Tag Archives: Irish

A jig from County Kerry: Tom Billy’s

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We began the term with the first of a pair of jigs that are associated with Irish fiddler Tom Billy Murphy. Tom Billy (1879-1944) was from the Sliabh Luachra (“Rushy Mountain”) are on the Cork and Kerry border and is particularly known for its polkas and slides.

The number of noted fiddlers from the area include Julia Clifford, Denis Murphy and Padraig O’Keeffe. Tom Billy never recorded, but he was an influential teacher and many tunes are associated with him or bear his name.

There is some introductory background information on Tom Billy on the Fiddle List archives and in this extract from The Cork Examiner. This excellent RTE radio documentary goes into more detail:

This PDF by Brendan Taafe talks a bit about the music and background of Sliabh Luachra, while this interview with fiddle teacher Matt Crannitch discusses the musical importance of the area.

I think that I first heard this jig played with another Tom Billy’s tune that we will also learn. Fiddlers Doug Patience (Edinburgh, now Co. Clare), Bernie Stocks (Belfast) and Davy Muir (Glasgow, now Christchurch, New Zealand), are just some of the people who I first learned play them. I think they were first put together by Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford on their recording The Star Above the Garter.

Resources for this tune are now on the Resources page.

New term, new tune: The Road to Lisdoonvarna

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The new term began with a look at The Road to Lisdoonvarna. The tune is a slide, which is a type of jig in 12/8 time that is common to the SW of Ireland.

Like many slides, this tune goes with a swing and mostly suits single strikes and cuts for decoration. I have notated the tune and some options for decoration and this can be found with a recording on this year’s resources page. We will follow it with a slide called The Priest and I have notated a basic version of this as well.

We spoke about different decoration types in the class. Cuts and strikes combine to make a roll; a series of cuts is used to make up a cran, which is usually on a D, but can sometimes be on an E.

The exercise for developing strikes, cuts and rolls on whistles and flutes was taught at a workshop by Breton flute player Sylvain Barou. There are some good recordings of his solo performances to be found and his website has links to some of those.

Take a listen to Conal O Grada’s playing with The Raw Bar Collective for ways of pushing more air to a note to emphasise the rhythm, particularly on polkas and slides, as well as some use of that expressive “dirty D” that was discussed.

I first put this set together when I played for a group of set dancers in Edinburgh. Some more music from there can be found on The Flow, a sister web site to this one that I hope to find time to properly update one day. This Youtube video shows slides being danced in a set dance, which provides some useful context for the talk of swing and rhythm.

Slides are related to single jigs in form, but are quite distinct. There’s a decent overview of tune types at Alan Ng’s web site and a useful discussion on The Session.

The Chieftains recorded this as a slide and then as a reel (in Dmix, as opposed to Emix). The reel itself is interesting as is it seems closely related to a reel called All the Way to Galway, which in turn is closely related to a Scottish reel, All the Way to Galloway, to be found in Kerr’s Merry Melodies.

Lisdoonvarna is on the west coast of County Clare, an area known for its traditional music and the home to a music festival, a matchmaking festival, and features in song, including one by Christy Moore.

Photo: 9 Km to Doolin 12 Km to Lisdoonvarna by Juan Luis Sotillo, some rights reserved.

Winter at Dalmeny Kirk 2013

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Winter at Dalmeny Kirk 2013Back in early December, FluteFling returned to Dalmeny Kirk to play some of our music for our own enjoyment in an amazing setting, with a handful of friends listening in.

This is the fifth time we have had an excursion and the second time we have been to the historic Dalmeny Kirk. Thanks to Ian Slee and Dalmeny Kirk for their kind hospitality. You can find out more about this amazing and  historic church at their website.

These are social and informal occasions and we hope that you enjoy listening to the music too:

Loch Leven Castle: a reel and hornpipe

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This week the Slow and Steady group took on the challenge of Loch Leven Castle, a Scottish reel that is known in Ireland as a hornpipe.

It is possible to play this tune in a number of ways, for example by including triplet runs in the and a passing G# in phrases in the B part, and these both feature in the two versions. The setting in Kerr’s Merry Melodies for the violin of c.1875 can be found at the Tune Archive. The Irish hornpipe is The Humours of Tuamgraney, or Tuamgraney Castle and can be found in various Irish collections such as O’Neill’s Music of Ireland. Both of these collections are important for building up traditional tune reference material and repertoire.

The versions of the tune are not too dissimilar to each other, but I like the more emphatic key change for the respective endings of the Irish version (B to G and C natural to A; as opposed to C natural to G and C natural to A). The version that we learned is essentially a simple amalgamation of the two and the music for it can be found on the class resources page.

An attraction of this tune is that it draws a direct connection between the structure of hornpipes and a type of Scottish reel that is referred to as a Lowland reel or Scotch Measure in this discussion on The Session, which also references this informative entry on the Fiddler’s Companion web site.

Loch Leven Castle is in Perth and Kinross and has a rich history, including being a prison to Mary Queen of Scots. Tuamgraney is in County Clare, but there is little left of the castle to see.

Photo of Loch Leven Castle by GuruAnt, some rights reserved.

 

Another Donegal Highland

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Last night the Improvers and Beyond class learned Charlie O’Neill’s No.2, the third and final tune of a set comprising a strathspey and two Donegal highlands. The other tunes are Bidh Eoin and Charlie O’Neill’s No. 1.

The version of the tune I play has come from the playing of regular musical partner Cathy Sharp in Edinburgh sessions and it is a little different from ones I have come across online. Versions have been recorded by Altan and by Cran, that I am aware of. Cran call it Charlie O’Neill’s and I have added the number to distinguish it from the other Charlie O’Neill’s we learned. It may be that both tunes are also known by other titles.

See the Resources page for the music.

Cathy learned it in Donegal, where there are many fiddle workshops and events that reflect the dominance of the instrument in that area. Flutes barely feature at all, although the late Frankie Kennedy was part of Altan for many years and has a festival in his honour.

The Donegal highland is related to the music of Scotland, in particular that of the west coast, where that have been strong cultural links over the centuries. If you’re looking around for examples of Donegal music, this site makes a good introduction and there is a good Wikipedia overview as well.

Photo of James Byrne in Glencolmcille by Rik Walton, some rights reserved.