•

Sceala 0 ChumeDn Cheel Newsletter of the Folk Music

The ~ireann Society of I r eland

•• y Bealtaine 1978

CONTEtJTSI Recent meetin~B: 2

" Songs of Yusers!" 2 "Amhr~ln Neilll Ni Dhomhna1l1" 3 Short contributi ons - "The priest 5 and the piper" - ,"Teach1ng Irish I

music " - " Ceol mo r ne plbe Albanal." - "Two b a llads"

Pipers ' weekend a Religious songs i n Irish 9 "Hair of horse to bowel of cat": 10

record r eviews Irish music in America !/i 11ie Clancy Summer School

12 12

ANNUAL

Tb,

GEnE RAL MEETING

of the ~ociety will be hel:!. at 6 p . m. on Saturday 10 June 1978 i n the United Arts Club ,

3 Uppe r Fitzwill1am St ree t , Dublin 2 .

Elections of Chairman, Hon . Sec retary, Hon . Treasurer , and six committee members will t ake place at the meeting . Nomi nations should reach the Hon. Secretary, llicholas Car o1an . 157 Clare­mont Cou r t, G1asnevin , Dublin 11, by Saturday 3 June 1973 . On ly paid-up members maY propose or second nominations or be proposed .

The meetin g wil l be followed, at ", Same venue , by an

0 f c H E C H E 0 I L with ~ernbers of the Socie t y an d their_ friends .

2 R e cent m e e tings

SO N G 5 o F

Musk erry - Muscra! ui FhIai nn - i e an i s ol a ted l a rgely Cael t a cbt region of Wes t Cork c ompr i s in g two ba r onies adjacent t o the Kerry border . Pr otec t­ed by i t s mountai ns from c ~l tural buffetings , i t has prese r v ed and de veloped a di stinctive song repertory and singing style . One of the classic collections of Irish folk song was made there in the locality of Bal lyvourney about sixty ~ears ago bf the English scholar A. U. Free~an . Seamus Msc MsthUna, Timire eaoil of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri ~ireann and ""ell known as a fine singer and musician, haS l ived in Bally­vourney for five years and at the 28 January meeting of the society he presented and commented on a selec­tion of some twenty songs recorded there.

Seamus found that about half of the 84 songs pub­lished by Freeman are still sung locally, and that many of the songs of Maire Bhu{ N1 Laoi re from the Ballingeary district of Muskerry have been added to the repert ory since Freeman's time . Most of the songs heard nowadays are light humorous loca l ones , some macaronic , soma in English, although the big songs such as Bean dubh an ghleanna , Cath Cheim an Fhia and Rois!n dubh sre also sung , and , interest­ingly , each to more than one tune, in the area . Songs from other Gaeltacbts and English-speaking districts hsve been localised here a nd often given distinctive tunes, ane. dialogue songs and songs wi th a strong chorus are also popular.

Tbe big songs , both those in Irish and English, are sung slowly, employ a very large range, and are melOdically elaborate and complex, even more so than those of Connemara. Variations, unusual embellish­ments , dramatic pauses and near-Pauses , and artful emphases are fea tures of the style which are also found in the Simpler, f aster songs. The big songs are performed ",·ith Passion and involvement , and even in the lighter ones , aung with great hea r t and spi r­it, a relish and enjoyment c~n be hear d.

C e 0 1 Ti r e,12 3

Al thougb t he eXllmples played by s ea mus ..... ere sung by t be outs t and i ng s ingers ?~draig 6 Tuama ( ?e~ta{ Tbai dh g Pheig) , ~rs ~ol ly Qui ll, Urs El izabeth Cron­i n , M {che~l end Diarrna i d 6 Suilleabh~ in , and se~ n 6 Llath~in, n ot only good. singers c ontribute t o an evening' s s ine ing i n Bal l yvourney. Towa r ds t he end of t he ni €h t i n a l ocal public house, all t he men rill s t and up a nd sing t oget her t en or t'i,slve !lieces popula r in the neighbourhood . The composing of s ongs i s a l so mor e widespr ead here than i s us ua l in t he Caeltacht. The s nnual dii mhs coi l or s chool of poetry has been meeting s in ce t he 1920s end prod uces songs in bot h languages . Loca l char a cters and i nci­dents a re com~emora t ed or sa t i r ised and new vers es , are added t o exist i ng songs . Ssamus wsS given a memor able i llus tration of thi s lively tradition wh en c ommentin~ t h~ t he hadn ' t hea r d a pa r t i cul a r s ong before : ' !lar d f or you , si r , I only wrot e it t hi s mornin g . '

CEOLTA liE IL L t

Nt DHOM H NA rLL

Amhr ein a bhl id ir l rurbr... l! d s 1 ecrlli nniu ar ,11) 25 Feabh r e.. ac:: h!l. amhr~in iad :!on uai r s eo a f UQ.rt.li<l.s ~ dhui ne 6.r:lh~ i n ,,-gus a bhaineann le i s an gceenn ei l e den tir Po r ' f ad . I 1974, nuair a b hl ~ { c he ;l 6 Domn­n aill ng obai r ma r bha i l itheoir do Rann ~l an Cheotl Tuai tbe i gC ol~ i ste ne hOllscoil e l Ba il e ;the Cl ia th, f uair s~ 158 amhr~n t r:::.idi s iimto. ona a in tln , !ieil1 { Ni Dhomhnaill , at; ina c ~na ! i Rann na Fe irs t e, cesn­t ar iargUlta cois ferraiee i ROSa Thfr Chona i ll . B ' ~ Catha 1 Go~n 3 chuir samplaf ~n mbaili uch~n seo i l~­t heir nn Chuw.a inn eg~r; a ri nne ied e phle go slaC'h't­mhar eolgaiseach . Ta eaol cleamhneis i dir Catha l agus lieil1! 9{ Dhomhnaill.

~ , , , Ar dtus , labhair C::!thal a r an amhr ane.l. fein . Ru­

gadh , { i dtosach , an chet d sso , \.l air go r aibh go leo r emhr an agu3 amh ranai t he maithe i Rann ne Fei r ste .

4 Re cen t meetin gs

a mathair rein ins oceasc, agus thog si amhr~ln an cheantair go tiubh lei ins hO i ge . Ni or chuir an focal s ertors is teach uirthi . Fus ir si ouats 01-reachtais do phoirt l n{ betl i dtus ns dtriochaidi . I 1937 d ' aistrigh si lei s an gclann eo dt! Gael­t a cht Chontae ns !,I { sch d ' fhill si ar Rann ns Feir­a te i 1956 agus ti s i ann 0 shin . Timpea ll ar 1950 cbaill si r adharc ns s Ul a bh{ ri amh go bole aici . Bean chi~in cbu tha ileacb { nsch r aibh tuairisc uir­tbi ma r smhran a i go dt! le ga irid agus a chsi th ~ 1~ arns i ri tb a saoH leis ns s eandaoine s gus l e1 fein. Ta cuimhne rnha ith aie i sgus t oise go ndear­n sdh an bailiuchan taobb latigh de chuig mb{, is d~ ehs go bbfuil go leor eile aiei nar tugadb chun s o­lais go fOi ll.

Ce nsch i onann gach leegan ata ~ici i s a t ~ sg dso ine eile ins clann rein, fiu, ta cuid mhor amh­ran sa chnuasach seo sta coitiant a i nGaeltscht Thfr Chonaill agus i nGaeltachtaf eile. Ta smhrain Dha­lach R~nn na Feirs te ann, amh~ain a bhaineenn leis ~~ eOi 3 s eo , ague ca~ine agus suantra i a chum Neill! rein. I s sisteach naoh bhfuil non amhren diaga s9 bhailiuch~ mar is bean chraifeech !, sch duirt s~ nar chuala s i sch Amhran nP. dTr! Mhuire ag na sean­daoine . I s ai s t i f os an lion mar amhr~n Bearl a (41) ata aici a ch t ~ miniu ar seo . I s ag a mathair , I{,a§'gi e Chonaill , s fua ir s i ied . Nuair a bh{ an mhathair os, d'iarradh si a r bhuachaill i a bh{odh Sa toir uirthi ileuS a bh{ odh a& duI a r ai IT.s ir go dt { en Lagan aw.hran a thabhairt thar nais d1 mar fh ' · f I

e~rln . Is ma r s in a fua ir s~ The hea thery hills of Yarrow agus Ba rber a Al I en aguS emhrain ei l e Al­banacha .

Sescht sampla de chanta ireacht Neil l ! a thug Catha l dUi nn , i ad cant a go binn agus go f{ or, i ad gan a bheith rO-mhall : srnhr~ ogfhir ata pos ta ar she~nbhe~n ; sampla den chi ne?l ceoi l a bh{ odh ar slul , r tho~rairnh roimh ai msir an chaoin t e , d'reir Neilll ; dha chaoin e j amhran gra i mBea r l s ;

C e 0 1 T ! r e 1 2

; ( ., , Roisl.n dubh; agus lea&an de bhailead i di rnaisiun-. , ' ( ta, A bheen ud thallI a ShlOgO c . i gc . Child. ui mh . 10) . Tugann ?lei lli udar amhrain nua ir at~ a leitheid e.nn .

C~thal Goan presented on 25 February the sonCs of ::cill ! U! Dtor:lhnaill of R<'.ne.f9st , Done~l. The collection of her sonCE ma~e

in 197.1 by her n ephew l! icheal 6 Dombnai 11 c ompri ses 158 items, 41 in En g lish. !relly's main mus ical influe:'!ce vias her mother, "I:ho lea rned her English sones from boys retu!"!"I­ing from seas onal work in East Donegal . Her sones in Irish belong to the Uls ter repe r­tory , end also 1n SOr:1e Cases to a core ['9."1-

p.ral Ir ish repert ory . ·",ith the excepti on of relig iouF> songs they repre sent as va ried a range of types as mi rrh t be expected .

S!fO~T CON'i'~I5UTIONS

The tradi tion ... l evening of short cont!'i bl!t.io?':o by members of the Soci ety was held on 1 Apri l an:! "'Ias as varie d a~ u~ua l. T!:e p!'oceedings were o:;>en ed by Bre:>..nd~n !}reat::mach w~o ."1poke on t~l e hi:::toric:l.l Olttitude:-: of the C3.tholic C:"urch towar ds I r :i.:.'"h traditional dancinc . P~~li~rnent ne mBan , a homile­tic ;·:ork y:ritten by c, priest c . 1700, give~ early expre!':sion to the vie,: t h:lt de-ncinc w:!.s a.."1 activity inspirea. by the devil an:! fe.cilitat erl by his ot~ent J

t!1p. ni Der , This cOndewIlo.tory <.>.ttitt:de ','·as in cle:!.r conflict with the Irish love fa:, dancing fre quently remarked on by foreign t='avellers . Pasto:-~ls :-..n~

!::el'.":':."'n~ continued the den'Jnciation thro'.lct t!:e ei;:hteen th ;..11:< r:;)'1eteenth ce n turies and t~.ere Ilre many report s of Ile.rish priests ~ispersino cross­road dances and deprivine fflusicinns of tr.eir live­li hooris . C".pt . Francis ·,) ' 11 ei11 consideri!d '\"/nnton exercise of eu tbority to be at the root of this be­haviou:- . So:r.e priests s a~'1 dancin d' as an evil in

5

6 Recent meetings

itself "hile otiers concent:;:ataci on f, up pressing abuses. Condemnation seeDS tc: ';eve ')een exclusive­ly reserved for outdoor d;!.nci llC and t~us uffected only the poorer classes . Pat."erns \',S '8 held to be especially dan gerous . Uot al ./. pl'ie::!'tl::l were against dancing, of cou::."se . O' lleill himselt had clerical friends who were enth'..lsiastio m U& l cillnS. and have given their name~ to dance tunes . By t he end at the nineteenth century, lI:synooth synods , worried about i mported dances, were lal:lentlllG the demise of the native variety, but the amount of dancing that went on at all periods shows that clerical op­position was l argely ineffectual, at. least until Church and state combined to pass the Dance Hall Ac t of 1935 .

Teaching I r ish m u s i c

The next contribution waS made by Sr Cora Gaffney who has many yeara experience of teaching Irish mu­sic in primary and post-»rim&ry schools. Sr Gaff­ney , herself a Dubliner, described the difficul­ties of introducing the musica l heritage to city children without a tradit ional musical background , and outlined her methods of doing so , especially at primary level . Confines of time (one hour a week) and large classes (up to 5l) are not the least 'of the problems . But prim~ry children are amenable to direction towards traditional music, and optional groups or after-~chool music clubs appeal to teenagers. I n the Past , f ormal class teaching - involving singing only and using such useful resources as the works of Wa1 3h and Harde­beck - waS the rule. But now the new cuI'riculum allow3 group work in experiment in£, with sounds , through singing and the use of s imple instruments. Percus~ion i nstruments are popular and t he tin whist l e, a suitable classroom instrument and a useflll point of entry to traditional music , is wide ly used . Irish songs can now be integrated with language , history, envi ronmentsl and reliS­tOU!;; st'Jdies . Jri~~ trRcH. tim1a l mupi c provides

=

C e 0 1 T ! r e • 1 2 7

good material for general "mus ic teaching, for exam­ple in interval or rhythm training . Sr Gaffney spftg several examples of songs she uses for t hese various purposes and demons trated chi me bars and tin whistle. She a l so played taped performances by some of her pupils.

C e 0 1 ,

m 0 r n a p 1 b e Al bana{

Is ar an bpiobai r eachd , ce01 clasaiceach ns Plbe A1-banal, a labhair Dubhghlas Sealy . R{omhaigh s e , " , stair an cheoi1 seo agus 1ei r igh se duinn a s truc tur agus na nota! maiaithe a bhaineann leis, trl thei-

, ' . I feadadh ague tr1na sheinm fS1n er fheadan n a P1be . . ,. Cre1deann Dubh~hlas go mb1 0dh ce01 cosuil leis an b pi obaireachd a sheinm ar an fCl~irseach, ua1r, agus r , , go n-aistr10dh e go dt1 an ph b nuair a chuaigb ear l a l on na cl~ir8eoireachta i leig in Albain c. 1500.

" , l ' . Rinne P10bain aonair a~s colaist P10baireachta forbairt ai r 0 shin. Teama breachnaithe at~ sa nhiobaireachd go bunusach. An t-urlar a tugtar ar ~n teama , agus ti ainm faoi leith ar sacb breacnnu chomh mai th. Ceol gan bhearna at~ ann agus t~ ri­t him saor ag gabh~il leis. Leathadh an ceol trl saghas tonic solfa a r a dtugtar cantaireachd, ina bhfuil guta in aghaidh gach nota agus consan in aghaidh gac~ gearrtha . T~ ~~ chUid, i S ~o de~.phio­baireachd cUigtonach. Is fe1dir tr1 Scala CU1g­tonach a sheinm ar an bhfead~n Albanach ach is ait l inn anois iad mar t~ idircheimeanna i ontu at~ nlos

" , ' h 1 cuinge na ton agus n108 lei thne na leatht on an ae inniu.

Two b al l ads

Finally, Tom V.unnelly presented two ballads which he collected recently. The Nobleman's wedding came from two sources: the late Bill Donegan of Shille­l agh, co . Wickl ow, and Molly easey Kelly of Bally­sloe, co . Tipperary, who called her version The flow­er of the field. Bill Donegan's is a good full vet­sion from a gen"erally unproductive county. 1l0l1y Kelly's gives an explanation for the girl's turning

8 Recent m e e tin g B

from her former lover to the nobleman which is evi­dently unique in this country:

There was once a young couple that b')th became lov-ers,

He being a farmer ' s son and ShA a l~dy fair, But by constant persuasion she obe~'ecl her parents To forsake her former lover and m~~rJ a noble peer .

The second ballad was one tbl1t Ton:; r",c orded more to please Martin Howley of Feners, co. Gla!'s , who kept talkine of a great 60ng be ha~ called ' Th e Old Arm­chair '. This turned out unexpectedly t~ be the only version BO far found in Ire land of Fai~ Margaret and s weet Wil1iam:

Knight 'fiill1 sm waS s itting in his old armchair, Lady Ma r garet waS citting on his knee • ..

Nicholas Carolan

PIPERS ' WEEKEND, 5 - 7 M A Y

An Tionol Piobaireacht', the annual assembly of Ne P{obair{ Uillee.nn , ..... as held at the Neptune Hotel , Eettysto ..... n , where the Society ..... as founded in 1968 . In hi s address at the Annual Gener al Meeting the Chai rman , Breand~n Breathnach , emphasisec that while a fivefold increase in membership, the Sale of over 2000 copies of the Dance music of Vlilly Clancy, the number of exhibitions , talks ena workshops organised , were i mpressive , the achievement of 1f . P. (1. in the ten years Past lay really in the number of young peo­ple playing the Pipes and the rem6rkablY high stan­dards of piping achieved by many of them .

Setn of pipes of excellent worbr.anship .... 'hich were made by members durin g the Past ye ur were on display a t the e~hibition which is now a pc~anent Part of the Tionol . Talks on the for~ative influences on 'Nilly Clancy ' s Piping, by Pat Mitchell , and on some scientific principles bearing on pipe-making, by Bri­an Lawson , and a marathon perforcance of over four

C e 0 I T { re, 1 2 9

hours playing by Seamas Bnn i s were highlights of the weekend .

The reed-mak ing classes conducted by Dan 0 ' Dowd are an event of the Tionoil in them s elves , engrossing as they do the whole attention of twenty member s ant more throughou t the weekend. The debt members owe to Dan for the knowledge so freely imparted - not to men tion the c ane , copper and other material s - was feli­ci tousl y acknowl edged , i n the formal concl usion of the even t s , by the presentation t o hi m of a s i lver plaque mounted on Connemara marbl e . Th e fr ont c a rr­i e s a delightful etching of Dan pl aying the Pipes , t he back a legend in Irish and English r e cordi ng the oc casion of the presen t ation .

Manual o f pipe - mak i ng

Blackstaff Press has announced the publication date - 21 June - for The Irish bagpipes : their c onstruc­

tion a nd main tenance by \'lilbert Garvin . This first­ever manual provides clear and detailed in ~tructi&~ 3

with easy-t~follow diag r ams for making a concert­pitch set of pipes . Costing a r ound £.2 . 95 (pb . ) , its contents a re enlivened by amusing cartoons . "

, Breandan Breatr~ach

R ELl G IOU s SON G S I N I R ISH

llary McCabe (26 May St Durham) wri tes i n connection wi th her research to enqu:'re about t h e currency of reli gious ballads in Ireland (in both languages) .

The third n\.Unber of Iri sh folk music studies, soar: to a ppe ar , will contain a selection of religious songs in I r i sh f r om the ornl tradi tion of GalwaY (collected by Aingeal de Burca, Tomas de Bhaldraithe and Ciar~n Mnc M~thUna) and Donegal (call . Hugh

~, Shields) . A version of the narrative a"! the bending­tree miracle (cf. Child no 54 The cherry=tree ce.rol) will be included. This will be the first collection of religioUS songs in Irish to appear with their mUfl ic.

1 0

H A I R CAT

s cot s ID U 8 1 c rev i e W B

o F H 0 R S E T 0 BO WEL OF

FIDDLING FR O Il T OP I C

1 THE MUSIC OF SCCYl'T SKINNER: Traditional Scots fiddline on the original recordings of J. Scot t Skinn­er and in new performances by Bill Hardie . Topic 12TS268 mono and stereo, London 1916 . 2 JAMBS F. DICXIE ' S DELIGHTS: Scottish fiddling in the style of Scott Skinner. Topic 12T279 mono, Lon­don 1916. 3 THE CAMERaN MEN: Classic Scots fiddle recordings ' from the thirties . Topic 12T321 mono, London 1971 . 4 ANGUS GRANT. HIGHLAND FIDDLE. Topic 12TS347 stereo, London 197 8 .

~,rhile it is clea r that illuminati on of many Iri sh cul­tural mysteries i s t o be foun d in Scotland , the mus ic­al connections have been lit t le ex plored , even though t he study of s uch subjects as the fiddl e music of Don­ega l and of the North in general mu~t be referred to the Scottish t radition. For comParative purposes a­lone then thi'Scottish records a re of interest ~o Ir­i sh li s teners. Why the grea t er number of dance music forms i n Scotl~nd , the gr eater variety ~f rhythms , the gTeater Use of the r esources of the instrument , the barer styles , the weaker drive?

The name of J . Scott Skinner (18~3-l927), compose r a nd virtuoso concert fiddler, eomina tes . Disc 1 has a side of hi~ playing and a side of pieces composed or popularised by hi~; Dickie was an admirer and imi­tator of his ; the Cameron ~ien included many Skinner tunes in their repertory ; and Angus Grant counts Skinner as one of his influences . One is reminded of of Michael Coleman . His music i s sprightly , wit h fast single bowing, frequent runs, and dramatic drops in pitch. Virtuosity is most evident in his remarkable bagpipe i mitations in the pipe strathspey Uaggie C&m­eron . The juxtaposition of reels , song airs, schott­isches ete i n single sets seems disturbinG t o an Irish e1'1 r. Rill Ij nreie, reC!lrderl. as the finest living ex-

-C e a 1 1 2 0 . I ~ _ 1 1

panent of the Skinner style , gives a plausible idea of how the mas ter would sound in a modern recording studio.

J am es F. Dickie , now in his nineties, was never very widely known outside his Aberdeenshire village. His attractive style is wa rmer and more rela:.:ed than Skinner ' s and gentle even in the faster rhythms _ Po retiring personality is heard at its best in his me­ditative air playin g_ A sort of Scottish Tommy Potts but more me,llow.

The Cameron Men, a 1930j fiddle trio and pianist from the 'east of Scotland with-a background in the bothies, play strict tempo, fairly driving der.ce mt.. ..... Sic, perfected in a busy ro~nd of engagements. They kee? a nice balance between unison and individual playing, showing that music played for dancing need not be flavourless . JoP~ Cameron, a regular, strong player, whose band later rivalled that of Jimmy Shand in popularity, plays solo on some tracks .

Angus Grent is a wes t of Scotland player of the present day with a nice singing tone, not unlike that of Martin Byrnes. The wide variety of h i s in­fluences, including Frank 0' !-ii(;gins and Coleman, re­sult in a broad ran ire of tunes from many backgrounds which he plays, sometimes too sweetly, on a good in­strument .

5 EMlilETT -il. LUNDY . FIDDLS TUNES raotf. GRAYSON COUNTY, VIRGI NIA . Topic/Strine STR802 mono, London 1977 -With -illustrated pamphlet .

This record consists of Library of Congress record­ings made in 1941 of a 77-year-old n~n- professianal fiddler of EnGlish stock, and is an excellent example of fiery , swinging old-time American fiddle style_ The tunes are mostly r are . " A pity to have to listen to his in t errogat ion by collectors on every playing.

- -Skinner's playing on disc 1 is from 18s of 50-10

years ago; disc 2. is from tapes of _the early 1950s , 3 from 18s of the 19305, 5 from the 19.tH t aPings.

1 2 I r i 8 h m u s 1 c 1 n Am e ric a

The so~d QU31i t y on a l l is as good P.S fflieht be ex­pected. 1- 1l have piano accoll!J'cl.nlnler. t s, 5 has banjo a nd gui ter. The 31eeve n otas are all of high s t a n­dar d .

Nich o~ as C~ rolan

------I R ISH liI U S IC I 11

Bill Wi11iams , 'Nho teaches America:": ,; ultural history (and occasionally Irish history) at ]>. .'1zona State University , Tempe , i s organizing a s\,.b- comrnittee on traditional Iri ah music in America fo r the American Commi ttee on Irish Studies . The 8~b-ccmmi ttee is in­terested in ways to preserve and r ec or,struct the hie­tory of Irish traditional music i n Aa·erica . It is contemplating the possibility of establ i shing an ar­chive whic h would consist of recordings , newspaper clippings , or al histories and reminiscences of tradi­tional music i ans . It would also like to put toge ther n b ook of essays on the subject. Anyone in Ireland who is interested in contributin~ ideas or in forma­tion which might fUrther this project should contact:

Dr W. H. A. 1iilliams , History Depart:llent , Ari zona state Uni versity, T!2o':?E , Arizona 8528l.

Dr Viilliarr.s has just completed ",ork on a l OO-page monograph on the folklore of childbirth in Britain end Irela nd .

vaLLl E CLl\!ICY StJ1w.BR SC:iOOL

The annual school in traditional music wil l take place in !.iilto .... '%l ioIalbaY on 1-8 July . Partici pants this y ear will have to a r range their ov:n accom::'lodation j a n appro ved list c an be had from f,luiri s 6 Roch~in

Chur ch Stree t Jl. ILT07.1'l" I'ALBAY co . Clare.

The enrol ment fee of [5 should be sent t o the sa~e addr ess .