Tag Archives: port a peul

More Mouth Music: S’iomadh Rud A Chunnaic Mi

Posted on by
Reply

S’iomadh Rud A Chunnaic Mi (Many’s the Thing I Saw) is the latest Slow and Steady tune and is a piece of port a beul (mouth music) that is also a reel. The largely straightforward construction of this tune makes it suitable for getting to grips with the rhythm of the reel.

I was reminded of this tune through two routes, one through the recent Youtube video of Irish fiddler Kevin Burke and guitarist Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, who sang the port. I believe they recorded this on Portland and the Breton Gavotte that we recently covered also appeared on that album. I also found this tune in Davy Garrett’s gem of a book, An Fhideag Airgid (A Whistle Tutor for Highland Music) as I was looking at a version of A’ Cur nan Gobhar às a’ Chreig, itself a version of the Shetland reel Oot Be Est da Vong, that the Improvers class covered last week.

There’s a discussion of the tune over on The Session, where Nigel Gatherer describes the tune as a version of Cenneag Mhor, which he has music up for on his highly recommended web site. You can also find a translation of the lyrics in that discussion.

The class resources for this tune are in place. The Burke/ Ó Domhnaill version is below. I mistakenly used this to illustrate the Gavotte recently, but I have now corrected that. A version of it can also be found on The Tannahill Weaver’s Cullen Bay recording.

Music from the Western Isles and beyond

Posted on by

At last week’s class we discussed some aspects of Gaelic Mouth Music, psalm singing and Cape Breton fiddling in relation to some of the tunes we have been learning. This quick follow-up post is to share some related links.

Gaelic psalm singing

  • For some background on this unique singing style, there is an introduction at the Education Scotland website:

    Each line of the psalm is ‘put out’ by the precentor or leader. The congregation then joins in gradually and slowly sings those words, but with varying degrees of ornamentation and at varying speeds. Although each singer is singing the same tune, the effect is of a continuous sound with different chordal effects being created. This is known as heterophony.

    Although the music sounds very complicated, the roots of the melodies being sung lie in straightforward Scottish metrical psalm tunes.

  • Gaelic psalms at Back Free Church, Isle Of Lewis- 20/21/oct/2003:
  • The clip is from the church in this recording, Salm vol 2 which the text in the link describes as:

    the congregation singing unrehearsed, unaccompanied Psalms with various precentors.

    This is traditional Gaelic psalm singing in the style of free heterophony – precentor-led singing with the congregation following through. Various precentors lead a large congregation in the most popular psalms.

  • The many field recordings at Tobar an Dualchais/ Kist o Riches website includes this anonymous recording of Salm 133.

Mouth Music

  • We have looked at music associated with Mouth Music a little before. Here’s an example in strathspey time, similar to the Bidh Eoin and the Donegal Highlands we are looking at. Air Do Shlàinte Mhàiri an Dotair is sung by Annie Arnott and was recorded by the great archivist Hamish Henderson.

Cape Breton fiddle

    • We talked about the relationship between the fiddle styles of Cape Breton, the west of Scotland and the type of swing we are trying to put into our playing as flute players. I mentioned Winston “Scotty” Fitzgerald as someone to look out for and there are some related clips on Youtube, but it can also be seen in the opening strathspey by left-handed fiddler  Kimberly Fraser  in this set, accompanied by Mark Simos on guitar.

Highlands

  • Here’s a clip of Duncan Chisolm to compare, playing a strathspey followed by Scottish and Irish reels:

Donegal

  • And here are some links to Donegal. First some fine fiddling from Glencolmcille. The tunes are Casey’s Pig (The Duke of Gordon’s Birthday) and Miss McLeod of Raasay:
  • Here’s a Highland being danced:

Finally

  • Here’s a clip of flute player Calum Stewart astonishing performance of James Scott Skinner’s astonishing variations on Tullochgorum.

Photo from the Western Isles (CC) Kristian Dela Cour.

Bidh Eoin: mouth music on flute and whistle

Posted on by

Boat in Fisherrow HarbourThe Improvers class resumed this week with a lively piece of music from the Western Isles via Northern Ireland.

Bidh Eoin (Eoin’s Boat) is a piece of port a beul (mouth music) that I first came across on one of a series of landmark recordings of Scottish Music that were produced by The School of Scottish Studies, originally on vinyl. Consisting of field recordings, they showcase a variety of different types of traditional music to be found in Scotland. Volume 2 is Music from the Western Isles and features waukling songs, psalms and mouth music. Bidh Eoin appears there as Seallaibh Curaigh Eoghainn (Look at Ewen’s Coracle) as sung by Mrs Annie Arnott. Puirt à beul (plural) are songs for dancing to, often when no instruments are available. The emphasis is more on the rhythm and less on the meaning of the words. There are some recordings of people singing Bidh Eoin on YouTube.

This was recorded by Belfast flute player Desi Wilkinson on The Three Piece Flute and is part of a set that includes a Highland — a type of tune found in the north of Ireland that is directly related to the Scottish strathspey — which we will look at next time. Desi Wilkinson was the first person I heard play Scottish tunes on the flute and his work with the band Cran also explores the two traditions.

Update: Here’s a video of Desi Wilkinson with fiddler Gerry O’Connor and Brendan Hearty on guitar playing Bidh Eoin as part of the Steeple Sessions concerts. The following tune is Casey’s Pig, a version of The Duke of Gordon’s Birthday, written by William Marshall. Thanks to Stirling-based flute player Ian Stevens for the link.

The written and recorded resources for this tune can be found on the Resources page for the class

Photo of a boat in Fisherrow harbour, East Lothian (c) Gordon Turnbull.