of the airs associated with that poetry also passed
into the Gaelic world at the same time, probably via the incoming
Normans. It is unlikely to be a coincidence that like for example,
Earl Gerald, many of these Norman Irish families were early users of
that Gaelic poetic form.

Best wishes

Keith

--- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
<calumcille@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Paul,
>
> Sorry, wrong pairing - Airs by Fingal I and III are in common time.
>
> The first one only is pentatonic.  Airs by Fingal II & III are
> hexatonic.
>
> Beannachdan,
>
>
>
> Alasdair
>
>
>
> --- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
> <calumcille@> wrote:
> >
> > Dear Paul,
> >
> > I've just had a quick look for other pentatonic harp items for
> you.
> >
> > Port 8th in the Torloisk MS
> > Airs by Fingal, I & III, in Bowie
> > Gràdh Dhùghaill Òig in Dow
> > Se mo rùn an t-ògan in Dow
> > Port Priest / Port Robart / Fuath nam fìdhleirean / Féachaint
Gléis
> > Thug Bonny Peigi dhòmhsa pòg / P. MacD. 141 / Burns' March
> >
> > The following were probably or possibly also originally
pentatonic.
> >
> > Suipear Tighearna Leoid
> > Cumha Iarla Wigton in Dow
> > Fàilte Mhic Coinnich in Dow
> > Port Atholl (major 3rd)
> > Fàilte na Muisg
> >
> > A number of the Clàrsair Dall songs also have pentatonic versions
> of
> > their tunes.  Not all the versions are published in Willie
> Matheson's
> > book partly because there are so many; it's quite interesting to
> note
> > that one of his songs was composed to a tune of which the Banks
of
> > Claudy is a version.
> >
> > As an aside, I do not at all consider Cumha Chraobh nan Teud to
be
> > the tune of the Clàrsair Dall song Féill nan Crann.  The fact is
> that
> > the lyric of Féill nan Crann would more easily be squeezed into
the
> > tune of A' Cheud Diluain dhan Ràithe than it would into Craobh
nan
> > Teud.  The Craobh nan Teud sets clearly do not suit the Féill nan
> > Crann lyric metrically and one does them injustice by attempting
to
> > make them do so.  Willie Matheson's published solution pits the
> > stresses of the lyric against the obvious stresses of the pipe
> melody
> > in a very unnatural way.
> >
> > Rob Donn's song Òran nan Suirghean has a very similar melody to
the
> > Angus Fraser set of Craobh nan Teud.  (It is no.112 in Patrick
> > MacDonald but unfortunately not barred consistently: the second
> half
> > should have the bar line placed one crotchet later to match the
> > system used for the first half.)  Having a different stress
pattern
> > to the lyric of Féill nan Crann, the lyric of Òran nan Suirghean
> > could thus be made to fit the Angus Fraser tune with much greater
> > ease and highlights the unsuitably of the Féill nan Crann lyric
to
> > the same tune.
> >
> > Beannachdan,
> >
> >
> > Alasdair
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
> > <calumcille@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Dear Paul,
> > >
> > > You could start by looking at Carolan's John Hart / John
Jones /
> > Robert
> > > Jordan complex which is pentatonic.  Miss Crofton (25) is also
an
> > > almost completely pentatonic version of Thomas Connellan's Lady
> > Iveagh.
> > >
> > > Beannachdan,
> > >
> > >
> > > Alasdair
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In clairseach@..., paul best <hempson1@>
wrote:
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Hi Folks,
> > > >
> > > > I want to explore Pentatonic tunes - could you give me
examples
> I
> > > could learn from the Irish and Scottish traditions ??
> > > >
> > > > Paul
> > > >
> > > >
> _________________________________________________________________
> > > > Windows Live Messenger just got better .Video display pics,
> > contact
> > > updates & more.
> > > > http://www.download.live.com/messenger
> > > >
> > >
> >
>

Dear Keith,

I don't feel I have the information to assess why Willie Mathieson
went with this idea: in publication, he only credits Francis
Collinson with regard to the evaluation of Angus Fraser's musical
variations.  I hope I pay due regard to your view about Francis
Collinson's impact but I've got a website myself and am responsible
for what I put up there.  We all make mistakes and it is reasonable
to expect authors to take responsibility for information which they
don't attribute to others.

Willie Mathieson did publish a book, no less, in 1970, a book which
aficionados of the Gaelic harp resort to for information, and he
spends almost four pages worth of material on this item so, in view
of my assessment of the material, I feel it's worthwhile warning
against it as illustration of what doesn't work and why.

Just because Angus Fraser tells us that the song 'An Leannan Sìth' is
linked with 'Craobh nan Teud' doesn't automatically exclude the
possibility that the lyric of 'Féill nan Crann' be linked
with 'Craobh nan Teud'.  Popular song tunes often have multiple
lyrics.  Willie Mathieson was surely capable of assessing the
metrical evidence himself, being a learned Gaelic singer who worked
on the reconstruction of a number of songs which he sang and who
would naturally have been exposed to the pipe port.  He would have
had access to the words of 'An Leannan Sìth' and it would have been
blindingly obvious to him that the metre of the Leannan Sìth lyric
was different from that of 'Féill nan Crann'.

The idea that 'Cumha Craobh nan Teud' could be the tune of Féill nan
Crann is still quite current amongst harp aficionados and I feel it
is worthwhile advising folks to ignore that section of the Clàrsair
Dall book.

In the black and white world of 'experts/teachers you shouldn't argue
with' and 'amateurs/students who aren't sufficiently well-informed',
this kind of detail gets printed by someone of some authority and
then it is repeated in other publications and becomes a de facto
apparent 'academic consensus' which can be difficult to unseat.

A bit like the notion that all ceòl mór uses binary sonorities!

Beannachdan,



Alasdair













--- In clairseach@..., "sanger_keith"
<sanger_keith@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Alasdair
>
> Your comments on Feill nan Crann are certainly on the right lines,
> but I don't think the blame can be solely laid at Willie Mathesons
> door as in this case I think he was seriously led astray by Francis
> Collinson who seems to have been his major source of information
> regarding what was in the Angus Fraser MS.
>
> Collinson on several occasions missed the obvious and this is a
case
> in point where he ignored what Angus Fraser himself actually tells
us
> when he makes what he has done quite clear. In the
historical 'notes'
> to the first part of the MS and on the same page as his expanded
> version with fiddle variations Fraser states that;-
>
> Craobh na'n teud the name preserved by the pipers along with their
> set of this air has been retained but the vocal set of it found
> associated with the old traditional song 'A Bhean Sith' or 'An
> Leannan Sith' ie, the fairy lover has been adopted (for this work,
> [crossed out]) as more in accordance with the style and object of
> this work, than the pipers theme and variations. Mr Angus McKay
late
> piper to her Majesty published the set adapted to his own
instrument
> and he tells us that it is a very old and excellent piobaireachd.
>  The old song to the fairy lover may be seen in a collection of
> Gaelic poetry published at Inverness  by James Fraser in 1821 page
> 69. This air is a remarkable instance of the great difference that
> exists between the vocal and pipe sets of Gaelic airs and urges
upon
> all patriots to collect without delay the remains of our music
before
> the voice of Song becomes utterly extinct in our land.
>
> Angus MacKay in his note on the tune adds a further layer of
> confusion because he states that 'In the north it is called Bean
> Sith, either from being the 'fairy tune' or so named from a noted
> hill in Sutherland distinguished as the fairy mountain'. Although
> that would geographically bring it quite close to the actual site
> of 'Coire an Easa' but as far as the pipe tune of that name goes
it's
> actual authenticity is 'not proven'.
>
> So logically there is no reason why either the Angus Fraser or the
> pipe varients should fit the Clarsair Dall song.
>
> The Banks of Claudy tune is interesting especially as a varient of
a
> tune that Matheson himself traces back to fourteenth century
France,
> reminding us of course that nothing is totally original and that
just
> as the origins of 'Danta Gradha' lay in the courtly love poetry of
> Provence so many of the airs associated with that poetry also
passed
> into the Gaelic world at the same time, probably via the incoming
> Normans. It is unlikely to be a coincidence that like for example,
> Earl Gerald, many of these Norman Irish families were early users
of
> that Gaelic poetic form.
>
> Best wishes
>
> Keith
>
> --- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
> <calumcille@> wrote:
> >
> > Dear Paul,
> >
> > Sorry, wrong pairing - Airs by Fingal I and III are in common
time.
> >
> > The first one only is pentatonic.  Airs by Fingal II & III are
> > hexatonic.
> >
> > Beannachdan,
> >
> >
> >
> > Alasdair
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
> > <calumcille@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Dear Paul,
> > >
> > > I've just had a quick look for other pentatonic harp items for
> > you.
> > >
> > > Port 8th in the Torloisk MS
> > > Airs by Fingal, I & III, in Bowie
> > > Gràdh Dhùghaill Òig in Dow
> > > Se mo rùn an t-ògan in Dow
> > > Port Priest / Port Robart / Fuath nam fìdhleirean / Féachaint
> Gléis
> > > Thug Bonny Peigi dhòmhsa pòg / P. MacD. 141 / Burns' March
> > >
> > > The following were probably or possibly also originally
> pentatonic.
> > >
> > > Suipear Tighearna Leoid
> > > Cumha Iarla Wigton in Dow
> > > Fàilte Mhic Coinnich in Dow
> > > Port Atholl (major 3rd)
> > > Fàilte na Muisg
> > >
> > > A number of the Clàrsair Dall songs also have pentatonic
versions
> > of
> > > their tunes.  Not all the versions are published in Willie
> > Matheson's
> > > book partly because there are so many; it's quite interesting
to
> > note
> > > that one of his songs was composed to a tune of which the Banks
> of
> > > Claudy is a version.
> > >
> > > As an aside, I do not at all consider Cumha Chraobh nan Teud to
> be
> > > the tune of the Clàrsair Dall song Féill nan Crann.  The fact
is
> > that
> > > the lyric of Féill nan Crann would more easily be squeezed into
> the
> > > tune of A' Cheud Diluain dhan Ràithe than it would into Craobh
> nan
> > > Teud.  The Craobh nan Teud sets clearly do not suit the Féill
nan
> > > Crann lyric metrically and one does them injustice by
attempting
> to
> > > make them do so.  Willie Matheson's published solution pits the
> > > stresses of the lyric against the obvious stresses of the pipe
> > melody
> > > in a very unnatural way.
> > >
> > > Rob Donn's song Òran nan Suirghean has a very similar melody to
> the
> > > Angus Fraser set of Craobh nan Teud.  (It is no.112 in Patrick
> > > MacDonald but unfortunately not barred consistently: the second
> > half
> > > should have the bar line placed one crotchet later to match the
> > > system used for the first half.)  Having a different stress
> pattern
> > > to the lyric of Féill nan Crann, the lyric of Òran nan
Suirghean
> > > could thus be made to fit the Angus Fraser tune with much
greater
> > > ease and highlights the unsuitably of the Féill nan Crann lyric
> to
> > > the same tune.
> > >
> > > Beannachdan,
> > >
> > >
> > > Alasdair
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
> > > <calumcille@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Dear Paul,
> > > >
> > > > You could start by looking at Carolan's John Hart / John
> Jones /
> > > Robert
> > > > Jordan complex which is pentatonic.  Miss Crofton (25) is
also
> an
> > > > almost completely pentatonic version of Thomas Connellan's
Lady
> > > Iveagh.
> > > >
> > > > Beannachdan,
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Alasdair
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --- In clairseach@..., paul best <hempson1@>
> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Hi Folks,
> > > > >
> > > > > I want to explore Pentatonic tunes - could you give me
> examples
> > I
> > > > could learn from the Irish and Scottish traditions ??
> > > > >
> > > > > Paul
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > _________________________________________________________________
> > > > > Windows Live Messenger just got better .Video display pics,
> > > contact
> > > > updates & more.
> > > > > http://www.download.live.com/messenger
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
>

Dear Alasdair

Rolling back the tide of conventional wisdom can be a never ending
exercise, for example a recently published academic tome continued to
peddle the 'fact' that bagpipes were proscribed following 1745. As
far as William Matheson is concerned I think you will find that even
some of the academic establishment find his iconic status with
tablets of stone authority applied to his work a little frustrating
at times.

However, that was not my point, nor I re-emphasise was I disagreeing
with yours. Within the academic way of working at that time,
photocopiers were yet to come, Collinson who was working with the
Angus Fraser papers would seem to have handwritten a copy of the air
and passed it to Matheson with the additional comment that the tune
was repeated later in the MS but with fiddle variations, After all
Matheson was competent enough to have worked out for himself they
were fiddle variations if he had in fact seen the original.

If he had been aware of what Angus Fraser had claimed to have done
with title and tune surely Matheson would have dealt with it in
someway? In terms of the pipe version of Coire an Esa he cites both
the Kilberry Book and the version in vol 8 of the PS collections.
Reading the notes in vol 8 should have shown an amber light which if
he had then discussed it further within the piping world would
probably have turned red.

Since the subject of the Angus Fraser set had arisen in your post I
was simply making available to those who do not have easy access to
those manuscripts what the author himself claimed to have done with
the title and tune. Once again it was not a value, or judgement
statement other than providing as full a picture as possible.

To be fair I have no doubt that if Matheson had been able to avail
himself of online web publishing with its ease of updating and
correction, then his printed work would probably have evolved over
the course of time, and as it is without the sort of pioneering
editions like An Clarsair Dall none of us would be as far forward as
we are if at first we had to go back and cover the ground he did.

Collinson however was a curious character. He managed to cover the
subject of the harp in his National and Traditional Music of
Scotland, which was pretty much what the Clarasach Society used as
its 'history', but without any reference to Armstrong, who was not
exactly hard to find. In the old Edinburgh Central Music Library it
was thoughtfully cross referenced under Armstrong and also under Harp.

In the early 1970's Edinburgh University in a rare (for that time)
recognition that piping existed sponsored a one day seminar at the
Reid Hall on Piobaireachd. It was conducted by John MacLellan and
Donald MacLeod who made it clear that questions could be asked at
anytime. Collinson was sitting right at the front and was the
principle 'interruptor' either through his hearing aid emitting that
high pitch squeal heard by everybody but the owner, or by asking
questions many of which by their nature, confirmed by his follow up
question to the answer merely confirmed that he did not have a grasp
on the subject at all.

Donald used circular breathing when blowing his practise chanter to
illustrate points and towards the end in response to a question from
Collinson who had noticed and asked how he did it, was so fed up that
he simply put his chanter in his mouth played a few bars and said'
like that'.

Despite that it did not stop Collinson from going on and publishing a
book on the Bagpipe which is unfortunately still much quoted.

Best wishes

Keith


--- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
<calumcille@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Keith,
>
> I don't feel I have the information to assess why Willie Mathieson
> went with this idea: in publication, he only credits Francis
> Collinson with regard to the evaluation of Angus Fraser's musical
> variations.  I hope I pay due regard to your view about Francis
> Collinson's impact but I've got a website myself and am responsible
> for what I put up there.  We all make mistakes and it is reasonable
> to expect authors to take responsibility for information which they
> don't attribute to others.
>
> Willie Mathieson did publish a book, no less, in 1970, a book which
> aficionados of the Gaelic harp resort to for information, and he
> spends almost four pages worth of material on this item so, in view
> of my assessment of the material, I feel it's worthwhile warning
> against it as illustration of what doesn't work and why.
>
> Just because Angus Fraser tells us that the song 'An Leannan Sìth'
is
> linked with 'Craobh nan Teud' doesn't automatically exclude the
> possibility that the lyric of 'Féill nan Crann' be linked
> with 'Craobh nan Teud'.  Popular song tunes often have multiple
> lyrics.  Willie Mathieson was surely capable of assessing the
> metrical evidence himself, being a learned Gaelic singer who worked
> on the reconstruction of a number of songs which he sang and who
> would naturally have been exposed to the pipe port.  He would have
> had access to the words of 'An Leannan Sìth' and it would have been
> blindingly obvious to him that the metre of the Leannan Sìth lyric
> was different from that of 'Féill nan Crann'.
>
> The idea that 'Cumha Craobh nan Teud' could be the tune of Féill
nan
> Crann is still quite current amongst harp aficionados and I feel it
> is worthwhile advising folks to ignore that section of the Clàrsair
> Dall book.
>
> In the black and white world of 'experts/teachers you shouldn't
argue
> with' and 'amateurs/students who aren't sufficiently well-
informed',
> this kind of detail gets printed by someone of some authority and
> then it is repeated in other publications and becomes a de facto
> apparent 'academic consensus' which can be difficult to unseat.
>
> A bit like the notion that all ceòl mór uses binary sonorities!
>
> Beannachdan,
>
>
>
> Alasdair
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In clairseach@..., "sanger_keith"
> <sanger_keith@> wrote:
> >
> > Dear Alasdair
> >
> > Your comments on Feill nan Crann are certainly on the right
lines,
> > but I don't think the blame can be solely laid at Willie
Mathesons
> > door as in this case I think he was seriously led astray by
Francis
> > Collinson who seems to have been his major source of information
> > regarding what was in the Angus Fraser MS.
> >
> > Collinson on several occasions missed the obvious and this is a
> case
> > in point where he ignored what Angus Fraser himself actually
tells
> us
> > when he makes what he has done quite clear. In the
> historical 'notes'
> > to the first part of the MS and on the same page as his expanded
> > version with fiddle variations Fraser states that;-
> >
> > Craobh na'n teud the name preserved by the pipers along with
their
> > set of this air has been retained but the vocal set of it found
> > associated with the old traditional song 'A Bhean Sith' or 'An
> > Leannan Sith' ie, the fairy lover has been adopted (for this work,
> > [crossed out]) as more in accordance with the style and object of
> > this work, than the pipers theme and variations. Mr Angus McKay
> late
> > piper to her Majesty published the set adapted to his own
> instrument
> > and he tells us that it is a very old and excellent piobaireachd.
> >  The old song to the fairy lover may be seen in a collection of
> > Gaelic poetry published at Inverness  by James Fraser in 1821
page
> > 69. This air is a remarkable instance of the great difference
that
> > exists between the vocal and pipe sets of Gaelic airs and urges
> upon
> > all patriots to collect without delay the remains of our music
> before
> > the voice of Song becomes utterly extinct in our land.
> >
> > Angus MacKay in his note on the tune adds a further layer of
> > confusion because he states that 'In the north it is called Bean
> > Sith, either from being the 'fairy tune' or so named from a noted
> > hill in Sutherland distinguished as the fairy mountain'. Although
> > that would geographically bring it quite close to the actual site
> > of 'Coire an Easa' but as far as the pipe tune of that name goes
> it's
> > actual authenticity is 'not proven'.
> >
> > So logically there is no reason why either the Angus Fraser or
the
> > pipe varients should fit the Clarsair Dall song.
> >
> > The Banks of Claudy tune is interesting especially as a varient
of
> a
> > tune that Matheson himself traces back to fourteenth century
> France,
> > reminding us of course that nothing is totally original and that
> just
> > as the origins of 'Danta Gradha' lay in the courtly love poetry
of
> > Provence so many of the airs associated with that poetry also
> passed
> > into the Gaelic world at the same time, probably via the incoming
> > Normans. It is unlikely to be a coincidence that like for
example,
> > Earl Gerald, many of these Norman Irish families were early users
> of
> > that Gaelic poetic form.
> >
> > Best wishes
> >
> > Keith
> >
> > --- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
> > <calumcille@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Dear Paul,
> > >
> > > Sorry, wrong pairing - Airs by Fingal I and III are in common
> time.
> > >
> > > The first one only is pentatonic.  Airs by Fingal II & III are
> > > hexatonic.
> > >
> > > Beannachdan,
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Alasdair
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
> > > <calumcille@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Dear Paul,
> > > >
> > > > I've just had a quick look for other pentatonic harp items
for
> > > you.
> > > >
> > > > Port 8th in the Torloisk MS
> > > > Airs by Fingal, I & III, in Bowie
> > > > Gràdh Dhùghaill Òig in Dow
> > > > Se mo rùn an t-ògan in Dow
> > > > Port Priest / Port Robart / Fuath nam fìdhleirean / Féachaint
> > Gléis
> > > > Thug Bonny Peigi dhòmhsa pòg / P. MacD. 141 / Burns' March
> > > >
> > > > The following were probably or possibly also originally
> > pentatonic.
> > > >
> > > > Suipear Tighearna Leoid
> > > > Cumha Iarla Wigton in Dow
> > > > Fàilte Mhic Coinnich in Dow
> > > > Port Atholl (major 3rd)
> > > > Fàilte na Muisg
> > > >
> > > > A number of the Clàrsair Dall songs also have pentatonic
> versions
> > > of
> > > > their tunes.  Not all the versions are published in Willie
> > > Matheson's
> > > > book partly because there are so many; it's quite interesting
> to
> > > note
> > > > that one of his songs was composed to a tune of which the
Banks
> > of
> > > > Claudy is a version.
> > > >
> > > > As an aside, I do not at all consider Cumha Chraobh nan Teud
to
> > be
> > > > the tune of the Clàrsair Dall song Féill nan Crann.  The fact
> is
> > > that
> > > > the lyric of Féill nan Crann would more easily be squeezed
into
> > the
> > > > tune of A' Cheud Diluain dhan Ràithe than it would into
Craobh
> > nan
> > > > Teud.  The Craobh nan Teud sets clearly do not suit the Féill
> nan
> > > > Crann lyric metrically and one does them injustice by
> attempting
> > to
> > > > make them do so.  Willie Matheson's published solution pits
the
> > > > stresses of the lyric against the obvious stresses of the
pipe
> > > melody
> > > > in a very unnatural way.
> > > >
> > > > Rob Donn's song Òran nan Suirghean has a very similar melody
to
> > the
> > > > Angus Fraser set of Craobh nan Teud.  (It is no.112 in
Patrick
> > > > MacDonald but unfortunately not barred consistently: the
second
> > > half
> > > > should have the bar line placed one crotchet later to match
the
> > > > system used for the first half.)  Having a different stress
> > pattern
> > > > to the lyric of Féill nan Crann, the lyric of Òran nan
> Suirghean
> > > > could thus be made to fit the Angus Fraser tune with much
> greater
> > > > ease and highlights the unsuitably of the Féill nan Crann
lyric
> > to
> > > > the same tune.
> > > >
> > > > Beannachdan,
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Alasdair
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
> > > > <calumcille@> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > Dear Paul,
> > > > >
> > > > > You could start by looking at Carolan's John Hart / John
> > Jones /
> > > > Robert
> > > > > Jordan complex which is pentatonic.  Miss Crofton (25) is
> also
> > an
> > > > > almost completely pentatonic version of Thomas Connellan's
> Lady
> > > > Iveagh.
> > > > >
> > > > > Beannachdan,
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Alasdair
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > --- In clairseach@..., paul best <hempson1@>
> > wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Hi Folks,
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I want to explore Pentatonic tunes - could you give me
> > examples
> > > I
> > > > > could learn from the Irish and Scottish traditions ??
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Paul
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > >
_________________________________________________________________
> > > > > > Windows Live Messenger just got better .Video display
pics,
> > > > contact
> > > > > updates & more.
> > > > > > http://www.download.live.com/messenger
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
>

Dear Keith,

I'm not quite sure of your argument here.  As far as I'm aware, Angus
Fraser didn't claim to have done anything with the title and basic
tune as such in the passage you quote.  He gives the title of a pipe
lament.  He gives two titles for a connected lyric, and elsewhere
some verses and a chorus of it.  That there were two sets, pipe and
vocal, would be all he would be claiming in the passage you quote.

For his collection, he opts to use the vocal set.  I'm not sure that
heretofore this represents anything for Willie Matheson to have to
deal with or for ourselves for that matter.

The real issue for me would be the following.  On the one hand,
there's a humorous lyric: Féill nan Crann.

On the other hand, there is a tune forming part of a collection in
which the collector purports to present non-vocal variations
characteristic of the old harpers' style: 'an Leannan Sìth/a' Bhean
Sìth', vocal set of the pipe lament 'Craobh nan Teud'.

Willie Mathieson says that the Fraser set of the tune 'is one among
several pieces for the harp in the Angus Fraser MS'.  He is
responsible for this statement too but if it is an old song dating
from the time of the harpers, then there is nothing wrong with that
statement.  Angus Fraser likewise was clearly aware of the vocal
nature of the piece.  The only questionable element would
be 'characteristic variations' added to the basic tune by Angus
Fraser.  However, being additional, these are subsidiary to the
question of the suitability of the tune to the lyric.

He then says Féill nan Crann 'can be regarded as a lament by the
Harper for his lost harp-key'.  He is completely responsible for that
statement.  Yes, it begins with a cartoon glum harper bewailing the
shame of his lost crann but the song is essentially a yomping romp.

He also says that 'the first part of the ... ground ... of this
[pipe] lament fits the Harper's words'.  Only if one does the pipe
tune great mischief.  He is completely responsible for that statement
too.

I hear what you say about the possibilities of online web publishing
but I prefer the idea that it is the study which is pioneering rather
than the book and my criticism isn't of the Reverend publishing a
book; rather, I would criticise the content of a certain number of
pages on a particular topic within the book.  If one does publish a
book though, and doesn't attribute the material within to anyone
else, one is responsible for what is stated within.  And when when
anything one has said is disproven, it's advisable to warn the less
informed of the unreliability of it.

I remember that anecdote about Francis Collinson at that seminar.
His studies did cover an enormous amount of territory; as does John
Purser's 'Scotland's Music' which adopts the Féill nan Crann = Craobh
nan Teud thesis.  With a scope so large, sometimes the blindingly
obvious is missed, never mind the subtleties.  Not everyone can be a
Keith Sanger no matter how earnestly that might be wished for.

Some errors are easily corrected and, as you note, others prevail too
long.  The Féill nan Crann = Craobh nan Teud error is more difficult
to convince people of: it requires a level of musico-linguistic
sensitivity which isn't always there even with singers who have
Gaelic, never mind singers who don't.  You can hammer almost anything
onto a certain number of syllables per line if you really want to,
but it doesn't mean it's culturally appropriate.  The lyric of Féill
nan Crann suggests more than one possible musical metre and the metre
of Craobh nan Teud is just not one of them.

Beannachdan,



Alasdair




--- In clairseach@..., "sanger_keith"
<sanger_keith@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Alasdair
>
> Rolling back the tide of conventional wisdom can be a never ending
> exercise, for example a recently published academic tome continued
to
> peddle the 'fact' that bagpipes were proscribed following 1745. As
> far as William Matheson is concerned I think you will find that
even
> some of the academic establishment find his iconic status with
> tablets of stone authority applied to his work a little frustrating
> at times.
>
> However, that was not my point, nor I re-emphasise was I
disagreeing
> with yours. Within the academic way of working at that time,
> photocopiers were yet to come, Collinson who was working with the
> Angus Fraser papers would seem to have handwritten a copy of the
air
> and passed it to Matheson with the additional comment that the tune
> was repeated later in the MS but with fiddle variations, After all
> Matheson was competent enough to have worked out for himself they
> were fiddle variations if he had in fact seen the original.
>
> If he had been aware of what Angus Fraser had claimed to have done
> with title and tune surely Matheson would have dealt with it in
> someway? In terms of the pipe version of Coire an Esa he cites both
> the Kilberry Book and the version in vol 8 of the PS collections.
> Reading the notes in vol 8 should have shown an amber light which
if
> he had then discussed it further within the piping world would
> probably have turned red.
>
> Since the subject of the Angus Fraser set had arisen in your post I
> was simply making available to those who do not have easy access to
> those manuscripts what the author himself claimed to have done with
> the title and tune. Once again it was not a value, or judgement
> statement other than providing as full a picture as possible.
>
> To be fair I have no doubt that if Matheson had been able to avail
> himself of online web publishing with its ease of updating and
> correction, then his printed work would probably have evolved over
> the course of time, and as it is without the sort of pioneering
> editions like An Clarsair Dall none of us would be as far forward
as
> we are if at first we had to go back and cover the ground he did.
>
> Collinson however was a curious character. He managed to cover the
> subject of the harp in his National and Traditional Music of
> Scotland, which was pretty much what the Clarasach Society used as
> its 'history', but without any reference to Armstrong, who was not
> exactly hard to find. In the old Edinburgh Central Music Library it
> was thoughtfully cross referenced under Armstrong and also under
Harp.
>
> In the early 1970's Edinburgh University in a rare (for that time)
> recognition that piping existed sponsored a one day seminar at the
> Reid Hall on Piobaireachd. It was conducted by John MacLellan and
> Donald MacLeod who made it clear that questions could be asked at
> anytime. Collinson was sitting right at the front and was the
> principle 'interruptor' either through his hearing aid emitting
that
> high pitch squeal heard by everybody but the owner, or by asking
> questions many of which by their nature, confirmed by his follow up
> question to the answer merely confirmed that he did not have a
grasp
> on the subject at all.
>
> Donald used circular breathing when blowing his practise chanter to
> illustrate points and towards the end in response to a question
from
> Collinson who had noticed and asked how he did it, was so fed up
that
> he simply put his chanter in his mouth played a few bars and said'
> like that'.
>
> Despite that it did not stop Collinson from going on and publishing
a
> book on the Bagpipe which is unfortunately still much quoted.
>
> Best wishes
>
> Keith
>
>
> --- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
> <calumcille@> wrote:
> >
> > Dear Keith,
> >
> > I don't feel I have the information to assess why Willie
Mathieson
> > went with this idea: in publication, he only credits Francis
> > Collinson with regard to the evaluation of Angus Fraser's musical
> > variations.  I hope I pay due regard to your view about Francis
> > Collinson's impact but I've got a website myself and am
responsible
> > for what I put up there.  We all make mistakes and it is
reasonable
> > to expect authors to take responsibility for information which
they
> > don't attribute to others.
> >
> > Willie Mathieson did publish a book, no less, in 1970, a book
which
> > aficionados of the Gaelic harp resort to for information, and he
> > spends almost four pages worth of material on this item so, in
view
> > of my assessment of the material, I feel it's worthwhile warning
> > against it as illustration of what doesn't work and why.
> >
> > Just because Angus Fraser tells us that the song 'An Leannan
Sìth'
> is
> > linked with 'Craobh nan Teud' doesn't automatically exclude the
> > possibility that the lyric of 'Féill nan Crann' be linked
> > with 'Craobh nan Teud'.  Popular song tunes often have multiple
> > lyrics.  Willie Mathieson was surely capable of assessing the
> > metrical evidence himself, being a learned Gaelic singer who
worked
> > on the reconstruction of a number of songs which he sang and who
> > would naturally have been exposed to the pipe port.  He would
have
> > had access to the words of 'An Leannan Sìth' and it would have
been
> > blindingly obvious to him that the metre of the Leannan Sìth
lyric
> > was different from that of 'Féill nan Crann'.
> >
> > The idea that 'Cumha Craobh nan Teud' could be the tune of Féill
> nan
> > Crann is still quite current amongst harp aficionados and I feel
it
> > is worthwhile advising folks to ignore that section of the
Clàrsair
> > Dall book.
> >
> > In the black and white world of 'experts/teachers you shouldn't
> argue
> > with' and 'amateurs/students who aren't sufficiently well-
> informed',
> > this kind of detail gets printed by someone of some authority and
> > then it is repeated in other publications and becomes a de facto
> > apparent 'academic consensus' which can be difficult to unseat.
> >
> > A bit like the notion that all ceòl mór uses binary sonorities!
> >
> > Beannachdan,
> >
> >
> >
> > Alasdair
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In clairseach@..., "sanger_keith"
> > <sanger_keith@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Dear Alasdair
> > >
> > > Your comments on Feill nan Crann are certainly on the right
> lines,
> > > but I don't think the blame can be solely laid at Willie
> Mathesons
> > > door as in this case I think he was seriously led astray by
> Francis
> > > Collinson who seems to have been his major source of
information
> > > regarding what was in the Angus Fraser MS.
> > >
> > > Collinson on several occasions missed the obvious and this is a
> > case
> > > in point where he ignored what Angus Fraser himself actually
> tells
> > us
> > > when he makes what he has done quite clear. In the
> > historical 'notes'
> > > to the first part of the MS and on the same page as his
expanded
> > > version with fiddle variations Fraser states that;-
> > >
> > > Craobh na'n teud the name preserved by the pipers along with
> their
> > > set of this air has been retained but the vocal set of it found
> > > associated with the old traditional song 'A Bhean Sith' or 'An
> > > Leannan Sith' ie, the fairy lover has been adopted (for this
work,
> > > [crossed out]) as more in accordance with the style and object
of
> > > this work, than the pipers theme and variations. Mr Angus McKay
> > late
> > > piper to her Majesty published the set adapted to his own
> > instrument
> > > and he tells us that it is a very old and excellent
piobaireachd.
> > >  The old song to the fairy lover may be seen in a collection of
> > > Gaelic poetry published at Inverness  by James Fraser in 1821
> page
> > > 69. This air is a remarkable instance of the great difference
> that
> > > exists between the vocal and pipe sets of Gaelic airs and urges
> > upon
> > > all patriots to collect without delay the remains of our music
> > before
> > > the voice of Song becomes utterly extinct in our land.
> > >
> > > Angus MacKay in his note on the tune adds a further layer of
> > > confusion because he states that 'In the north it is called
Bean
> > > Sith, either from being the 'fairy tune' or so named from a
noted
> > > hill in Sutherland distinguished as the fairy mountain'.
Although
> > > that would geographically bring it quite close to the actual
site
> > > of 'Coire an Easa' but as far as the pipe tune of that name
goes
> > it's
> > > actual authenticity is 'not proven'.
> > >
> > > So logically there is no reason why either the Angus Fraser or
> the
> > > pipe varients should fit the Clarsair Dall song.
> > >
> > > The Banks of Claudy tune is interesting especially as a varient
> of
> > a
> > > tune that Matheson himself traces back to fourteenth century
> > France,
> > > reminding us of course that nothing is totally original and
that
> > just
> > > as the origins of 'Danta Gradha' lay in the courtly love poetry
> of
> > > Provence so many of the airs associated with that poetry also
> > passed
> > > into the Gaelic world at the same time, probably via the
incoming
> > > Normans. It is unlikely to be a coincidence that like for
> example,
> > > Earl Gerald, many of these Norman Irish families were early
users
> > of
> > > that Gaelic poetic form.
> > >
> > > Best wishes
> > >
> > > Keith
> > >
> > > --- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
> > > <calumcille@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Dear Paul,
> > > >
> > > > Sorry, wrong pairing - Airs by Fingal I and III are in common
> > time.
> > > >
> > > > The first one only is pentatonic.  Airs by Fingal II & III
are
> > > > hexatonic.
> > > >
> > > > Beannachdan,
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Alasdair
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
> > > > <calumcille@> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > Dear Paul,
> > > > >
> > > > > I've just had a quick look for other pentatonic harp items
> for
> > > > you.
> > > > >
> > > > > Port 8th in the Torloisk MS
> > > > > Airs by Fingal, I & III, in Bowie
> > > > > Gràdh Dhùghaill Òig in Dow
> > > > > Se mo rùn an t-ògan in Dow
> > > > > Port Priest / Port Robart / Fuath nam fìdhleirean /
Féachaint
> > > Gléis
> > > > > Thug Bonny Peigi dhòmhsa pòg / P. MacD. 141 / Burns' March
> > > > >
> > > > > The following were probably or possibly also originally
> > > pentatonic.
> > > > >
> > > > > Suipear Tighearna Leoid
> > > > > Cumha Iarla Wigton in Dow
> > > > > Fàilte Mhic Coinnich in Dow
> > > > > Port Atholl (major 3rd)
> > > > > Fàilte na Muisg
> > > > >
> > > > > A number of the Clàrsair Dall songs also have pentatonic
> > versions
> > > > of
> > > > > their tunes.  Not all the versions are published in Willie
> > > > Matheson's
> > > > > book partly because there are so many; it's quite
interesting
> > to
> > > > note
> > > > > that one of his songs was composed to a tune of which the
> Banks
> > > of
> > > > > Claudy is a version.
> > > > >
> > > > > As an aside, I do not at all consider Cumha Chraobh nan
Teud
> to
> > > be
> > > > > the tune of the Clàrsair Dall song Féill nan Crann.  The
fact
> > is
> > > > that
> > > > > the lyric of Féill nan Crann would more easily be squeezed
> into
> > > the
> > > > > tune of A' Cheud Diluain dhan Ràithe than it would into
> Craobh
> > > nan
> > > > > Teud.  The Craobh nan Teud sets clearly do not suit the
Féill
> > nan
> > > > > Crann lyric metrically and one does them injustice by
> > attempting
> > > to
> > > > > make them do so.  Willie Matheson's published solution pits
> the
> > > > > stresses of the lyric against the obvious stresses of the
> pipe
> > > > melody
> > > > > in a very unnatural way.
> > > > >
> > > > > Rob Donn's song Òran nan Suirghean has a very similar
melody
> to
> > > the
> > > > > Angus Fraser set of Craobh nan Teud.  (It is no.112 in
> Patrick
> > > > > MacDonald but unfortunately not barred consistently: the
> second
> > > > half
> > > > > should have the bar line placed one crotchet later to match
> the
> > > > > system used for the first half.)  Having a different stress
> > > pattern
> > > > > to the lyric of Féill nan Crann, the lyric of Òran nan
> > Suirghean
> > > > > could thus be made to fit the Angus Fraser tune with much
> > greater
> > > > > ease and highlights the unsuitably of the Féill nan Crann
> lyric
> > > to
> > > > > the same tune.
> > > > >
> > > > > Beannachdan,
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Alasdair
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > --- In clairseach@..., "Alasdair Codona"
> > > > > <calumcille@> wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Dear Paul,
> > > > > >
> > > > > > You could start by looking at Carolan's John Hart / John
> > > Jones /
> > > > > Robert
> > > > > > Jordan complex which is pentatonic.  Miss Crofton (25) is
> > also
> > > an
> > > > > > almost completely pentatonic version of Thomas
Connellan's
> > Lady
> > > > > Iveagh.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Beannachdan,
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Alasdair
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > --- In clairseach@..., paul best
<hempson1@>
> > > wrote:
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Hi Folks,
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > I want to explore Pentatonic tunes - could you give me
> > > examples
> > > > I
> > > > > > could learn from the Irish and Scottish traditions ??
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Paul
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > >
> _________________________________________________________________
> > > > > > > Windows Live Messenger just got better .Video display
> pics,
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Dear Alasdair

I don't think I was trying to construct an argument, but simply to
clarify Angus Fraser's part in it, or not as the case really seems to
be, and I don't think we are in disagreement regarding the basic part
played by Fraser. He recognised that the pipe tune and a vocal air
with two titles were varients of each other, and used the title of
the pipe version over the music of the vocal version, presumably
because as he adds his collection was of vocal airs, not pipe tunes,
although why he did not use both vocal title and music with footnote
to the pipe tune is one for the birds.

However he makes no connection at all with either An Clarsair Dall or
his poem on the lost harp key. And there is no reason why he should
have, of the three sources of the poem identified by Matheson, only
one (in a Manuscript) existed in Frasers lifetime and he was unlikely
to have come across it, and in any case Fraser seems to have
principally relied on published sources whenever he refers to actual
verse, (judging by his manuscript two volume Gaelic Musical
Dictionary).

Matheson in casting around looking for the music to fit the harpers
poem alighted on the pipe tunes and Frasers air and attempted to
shoehorn the poem into those and I do not think we are in
disagreement here either, Nor in that statement that songs and their
associated airs, if old enough to have been sung and accompanied by
the harp were 'harp music', Patrick Macdonald makes more or less the
same statement and as a generalisation it is true, although it does
not have to mean that those particular versions of the air, or the
song for that matter were what was actually what was originally
performed.

Where I would however leap to the defense of Angus Fraser is the
claim that 'characteristic variations' with the suggestion that
Fraser added these intentionally in imitation of harp music. He did
not, and makes no mention of the harp at that point. Even the
reference to 'A collection of the Vocal Airs of the Highlands of
Scotland communicated as Sung by the people and formerly played on
the harp....' which occurs on the first page and repeated further on
in the manuscript is as far as the title page concerned not by
Fraser.

Setting up to view my microfilm of the manuscript is somewhat of a
fankle involving feeding the film through an old slide projector and
viewing displayed on the wall in the dark, makes for much brighter
pictures than the proper library viewers but I don't have the
inclination to set it up just now, but from the index I started
constructing linked to frame number, the description on the first
page is signed off by someone whose initials I could not fully be
sure of, but as the first one was definitely J tends to rule out
Angus.

The idea of more Keith Sangers is a horrendous thought, although
perhaps not difficult to achieve, I am simply a sieve and if you go
to a beach and simply sieve your way methodically through all the
sand you will inevitably come across the odd lost item, sieving is
not difficult, playing a harp is far harder and requires more skill.

Keith

I just found this at Library Ireland, from the Dublin Penny Journal,
April 13, 1833:

I shall now conclude with a brief memoir of one ancient and truly
"Civilized" Air. We are all acquainted with the Coulin or Coolan--an
air, that once heard even in the earliest infancy, can never be
forgotten--a melody which breathes the most touching tenderness and
exquisite sensibility, and the memory of which, enables the Irish to
hear Scotland's "O, Nanny wilt thou gang with me,"--or her "Banks and
Braes," without envious repinings. Now, Mr. Moore following a very
doubtful authority, has given us this ancient account of that
melody:--"In the 28th year of the reign of Henry the Eighth, an act
was made respecting the habits and dress in general of the Irish,
whereby all persons were restrained from being shorn or shaven above
the ears, or from wearing Glibbes, or Coulins, (long locks), on their
heads, or hair on the upper lip, called Crommeal. On this occasion a
song was written by one of our Bards, in which an Irish virgin is made
to give the preference to her dear Coulin, (or the youth with the
flowing locks), to all strangers,--by which the English were meant, or
those who wore their habits. Of this song, the air alone has reached
us and is universally admired." Thus the Coulin is connected with an
imaginary enactment of the reign of Henry the Eighth, and the
impression is made, that it was one of the "civilized airs" which were
composed in or after the middle of the 16th century! It so happens,
however, on turning to the above statute, that no mention is to be
found therein of the Coulin, nor is there any account of such a
proceeding amongst the Irish chieftains in that reign. But in the year
1295, that is five hundred and thirty-eight years ago, A Parliament
was held in Dublin, and then an act was passed which more than
expressly names the Coulin, and minutely describes it for its more
effectual prohibition. It appears by this statute, (an extract from
which, taken by me from one of the original cathedral registries is
given below[1]), that for reasons unnecessary in this place to detail,
but which are most intelligibly expressed in the statute, those
persons who half shaved their heads, and encouraged the growth of
their locks at the back," called "Culan," were mistaken often for
another class of the inhabitants, and so caused much international
rancour, wherefore it was enacted that all persons should wear, at
least as to the head, the English habit and tonsure, and not presume
longer to turn their hair into a "Coolan," under penalty of distraint,
arrest, imprisonment, and deprivation of the benefit of the law. This,
the only statute made in Ireland that names the Coulin, was passed two
hundred and forty-two years before the act cited by Mr. Moore; and, in
consequence of it, some of the Irish Chieftains who lived near the
seat of English government, or wished to keep up intercourse with the
English districts, did, in or soon after that year, 1295, cut off
their Coulin, and (the fact is worth stating) a distinct memorial of
the event mas made in writing by the Officers of the Crown, as I
myself have seen and perused. It was, therefore, on this occasion that
the bard, (ever adhesive to national habits), endeavoured to fire the
patriotism of a conforming chieftain, and in the character of some
favourite virgin declares her preference for her lover with the
Coolin, before him who complaisantly assumed the adornments of foreign
fashion. Hence the song tradition calls the "Coolin," and hence we
have proofs of its composition as one of the civilized and refined
Irish airs, nearly two centuries and an half before the period so
erroneously alluded to.

Peter Wilson