Melancholy Airs

[sackbut]

Piper's Prayer

[kkrell]

A 2nd for Port na bPúcaí

Sé Bhfáth Mo Bhfuartha (‘Tis My Bitter Sorrow) or 'Sé Fáth Mo Bhuartha. There's a version by Vincent Griffin (fiddle).

Cailín na Gruaige Doinne

Phoenix Island

Caoineadh Uí Dhomhnaill

[Mikethebook]

Wow! Many thanks. There's a few there for me to check out!!

[pancelticpiper]

Hard to be more melancholy than Lament for the Children.

About which it has been written

"It's a hard tune. Hard on the player. Hard on the listener. Hard on us all."

I found this bit online about it, which mentions the related song in the Gaelic vocal tradition

Ceòl Mór or piobaireachd as it is sometimes called is a Gaelic art form. It is not surprising then that there are songs in Gaelic oral tradition which have strong links to Ceòl Mór. Some of these songs have a direct connection to pibrochs that are still well known and performed by modern pipers. The pibroch known as 'Lament for the Children' was written in the 17th century by Patrick Mòr MacCrimmon after the death of seven of his eight children from smallpox, all in the same year. There is also a Gaelic song version related to the Lament, called 'Fhir a’ Chinn Duibh', 'Black-haired Lad'. It is thought the words of this may relate to the loss of the favourite son amongst the seven.

[Mr.Gumby]

Plenty of heartrending airs ofcourse from Cronan na Maher to The Kerrywoman's Lament and all of those tohers with horrible stories attached. Not sure the woolly low whistle treatment is the suitable way to go for all of them though.

[Mikethebook]

No, I'm sure you're right but I play high whistle too.

[Mr.Gumby]

Perhaps it was more a particular treatment than the choice of instrument I thought of as possibly less suited to some airs.

[Tommy]

You can find it here as a mp3 http://www.tinwhistler.com/tunes.aspx
Anach Cuain (Eanach Dhuin)

Má fhaighimse sláinte is fada bheidh trácht
Ar an méid a bádh as Eanach Cuain.
'S mo thrua 'márach gach athair 's máthair
Bean is páiste 'tá á sileadh súl!
A Rí na nGrást a cheap neamh is párthas,
Nar bheag an tábhacht dúinn beirt no triúr,
Ach lá chomh breá leis gan gaoth ná báisteach
Lán a bháid acu scuab ar shiúl.
Nár mhór an t-íonadh ós comhair na ndaoine
Á bhfeicáil sínte ar chúl a gcinn,
Screadadh 'gus caoineadh a scanródh daoine,
Gruaig á cíoradh 's an chreach á roinnt.
Bhí buachaillí óg ann tíocht an fhómhair,
Á síneadh chrochar, is a dtabhairt go cill.
'S gurb é gléas a bpósta a bhí dá dtoramh
'S a Rí na Glóire nár mhór an feall.

If my health is spared I'll be long relating
Of that boat that sailed out of Anach Cuain.
And the keening after of mother and father
And child by the harbour, the mournful croon!
King of Graces, who died to save us,
T'were a small affair but for one or two,
But a boat-load bravely in calm day sailing
Without storm or rain to be swept to doom.
What wild despair was on all the faces
To see them there in the light of day,
In every place there was lamentation,
And tearing of hair as the wreck was shared.
And boys there lying when crops were ripening,
From the strength of life they were borne to clay
In their wedding clothes for their wake they robed them
O King of Glory, man's hope is in vain.

[Cayden]

(swans ofcourse only sing when dying).
.

Mr.Gumby,
Mute Swans probably don't sing, dying or not!

Cheers Mate,
Cayden

[dunnp]

Whooper swans do however and can be sighted in the Hebrides.
And the swan song is a cultural phrase with meanings attached
regardless of whether there is a natural explanation for the legend or not.

[DrPhill]

I think that this is a moving piece.

I wish I could play it as well as Davy. Still, plenty of time (years?) for practice.

[Mr.Gumby]

And here we've reached the point where the thread really needs to differentiate between new agey mood music and slow airs in the accepted use of the word.

[DrPhill]

I'm looking for airs to learn on the low whistle, the more melancholy, heart-wrenching the better.

Air (music)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Air (Italian: "aria"; also ayr, ayre in French), a variant of the musical song form, (in opera, cantata and oratorio often referred to as aria), is the name of various song-like vocal or instrumental compositions, and can also be applied to the interchangeable melodies of folk songs and ballads.

[Mikethebook]

To be honest, my request wasn't meant to be confined to Irish & Scottish music though that's where some of the most anguished lament-type tunes are to be found. Caoineadh Cu Chulainn is definitely one I should try and, being a staunch fan of Spillane, I'm ashamed I forgot it. And I think Bill Whelan might be a little upset to have this music labelled as "new-agey." He is Irish and writes very much within the Irish tradition.

Nice DrPhill. Sounds good to me. What's the whistle?

[DrPhill]

Nice DrPhill. Sounds good to me.

Thanks Mike, though there is a definite stumble in there, and several phrases that I would like to do better. But there is always next time, or the time after that, or.......

What's the whistle?

The Bleazey again. For slow music like this (which is what I really enjoy playing) it works well. I have not found a whistle with a tone that I like better.