I’ve recently taken up the tenor recorder, which has the cardinal virtue of having the same fingering as the soprano I learned in grade school (*and swore at the time I would never touch again * :D) , but a lovely melancolic tone, compared to its shriller smaller cousin. I found a book of sheet music of Irish melodies for the recorder. I really enjoy Celtic music, but I don’t know any of the tunes in this book. Does anyone recognise any tune that you may think is particularly lovely / haunting / moving from among the following list? Don’t worry if you think it may be a bit hoaky, I still get misty eyed from a decent rendition of Danny Boy. At my present skill level, learning a completely new piece represents a bit of an investment in time and effort, which is made easier if the music also plays the heartstrings.
Know My Love
Nora
Planxty Irwin
The Sally Gardens
Anach Cuain
Oft In The Stilly Night
The Galway Shawl
The Last Rose Of Summer
Tabhair Dom Do Lamh
Beir Me’ O’
Down By The Glenside
The Spinning Wheel
I Know Where I’m Going
Love Is Teasin’
The Cliffs Of Doneen
The Star Of The County Down
Taimse Im Chodladh
The Lark In The Clear Air
The Minstrel Boy
Oro’ Se’ Do Bheatha Bhaile
Si Beag Si Mor
The Rakes Of Mallow Arr
The Coulin Arr
Brian Boru’s March
Carolan’s Draught
The Connemara Cradle Song
Cockles And Mussels
The Dawning Of The Day
The Curragh Of Kildare
The Foggy Dew
Thanks for your suggestions.
*(this is where I wish I knew a greeting, or how to say thanks, in Gaelic :o ) *
Can’t help you much with the songs, the only one I know of those is “Oro’ Se’ Do Bheatha Bhaile,” which we would listen to in my Irish language class (I do like that one though btw), but if I remember correctly “thank you” would be “go raibh maith agat.” Pronounced “go row my ag-at.”
As the French Canadian proverb says, I won’t die today, since I have learned something new.
PS. I hope you stick around. Not to many user names have made me chuckle out loud in spite of the baby sleeping next door. Eyebrows of Doom indeed! Makes me smile just thinking about it. At the risk of hijacking my own thread, what’s the story behind the name?
Thanks! My first day here and I’ve already made someone laugh. OK, the story behind this is that I really love “The Lord of the Rings” and Elrond in particular. Well, if you’ve seen Fellowship you remember the scene at the Council of Elrond where he turns around and just shoots this look at Merry & Pippin? Well, one look at his eyebrows in this scene and, voila! the Eyebrows of Doom are born! (See here for reference).
I’ve never heard of most of these, apart from the Last Rose of Summer, which is beautiful.
You may find that if the music is written for descant (soprano), you might have a difficult time getting the same range out of the tenor - it is difficult. A properly made descant need not be shrill - just avoid cheap crappy plastic ones!
A number of the songs you’ve listed are credited to Irish harpist/composer Turlough O’Carolan; he’s definitely a legendary guy and his tunes so moved me that I’ve puchased several more CDs of Celtic tunes. Planxty Irwin is O’Carolan, as is SiBeag Si Mor (which is apparently about warring groups of fairies :)) and Carolan’s Draught.
Pick up a CD or two of Celtic tunes - I’d recommend Celtic Treasure II: The Living Legacy of Turlough O’Carolan (my personal favorite). Sometimes, though, the same tune can sound -completely- different; guess that depends on the performer’s interpretation.
Enjoy playing the tunes on the recorder and hope this helps some.
My favourites from your list would be:
The Sally Gardens
The Cliffs Of Doneen
The Star Of The County Down
The Curragh Of Kildare
The Foggy Dew
If you want to widen your horizons, how about some Percy French tunes? They’re very Irish, but are Victorian era, rather than ancient tunes. They tend to have humourous lyrics, and are best when sung, but the tunes are catchy enough to be worth your while.
Some titles to look for:
The Mountains of Mourne
Phil the Fluter’s Ball
The Woods of Gortnamona (which is sad)
Or you could try something more patriotic, like the Irish national anthem (Amhrán na bhFiann, pronounced “are on na feen”) or The Fields of Athenry.
Then there are the old singalong favourites :
The Wild Rover
Arthur McBride
Whisky in the Jar
Black Velvet Band
Whisky on a Sunday
There is one particular song I’m very fond of, it’s sad, has lovely Lyrics and is quite well known. It’s about WW1 and the futility or war in general, called The Green Fields of France, which I think would be beautiful on a recorder.
Anach Cuain would be my personal hands down favourite, though I’m not convinced you could carry it off without having ever heard it. This is because it is a slow air and those are notoriously hard to capture in written notation.
In fact, all Irish music is impossible to play right without listening to it. However, if you just want to play the melodies that are in the book without worrying overly much about authenticity then I think Star of the County Down is a nice tune, if a bit over familiar in the world of Irish traditional music. Since you don’t know it that shouldn’t bother you.
Over all though my advice would be:
play (or get someone to play) quickly through the lot of them and play a tune or song you like rather than one *we * like.
If you want to take it even the slightest bit seriously you really need to hear the music, so get yourself a CD and visit concerts and/or pub sessions (as audience to start of with- playing in them needs a fair amount of practice).
It would seem your local Irish session is here. You might want to check,as I’ve got if off a message board so the info might be out of date, though it was posted relatively recently.
Thank you, Angua, I will pay attention to your suggestion.
Of course you’re right about the descant. It also helps to avoid having an 11 year old boy blow into it like he was trying to inflate an inflatable mattress, or pretending to be in the middle of a hot jazz saxophone solo. My ears still ring at the memory of listening to myself 25 years ago… The tenor actually has the same “range” as the soprano, except a couple of octaves down. It’s played right off the treble clef, same as the soprano, but with, imho, a much more mellow & rich tone.
Trupa, I don’t really have anything to add to the excellent suggestions above, but being as you’re in Calgary (as am I), and I used to play a lot of this kind of thing on my recorder and flute, I may have some sheet music and some CDs that I’d be willing to loan you.
There is also some great live Maritime/Irish music in Calgary. One place in particular is a favourite of mine, though the music can have a much wider range than you might think. (Ever hear Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” done Celtic-style?) Anyway, if you like, I might be able to point you in the direction of a place or two.
Thanks Irishgirl, and a trans-atlantic tip’o the hat to you.
I will look for the sheet music for the Green Fields of France. Paradoxically, although I am delighted with life at the moment, and lucky enough to appreciate this happiness while it’s here, there’s something about the the sound of the tenor recorder that makes me really want to play slow, melancolic tear-jerker tunes on it. This may seem like a long shot right now, but if I manage to find a copy of it, and feel my skills are up to doing it justice, I will send you a recording of it.
I’ve managed to find a copy of “Black is the colour of my true love’s hair”, which was appropriate, in this case, for Mrs. Trupa. Learning it and dedicating it to her won me much romantic brownie points, especially as the recorder was her aniversary gift to me this year.
Thanks for your suggestions and advice, PookahMacPhellimey,
I would not presume to claim any authentic interpretations. Truth be told, carrying off any tune to point where they are pleasant for any listener at the moment still represents a challenge for my skills. But playing music that I find beautifull and moving is a wonderful motivator to practice, and a challenge to learn something new is always a good thing in life… I will certainly bear your advice in mind.
Anach Cuain & Star of the County Down go on the “to learn” list…
Wow, Spoons, I’m quite touched. That’s awfull kind of you. Especially if you have sheet-music - CD combinations, which would be very useful for my novice ear, as **PookahMacPhellimey ** and **tarragon918 ** have suggested. I will PM/email you to work out the logistics.
I must admit that our freedom to go listen to live music has been somewhat curtailed since the arrival of our two-year old, but that only makes these occasions more valued. I would appreciate your suggestions.
Spoons, the board won’t let me send you an email. You can contact me at 1trupa@gmail.com
if you wish.
PS. I can send you a gmail invite, if you would like one.
I’m no kind of musician, so I tend to like songs based mostly on the lyrics that go with them. Some of the songs on your list aren’t particularly happy or sad until you’ve heard them sung.
Unfortunately, I think it would be very challenging to sing while accompanying oneself on the recorder.
The three I’ve seen mentioned here that make me feel sort of sad but patriotic (though patriotic to my ancestor’s country rather than my own) are The Fields of Athenry, The Green Fields of France (also known as Willy McBride * or * No Man’s Land), and The Minstral Boy.Follow Me Up to Carlow is pretty upbeat, but it’s a little sad when you know that it was a sort of recruiting song for a rebellion–but written a century or so after that rebellion had failed. It’s sort of the modern Irish Chanson de Roland, a celebration of a glorious failure.
OK, the story behind this is that I really love “The Lord of the Rings” and Elrond in particular. Well, if you’ve seen Fellowship you remember the scene at the Council of Elrond where he turns around and just shoots this look at Merry & Pippin? Well, one look at his eyebrows in this scene and, voila! the Eyebrows of Doom are born! 