Hard core?

[Mr.Gumby]

I picked the recordings above because they would be among the generation of the players the generation of say, Mary Bergin (or myself, being maybe of the next wave agewise), would have picked up music from. They're an earlier link in the chain as it were (I dislike the term 'source musician' for a variety of reasons). They are more or less from the generation born roughly during the twenties and thirties of the previous century.

'Hard core' maybe because all of these recordings (with the exception of the Michael Dwyer one) are unpolished, not performance based traditional music. Traditional music in it's own environment if you like, it's natural setting. Possibly the last generation of musicians to play without 'modern' influences (I won't go into that any further for brevity's sake).

As for Richard's post: The 78 rpms were another source of new tunes, but they also provide a reference point in shared music. But they wouldn't be alone in providing 'standard set pieces' . If you'd play 'the Wandering Minstrel' yes, you know that (unless something else was agreed) the gathered company will follow with 'Fasten the Leg in her', like Coleman did. Equally 'Skylark' would go into 'Roaring Mary' or 'Cooley's' into 'The Wise Maid', as Cooley had them. 'The Castle set' would be understood as 'Throw it Across' (=Drag her across the road' followed 'Shepard's Daughter' and the Humours of Toonagh' (=The Cloon, in D). Just as 'The Kilfenora reels' or 'The Tulla set' would need no explaining. They're merely reference points, taken from classic players as well as new recordings, that exist to organise an impromptu group of musicians, playing for dancing or just in session, by tapping into a shared background and understanding.

[Brus]

What are the oldest non-commercial ITM recordings in existence?

[colomon]

What are the oldest non-commercial ITM recordings in existence?

http://archives.irishfest.com/dunn-fami ... /Music.htm (as far as I know)

[Mr.Gumby]

The oldest recordings would be the Feis Cheoil cylinders that were made during the 1890s

Some examples of these :

Dinny Delaney playing Bean an Tí ar Urlar ag Obair and The Geese in the Bog

Dinny Delaney playing The Repeal of the Union and Old Hag at the Kiln

Mici 'Cumba' O Suilleabheann playing Gol na mBan san ár

Closely followed by cylinder recordings made in the US by Francis O Neill (see link in previous post), Patsy Touhey and further material done in Ireland eg the Henebry cylinders.

Recordings at that time were mostly of pipers, fiddle players and singers. Earliest whistle recordings I know of are a few commercial ones from the 1920/30s. Most non commercial material in Ireland would initially have been recorded by archivists, the Irish Folklore commission was very active collecting folklore, language and song as well as instrumental music, and for broadcast. Little of the earliest archival recordings survive though as the cylinder recordings were usually meant as a transcription record, once the transcription was made the wax would be scraped off and the cylinder re-used.

Recording equipment in the hands of private persons remained extremely rare (in Ireland anyway) until much later with the odd wire recorder in private hands. Tape recorders came into use in the 1940s.

[maki]

Thanks for sharing the music and the stories Mr.Gumby.
Very genenerous of you.
I've always loved your stories, most of us come
to ITM from so far out of the tradition.
Thank you.

[ggiles]

Great stuff Mr. Gumby!!

I know that for myself being a beginner in Irish music, after hearing and playing a number of the tunes that get played to death, I do want to hear the roots of it. There is so much to be learned there and see where the music has been and is going.

[NicoMoreno]

With the concertina safely unattended (and at my desk for work) I was able to listen to all of the tracks. Very nice and interesting music.

As far as "hard core" just being obscure players, well, it's also about seeking out the heart of the tradition. Bands are great (often), but they're not really the heart of the tradition. Modern players who only learned from recordings probably aren't really part of the tradition, but it's definitely part of the tradition to learn from recordings (old and new, solo and bands). I think the tradition is a shared consensus of music passed on from generation to generation. I have been very fortunate to marry into the tradition here, with music coming from Ireland and the US via previous generations. I've gotten music from many sources, and the old recordings are one of the fantastic resources I've had the great luck to be given access to.

Thanks again, very sincerely, Mr G.

[Mr Ed]

Thanks for taking the time to share the great photos, stories and music, Mr. Gumby.

[Mr.Gumby]

It's just a bit of fun, that music is dead if nobody is listening to it, just sitting on a tape or a storage drive here.

I have one here that's a bit different It Séamus Ennis and (I believe) Denis Murphy messing about in, throwing out phrases of a tune at and the other responding. Not quite Dueling Banjos but a bit like it. I don't know anything about the context of this recording. On the tape I have, this is followed by an incomplete recording of them treating The Castlebar Races in similar fashion.

Anything for John Joe _ Séamus Ennis & Denis Murphy

[NicoMoreno]

That made me laugh!

[Mr.Gumby]

That was the idea.

[NicoMoreno]

Hehe, it's still early here... I wanted to convey information that you succeeded, and say something witty as well... Alas, it was not to be.

Thanks Mr G!

[Mr Ed]

Music and fun....

[ytliek]

Question and Answer... wonderful playing.

[Jleo Fipple]

An interesting play-list featuring some of the people mentioned in the thread From ITMA
also a link to more info's on the Wire Recorder, an old audio recording device, Gumby mentioned ^^