The tune we focused on was Borve Castle, a retreat march by Donald MacLeod that I first heard on The Cauld Wind recording by Chris Stout and Finlay MacDonald. It’s the opening tune in this set and there are other live versions by them on YouTube:
This recording is slightly faster than previous ones we have been learning from, which made it a little trickier. However, recognising an internal section within the tune that is repeated in both the A and B parts was helpful in unlocking the structure and building confidence.as we sang, moved and played our way to consolidating the tune.
There are two Borve Castles, one in Benbecula, the other in Sutherland, and it isn’t clear which of them the tune title refers to.
I have recorded a flute version of the tune and notated two settings — one with piping decoration from the PDF linked to below, the other with my own decoration from a flute/ whistle perspective. These can be found in the Resources section.
In trying to locate the sheet music for the tune, I came across some interesting sites. First of all, the Celtic Arts Foundation Winter School Music Book Vol V from 2017 has some very fine Highland pipes tunes in this PDF.
Over 7, 000 tunes can be found from the CeolSean website too, scanned from out of copyright tune books.
Donald Macleod’s tune collections can be bought in a number of places, including PipingPal.
Upcoming workshops
The next workshopwill be part of the FluteFling Aberdeen Weekend, 17th November, where Dougie Pincock, Sharon Creasey and myself will be be teaching and there will be sessions and performances too. One not to be missed!
Sharon Creasey also has her next Glasgow workshop on 10th November in Partick. By all accounts this has been going very well.
The next Edinburgh workshop will be Saturday 15th December. Dates for 2019 will be announced before soon.
FluteFling flutes and whistles in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen
Traditional flute workshop with Sharon Creasey at FluteFling Edinburgh Weekend 2018 (c) Gordon Turnbull
If you’ve signed up to the newsletter, you will probably know that the dates and tickets for workshops in Glasgow with Sharon Creasey and in Edinburgh with Gordon Turnbull are up and running.
Be sure to book in advance as spaces are limited and the September events are just a week and two weeks away respectively.
If you’re coming to the Edinburgh events, remember you can get a discount by booking all three in advance.
The 2nd FluteFling Aberdeen Weekend will now take place 16-18 November, with three tutors, including a special guest now confirmed, plus an expanded format that includes whistles. The event last year was very well attended and those on the mailing list will get the details and ticketing opportunity first. There is now a dedicated page for the event, so be sure to check back there for updates.
Whichever events you are interested in, we hope you can make it and look forward to seeing you.
The rain may have returned, but it’s still the Summer and the Edinburgh Festival is about to kick off. However, it is a timely nudge for organising Autumn events and I am pleased to say that there will be a few FluteFling things happening. Dates and tickets are still being finalised, but here’s a quick look at what is coming up.
New monthly workshops in Partick
Sharon Creasey begins FluteFling West, a monthly trad flute and whistle workshops in Partick Burgh Hall Lesser Hall on Saturday afternoons 2-4pm. Sharon is still putting together ticketing details but her dates are:
15 September
20 October
10 November
This looks to be is the first workshop of its kind in the Glasgow area and is a great opportunity for anyone in the west looking to work on their music. Sharon’s dates won’t clash with the Edinburgh ones either, so it would be possible to maximise your flute and whistle time and attend both or pick and choose. As soon tickets etc are set up, we will let you know.
Monthly FluteFling workshops in Edinburgh from September
Gordon Turnbull’s monthly Saturday afternoon workshops resume in Portobello, Edinburgh on 22 September, remaining dates tbc at this stage but they will not be the same dates as Sharon’s. These will take place once more on Saturday afternoons 1-4pm at Tribe Porty. Dates so far:
22 September
October date tbc
November date tbc
December date tbc
Tickets to be arranged very soon, once the Aberdeen weekend is finalised. Talking of which…
FluteFling Aberdeen weekend 2018
Aberdeen FluteFling weekend will return for second year, with added whistles. Details to be confirmed at this stage but hopefully early November. Again, an announcement will be made as soon as we have things in place.
Watch out for updates on these events and also more going into 2019. If you haven’t already, sign up for the newsletter to hear the announcements directly. There’s a lot to look forward to. Until then, enjoy your music and the rest of the Summer.
A danger of running an event on the third weekend of the month is that eventually you get to December and meet Christmas head-on. When that happens, it’s hard to know what to expect. So when Kenny Hadden said he would come down that weekend, I jumped at the chance to get him to also do some teaching alongside me and it became something bigger than usual.
Flutes at The Dalriada: (l-r) John Corbett, Malcolm Reavell, Sean Paul Newman, Kenny Hadden, John Crawford. (c) Gordon Turnbull
John Crawford and Malcolm Reavell were also there, also from Aberdeen, and we went for a flutey session afterwards at The Dalriada with Sean Paul Newman welcoming as usual and providing accompaniment. Later that evening Sharon Creasey came along with Cathal McConnell to play at The Captain’s Bar. All in all a bit of a mini flute festival.
Sharon Creasey and Cathal McConnell at The Captain’s Bar, Edinburgh
The workshop began with a slow tune to warm up: Caol Muile (The Sound of Mull), the air to a Gaelic song (Youtube link to a version sung at Plockton School). I have a version with some harmony parts and added another myself, so we had some fun trying them out. Grace notes and breathing came up as we added expression.
I followed this up with a reel that seems to be from Donegal and presented problems in pinning down a definitive version. We had one for the day and Kenny and I also had some variations. Scotch Mary can be found in various collections and with various titles. Irish Molly is one, Ireland Green is a title given by PJ Hayes and Martin Hayes too. Flute players John Skelton and Kieran O’Hare recorded it on whistles on their great CD Double Barrelled (link has a clip of the music).
The tune actually exists in three main versions, as two parts: A+B, B+C or three parts: A+B+C. To confuse things, the A and C parts are similar, there are different changes in other versions and key shifts too. The version I taught includes elements of these. Here’s a closely related Donegal version on Youtube played by Paddy, Seamus and Kevin Glackin. It’s the second tune in the set.
Kenny Hadden with others walking and feeling the rhythm while playing at the December FluteFling workshop.
Kenny took over after the break and kept the festive theme by teaching and sharing some tunes by Johnny Cunningham that were originally for a musical theatre performance on Peter Pan. Johnny and brother Phil studied at local Portobello High School so it was doubly apt for the location.
The first tune, Two is the Beginning of the End, not only had a strange title, but was in an enigmatic scale that served as a useful warm-up piece to get the ears tuned in. As it has actually been a good while since I found myself learning a tune by ear in a workshop, it was good to have the tables turned and be reminded of the experience.
The second tune Kenny introduced was more traditional, but recorded by Johnny Cunningham. The Celtic Society’s Quickstep (music and background can be round at the Traditional Tune Archive) is a dance tune first published in Kerr’s Merrie Melodies of the 1880s, but in existence since at least 1820. A delightful tune with some interesting jumps and straightforward runs that can be played with some bounce. It doesn’t seem to be played very much and could benefit from more exposure.
Resources for the tunes are to be found on the resources page for 2017. Two is the Beginning of the End doesn’t feature for copyright reasons, but those who attended will have something to work with. I will add The Celtic Society’s Quickstep very shortly.
Here’s Johnny’s version of The Celtic Society’s Quickstep, as recorded on Fair Warning:
Kenny has a YouTube channel with some rare archive video and TV footage, particularly of music from Scotland, that is worth exploring.
Finally, a wee plug for the Scottish Flute channel on YouTube, which has evolved out of the FluteFling workshops and sessions. Set up and run by volunteers and supporters in the Aberdeen area, there is some footage from the Aberdeen weekend in November and more can expected both from the archive and as more events occur.
Saturday afternoon flute and whistle workshops in Edinburgh are set to continue following a successful Autumn trial, with a further three dates confirmed.
In addition, I will be directly in touch with those who have expressed an interest in beginner whistle classes and a slower flute and whistle workshop to explore date options. Please note that these will be on a Saturday.
Future dates will take place on the third Saturday of the month and will be announced once the annual FluteFling Weekend dates have been finalised. The monthly workshops will be limited to 15.
