Friday 25 December 2015

Swallow's Nest (reel): Brendan (eile)

Swallow's Nest (reel)

I first came across this beautiful reel, named as Paddy O'Brien's,  on The Cat That Ate The Candle (1994) by John Carty & Brian McGrath. It is credited to John Carty on www.irishtune.info but I've recently learned that is in fact a tune called The Swallow's Nest composed by Paddy O'Brien the elder from Tipperary. I've come across several versions of the tune but, for me at least, Carty's mid-paced banjo version is unbeatable. In truth, I find it tough enough to play and 'make a hames of it' more often than not, but I'll stick at it.


The Warbling Robin (barndance): Breandan (eile)

The Warbling Robin (barndance)


Another barndance! The Warbling Robin (or Ceiliúr na Spideoge, in Irish) was composed by the Connemara flautist Marcus Hernon and recorded The Grouse In The Heather / An Chearc Fhraoigh (2000). It has been recorded on banjo by John Carty on I Will If I Can (2005). Here's my go at Carty's version.

Sunday 20 December 2015

Far From Home (barndance): Brendan (eile)

Far From Home (barndance)

Given to me by Brian McGrath, Far From Home or Far Away from Home is a lively barndance that was, apparently, one of the last tunes recorded by Sligo fiddler Michael Coleman in 1944. He was in ill health at the time and died the following year.

The tunes has been recorded under a variety of names: as Michael Coleman's on Johnny Óg Connolly & Brian McGrath Dreaming up the Tunes (1998), as Far From Home on John Carty Yeah, That Is All (2001), as Johnny Gorman's on Matt Molloy & John Carty Pathway to the Well (2007) and as Paddy Shannon's on Mick Conneely & David Munnelly 'Tis What It Is (2012).

Here is John Carty on banjo and At The Racket performing the tune in Crocket's on the Quay, Ballina.


We had a new wooden floor laid this week so I'm taking advantage of the great acoustics in the empty room ...


 
 

Tuesday 8 December 2015

Battering Ram (jig): Brendan (eile)

Battering Ram (jig)

Between 1968 and 1978, my grandparents - Martin & Ellen Ferguson from Attymass, Co. Mayo - ran a pub called the Regent Hotel on Regent Street in the heart of Leeds. Within a short space of time, the pub became a sort of mecca for Irish musicians living in the city (and for local students interested in folk music). Over the years many noted musicians played there; Kevin Burke (fiddle), Martin Byrnes (fiddle), P. J. Hernon (button accordion), Paddy Ryan (fiddle), and Sean McGuire (fiddle) to name but a few. Indeed, the Music from Ireland tune-books, compiled by Dave Bulmer and Neil Sharpley, published in four volumes in the 1970s contains many tunes transcribed from musicians playing at the Regent Hotel.

Anyway, I recently came across some amateur recordings done in the pub in the early 1970s. They are beautifully atmospheric, featuring the sound of the crowd and even the ringing till! And if you listen carefully you can hear a great mix of West of Ireland and West Yorkshire 'brogues'. Here is the Battering Ram, live from the Regent Hotel, with a selection of contemporary photographs:


I had a fair idea how to play a simple version of this three-part jig but Brian McGrath recently shared some ideas on ornamenting the tune with stops, chords, and cuts so here it is ...