Sî Beag Sî Mor

Kendra · Post by **Kendra** » Sun Apr 28, 2002 10:51 pm

This song keeps coming up on this board and the only version I can find is a totally uninspiring, very simplified, 17-bar-long thing in a Mel Bay whistle tunebook. It must be an extremely nice song to be mentioned so often. I've checked ABC Finder and wherever else sheet music might be, with no luck.

Can any of you supply a link? Maybe it has another title?

Thanks.

brianormond · Post by **brianormond** » Mon Apr 29, 2002 12:19 am

Kendra-Links for this great old O'Carolan tune:Rounder CD # 3041 and 11541 of
Eric Schoenberg in a guitar arrangement.
(Sadly, No sound samples on the Rounder site listing Si Beag..)
Web Links with sound are:
http://www.leoagosselin.com//mp3/sibeag.mp3
( played on the Chapman Stick)
-also check the tinwhistler.com site
for MIDI, MP3 and sheet music for this.
(a whistle arrangement)

- Good Luck with it! This is a heavenly tune.-Brian Ormond

_________________
Whistlito ergo ...

[ This Message was edited by: brianormond on 2002-05-05 13:04 ]

[ This Message was edited by: brianormond on 2002-05-05 14:49 ]

[ This Message was edited by: brianormond on 2002-05-05 14:51 ]

[ This Message was edited by: brianormond on 2002-05-05 14:54 ]

brianormond · Post by **brianormond** » Mon Apr 29, 2002 12:28 am

Kendra-I guess my previous answer didn't actually answer your query, but hope the links were productive. I don't know that Si Beag Si Mor goes by any other names, but don't know that it doesn't either. As with many Gaelic phoneticisms, the spelling in English will
vary.

Kendra · Post by **Kendra** » Mon Apr 29, 2002 12:44 am

Brianormond - Your post answered my question fine, but the first link doesn't work. I was able to use the second link, tho, and it has sheet music. It's a truly lovely song and exactly what I like to play best. Thanks.

mike.r · Post by **mike.r** » Mon Apr 29, 2002 1:12 am

I never tire of this tune as it offers endless variation possibilities.A melody this beautiful begs to be played again and again and again and..........

peace, Mike

brianormond · Post by **brianormond** » Mon Apr 29, 2002 1:23 am

Kendra-Try the Gosselin link (corrected now) as here:
http://leoagosselin.com/mp3/sibeag.mp3

-This is actually played on the Chapman stick.

-Brian

SteveK · Post by **SteveK** » Mon Apr 29, 2002 3:10 am

Here's an unusual version played on 5-string banjo clawhammer style. Look in the first column toward the bottom.

http://chordacopia.com/music.htm

Steve

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Mon Apr 29, 2002 6:49 am

On 2002-04-29 03:12, mike.r wrote:
I never tire of this tune as it offers endless variation possibilities.A melody this beautiful begs to be played again and again and again and.......... peace, Mike

And not so long ago O'Carolan tunes were being derided for the lack of variation possibilities.

and so the world keeps turning...

Blayne Chastain · Post by **Blayne Chastain** » Mon Apr 29, 2002 9:25 am

FWIW L.E.'s Tune Book has it... A good place to start at least... He plays it as well on the accompanying CD....

fiddling_tenor · Post by **fiddling_tenor** » Mon Apr 29, 2002 9:54 am

It's also featured on the Blue Star Radio website-at quite a decent pace too. It works slow or moderate.

Here's the link for Blue Star Radio:
<A Href="http://homepage.tinet.ie/~mandeflutes/B ... dex.htm</A>

_________________
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aka fiddling_tenor
fiddlingtenor@usa.com
"This is petrified truth." (Mark Twain)

[ This Message was edited by: fiddling_tenor on 2002-04-29 11:55 ]

Jason Burke · Post by **Jason Burke** » Mon Apr 29, 2002 10:25 am

Greetings Kendra,

Homespun tapes has a great book from Cathal McConnell which has "Si Beag, Si Mor" on it (It's become one of my favorites to play, along with "The South Wind"). The book comes with a CD for $17.95, and it's been worth every penny (though if I had known I'd like it so much I would have just gotten his expanded book).

Also, does anyone know exactly what the title means. I tried to translate it, but it came out as "she/it's big, she/it's small", and I'm not sure this is correct. Anyone know?

Jason

ndjr · Post by **ndjr** » Mon Apr 29, 2002 10:31 am

On 2002-04-29 12:25, Jason Burke wrote:

Also, does anyone know exactly what the title means. I tried to translate it, but it came out as "she/it's big, she/it's small", and I'm not sure this is correct. Anyone know?

The title is actually the names of two hills in Ireland. Leslie Nelson has a nice history of the tune here:

http://www.contemplator.com/carolan/sheebeg.html#top

If you don't already know about her site, it's well worth visiting.

Isilwen · Post by **Isilwen** » Mon Apr 29, 2002 10:41 am

Mr. Mahan has a wonderful version (with ornamentation, I believe) on his site

http://www.tinwhistler.com/music

the spelling is funny: sheebeg sheemore

But that's the most complete version I've heard.

PhilO · Post by **PhilO** » Mon Apr 29, 2002 5:37 pm

Mike - I so agree; this is a favorite of mine. It's simply one of the most beautiful melodies I've ever heard. Allows for a great deal of emotional content while requiring some technical discipline, esp at the high end in the second half. I first learned the Cathal McConnel version. Tune appears, among many other places as well, on the "Planxty" cd. Philo

TelegramSam · Post by **TelegramSam** » Mon Apr 29, 2002 6:07 pm

I've got L.E. McCullough's "Complete Irish Tinwhistle tutor" book and it has that song along with a bunch more in it. It comes with a cd of him playing all of the songs too, if you learn by ear and not from sheet music.

*shrugs*