The Celtic Lyre

7/29/2019 The Celtic Lyre

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A Collection of Gaelic SongsCompiled by Fionn (Henry Whyte)

(Parts 1-4)

Editor: Trueman Matheson

Music Editor: Aindrias Hirt

Gaelic and Music Advisor: Catriona Parsons


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RoimhRdhPreface

When TruemanMatheson, the editor of Sol Cultural Enterprises, approachedme tomusicallyeditTheCelticLyre,Iwasratherskeptical.Iwascurrentlyinthethroesofwriting

myPh.D.dissertationonthemedievalmusicalperformancepracticesofthenarrativesongsconcerning FionnMac Cumhail and foundlittle value inresettingGaelicmusicthathad

beenpublishedduringthelateVictorianAge;Ifeltsurelythatthemusicwouldhavebeen

significantlyalteredtoconformtoEnglishandmainlandattitudesofproprietyandmusical

form.Iwasmistaken.

AlthoughIfoundthemusicengraved1rathercasuallyandnineteenthcenturynotation

sensibilitiesconcerningmusicaltimeandkeysignaturesfollowed,Inoticedanefforthad

beenmadetorenderthemusictruthfullyandnotdrasticallyalterittomakeitseemmore

likeWesternEuropeanartmusic.Thisefforthadbeenhiddenbehindafaadeofpublishing

normsthatthefacilityofmoderncomputerapplications 2easilydispelled.Therefore,this

currentversionofTheCelticLyreispresentedwiththosepublishingpoliciesremoved,with

theresultthatthemusiclooksmuchdifferentontheprintedpagethantheoriginalversion.Specifically,therewerechangesmadetoorthography,metre,andkeysignatures.

Twocontraryperspectivesmotivatedtheformofthemusicalnotationofthiscollection.

Atone extreme, thereisanunderstanding thatmusicalnotationbeganandwasusedasonly a roughmemoryaidand is inherently imprecise; onthe otherextreme, there isan

understanding thatmany people seem todesire toperformmusicnotationprecisely aswritten.Yet, themusical rhythm isextremely flexibleinonecaseandrigidintheother,

respectively.Whytesmusicalnotationfollowedtheartmusicconventionsofhisday;itisa

straightforwardprocesstoremovethosehandengravingconventions.Thequestionthen

presents itself: should themusic stay as Whyte wrote it with an appreciation that the

readerwould then know not to perform it aswritten, or should themusicberendered

moreexactly,accordingto theway thatitwasactuallyperformed?If themusicisplacedmoreaccurately,thenthereisanadditionaldangerthatpeoplewillconsiderthiscollection

tobeanauthoritativeandsingulardictateandthenperformthesongspreciselyaswritten.

I have taken the position thatwhile following thewritten notationmeticulously can

alterthemusicfromhow itwouldnormallybe performed, it ispreferable tohaving the

songsperformedasWhyteinexactlypresentedthem.Whilethemusicnotationpresented

in this collection mightmake themusic seem precise, it is definitely not so. There is a

tremendous amount of wiggleroom in themusic, both in intonation andrhythm.One

mustnotlosesightofthiswhenattemptingtorealizethemusicofTheCelticLyre.

Therearethreeareasthatwereidentifiedandbroughtclosertoactualpracticeinthis

present collection: orthography, metre, and pitch placement on the musical staff.

Concerningorthography,theGaelicspellingnotationconventionsofNovaScotia,Canadawere followed. These conventions are more precise; therefore, they assist singers in

1Sheetmusicwasengraved,notprintedduringWhytestime.Copperplateswereetchedtoformthetemplate

fortheprintedmusic.Therefore,creatingmusicalnotationwasmuchmoreofanartthantypesetting.2AlthoughFinaleisarobustcomputerapplication,Sibelius wasusedinthiseditionprincipallybecause

thereisasolfapluginavailable(writtenbyJamesLarcombeandNeilSands).Formattinggenerallyfollowed

NorthAmericannorms;however,lyricspacingtookprecedenceovernotespacingtohelpGaeliclearners.


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viiiachieving clearer pronunciation and also assist in translation. Concerning metre, the

notatedrhythmicconventionsoftheoriginaleditionsofTheCelticLyrefollowedaccepted

practices of the time.Those conventions canbe contrarytoGaelic musical performance

sinceconventionalmusicalrhythmsmatchedtherhythmicpatternsoftheItalianorEnglish

language.Inhiscollection,Whytefirstpresentedstaffnotationatthetopofthepage,under

that solfa, under that Gaelic, andunder that English translations.The musical rhythmsplacedonthestaffseemtobeacompromisedesignedtoapproximateboththeEnglishand

Gaelic languages rhythmic patterns; the rhythms do not exactly match Gaelic language

patterns,recordingsofthesesongsatarchives,orastheyaresunginGaelicculturetoday.

Asmentionedabove,manypeopleseemtohavethedesiretoperformmusicpreciselyas written. Because of Whytes probable rhythmical compromise, Gaelic songs from his

collection are now beginning to be sung ostensibly to an English language rhythm. To

preventthis,anunderstandingofthe characteristics oftheGaelic languagethatstrongly

influence the rhythm of the music should bediscussed.The most important is that the

Gaelic language has an underlying triplet structure. This lends the associated music tobeing expressing in compound (having a substructure composed of triplets: 6/8, 9/8,

12/8)or3/8 time.6/8timeconsists twogroups oftriplets(eachtriplet iscomposedofthreeeighthnotes,3stressisonthefirstnoteofthefirstgroup);9/8timeiscomprisedof

three groups of triplets (stress on the first note of the first group); 12/8contains four

groupsoftriplets(stressonfirstandthirdgroups;stressisstrongeronthefirstgroupthan

onthethirdgroup).Unfortunately,inthepast,artmusiciansoftenproscribedcompound

time.4Itwasalsomoredifficulttoengraveandhardertoread.

Secondly, the Gaelic languagemightbe seen to consist of two contrasting groups of

vowels(excludingpalatalandnonpalataldistinctions);onegroupconsistsoflongvowels

(indicatedbylengthmarkingsonthevowels),theotherofshortones.Vowelplacementina

sentenceoftenalternatesbetweenthesetwogroups,givingthelanguagerhythmalilting,

skippingquality.ThisisincontrasttotheEnglishlanguage,which,whilepossessingsome

distinctlylongandshortvowels,doesnotpossesssuchamarkedvowellengthdichotomy.Whytesmusicalnotationoftenmadeuseofquarternotes (seeFigure1,below).This

wasnotareflectionofhowthemusicwasandisperformedinGaelic,butoftenmatchedthe

rhythmofthetranslatedEnglishverses.ThevowelpatternofGaelicisoftenlongshort;ifso,itshouldbeperformedasinFigure2(below).Therefore,themusicinthisversionwas

slightlyadjusted tomatch the actual sungpatternofGaelic.NativeGaelicsingerswouldintuitivelyknowtoperformFigure1asFigure2:

becomes:

Figure1 Figure2Normally, musical notation only reflected the chorus/refrain (sisd) or first verse.

Particularly in Gaelic music, musical rhythm changed from verse to verse as the lyrics

dictated.For example,a syllable/vowelofone verseplacedonaparticularnote may be3SinceitisthoughtthatmosteditionsofthisvolumewillbesoldinNorthAmerica,thetermseighth,quarter,

andhalfnotewillbeusedinplaceofquaver,crotchet,andminim,respectively;also,measurereplacesbar.4Forexample,HndelssongRejoiceGreatly,ODaughterofZionfromhisMessiahwasoriginallywrittenin

12/8time.Hndelwaspersuadedtochangeittocommon(4/4)time.


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ixlongwhereasthenextversessyllable/vowelplacedonthatsamenotemaybeshort.Itmay

bethatthefirstversewasperformedasisannotatedinFigure2,above,butthesecond

versemayhaveavowelpatternthatwasnotlongshortinthesecondhalfofthemeasure,

butshortlong.Insuchacase,themusicwouldbeperformedasinFigure3(below):

Figure3

Asanexampleofthisshifting,considerThamornairaghille.Intheoriginalversion,

themusicwaswrittenasthechorus( sisd) ispresented inthis collection.HenryWhyte

madeafootnotethattherhythmsshouldshiftbetweenthechorusandtheverses,butdidnotwriteoutthosenotationalchanges.Sincethetworhythmsweresodifferent,Ibelieved

that it would be far too confusing for the singer to see a particular rhythm but sing it

differently;therefore,theversesweremadeseparatefromthechorus,showingadifferent

rhythm. Yet, this was not enough. In the secondtolastmeasure of the verses, the first

versehasalongvowelonthelastsyllable(achil),butthesecondversehasalongvowelon the secondtolast syllable (ct-a). I annotated this in an ossia (a small, explanatory

measure),but thiswouldbeextremely laborious todoforeveryverse.If thesingerdoes

not shift the rhythm asneeded to match the pattern of the spokenword, the singer is

performing the act of flattening out. This practice is most evident in waulking songs.

Becausethe requirementforastrongworkrhythm isparamount inthesesongs, simple,

everyday,rhythmicallyfreesongsweremetamorphosedintoarepetitiverhythm.Thishad

the effect of transporting unstressed syllables to positions of musical rhythmic stress.

Althoughwaulkingsongshavethedisadvantageofchangingthepronunciationofasongslyrics,theyhavehadthebenefitofpreservingsongsthatwouldhaveotherwiseperished.

Thirdly, there is another feature of Gaelic music called the Scots Snap,5 where a

stressedinitialbeatismadeshort.ThistraitrancountertonotationalpracticesofWhytestime.TheScotsSnapisratherdifficulttorealizeinnotationandalsodifficultforthesinger

toactualizebylookingatthenotation.ItwouldlooksomethinglikeFigure4(below):

Figure4

Becauseofthesedifficulties,IpresentedthisfeatureasinFigure3.Itistheresponsibilityof

thesingertodeterminewhenthispracticeisappropriate.

Lastly,sincethesesongswereneverintendedtobeaccompanied,thereisnoreasonto

establish and rigidly adhere to unequivocal rhythmical precision. In the Gaelic song

tradition, strict metre was never kept within a measure, between two concurrentmeasures, orevenbetween two verses. Indeed, the very concept ofhavingmeasurebarlinesis foreigntothetradition.Forexample, againconsider the song,Thamornaira

ghille.Attheendofthesixthmeasureoftheverses,thefinalfeweighthnotesshouldnot

beperformedsoastokeepa rigid,steadypulsefromthesixthtoseventhmeasures.The

secondtolast eighth note was placed roughly at the endof themeasure; the following

5ThetermScotchisamisspellingofthegenitivepluralScots,soitisalsoknownastheScotchSnap.


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xeighth note acts as a pickup beat, with a clear rhythmical break preceding it. I used a

symbolthatsuggeststhispracticeofslightlyslowingdown(ritardando):

WiththeexceptionofMonigheandonn,bhidheach,6everysonginthiscollectionwas

placedincompound(or3/8)time.Ifthereweretwostressesperlineofpoetry,themusic

wasplacedin6/8time.Iftherewerethreestressesperlineofpoetry,themusicwasplaced

in9/8time.Iftherewerefourstressesperline,Iplacedthemusicin12/8time.Thislastform can be confusing. So, if the music was performed to a strong rhythm or quickly, I

placeditin6/8timeforeaseofreading.However,thispresentsproblems.Onesignificant

problem is that a syllable that is only lightly stressed and occurring in the middle of a

sentencemightnowbeplacedonthefirstbeatofameasure.Thisimproperlyimpliesthatthesyllableshouldthenbestronglystressedand/orthattherewouldbeaslightlift(pause)

precedingit.Byplacingthesongin12/8time,thereisnobarline,andthesingerisnot

subconsciouslyimpelledtostronglystressamildlystressedsyllable.

Theothercomponentthathasbeenchangedinthiscollectionfromtheoriginal,slightly,

isthepitchnotation.Thetuneshavenotbeenchangedinanyway,onlythewaythattheyarepresentedonthepage.Byadjustingwherethemusicsitsonthestaff,thestructureof

the music can be seen more clearly. This difference is transparent, but the reader maynotice that the accidentals in the key signatures have been removed and small notes in

parenthesisadded.Thereareanumberofreasonswhythiswasdone,butafullexplanation

ofthismightprovetobesomewhatesoteric.So,briefly,therationaleisasfollows:

Firstly,theoriginalpurposeofanaccidentalwastofacilitatemovingthepitchrangeofa

songby roughlyhalfan octave sothatanysong/chantin any modecouldbesungby the

samegroupofpeople.ThesymbolusedonthemainlandforthispurposewasB 7(perhaps

moving the key from C Major to F Major), but in insular Britain, Fwasused8 (perhaps

movingthekeyfromCMajortoGMajor).So,whentranscribingGaelicmusic,Fmightbe

seenasapreferredchoicetofulfillthisfunction.Secondly,transcribersoftenhearda songbeingsungandsoundedouttheapproximatenotesonanearbypiano.Theythenwrotethis

down and transferred any accidentals to the key signature, adding or subtractingaccidentalssothatthefinalnotematchedthenameofthekey.9Therefore,therewaslittle

value placed upon the key signature chosen; it was as variable as the starting pitch the

singer randomly chose. Thirdly, before equal temperament, different keys had different

colours.Atraditionaltunemightbeascribedtoakeysignaturebaseduponthepathosof

thelyrics,notbecausetheactualintonationofthattunematchedacertainkey.Fourthly,

6 To be more rhythmically precise, rhythms were extrapolated from Whytes notation and then checked

againstrecordingsfoundatarchives.Iusedtheoldestrecordingsmadefromtheeldestinformantspossible.

This was the only song where I could not find lyric audio examples. All songs but this one were sung

melodically,lyrically,incompoundtime,andwithoutastrongrhythm.Interestingly,allsongswerealsosungwithoutornamentation.Thisimpliesthatornamentationinthesesongsisamoderndevelopment.7Thissynthetic,manufacturednotewasconsideredsoimportantthat,eventhoughitwasnotinthediatonic,

Pythagoreantunedscale,itwasconsideredmusicaveraandnotmusicaficta.8 This is discussed by Edward Bunting, The Ancient Music of Ireland: An Edition Comprising the Three

Collections by Edward Bunting Originally Published in 1796, 1809 and 1840 (Dublin: Waltons' Piano and

MusicalInstrumentGalleries,1969).9 Often,a pentatonic tunewitha finalnoteof G,which mightbe describedasMixolydian, willhavea non

existent note of F addedto the key signature (the note never appears in the tune); this makes the tune

appeartobeinGMajor(Ionian).Thissatisfiesartmusicnorms.


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xitherewas,andis,agreatdealofbigotryagainstGaelicculturewhichcanbedirectedatthe

culturesmusic.Todefendagainstthisandtobejudgedfavourablywhencomparedwith

Europeanartmusic,themusicwasoftenmadetoseemmorecomplicatedthanitactually

was;thiswasoftenaccomplishedbyaddinganarrayofflatsymbolstothekeysignatures.

Variousmusiccollectorsandpublishers 10haveespousedquiteanassortmentofmodal

systemstodescribeGaelicmusic.I believethemostrobustandcomprehensivehasbeenannotatedinFrancisCollinsonsTheTraditionalandNationalMusicofScotland.11Usingthis

asamodel,themusicinTheCeltic Lyrewasmovedupordownonthestaffsothatthe

missingnoteswereplacedonF(F4)andB(B4)(seebelow,Figure5),ortheinversion,B

(B4)andF(F5)(seebelow,Figure6).Thexsymbolindicateswherenotesweremissing:

or Figure5 Figure6

Gaelicmusicgenerallyseemstolackoneortwohalfstepintervals;therefore,sincethe

ecclesiasticalmodesaredefinedbytheplacementoftwohalfstepswithinanoctave,they

mightbeseentobeinappropriatetodescribeGaelicmusic.Theabsenceofhalfstepsissoincongruoustothediatonicscalethatmosttrainedmusiciansareunawarethatpentatonic

(fivenotesperoctave)tuneswhichlackhalfstepscanbemovedupanddownthestaff

from tonic to subdominant or dominant (up or down a perfect fourth or fifth) without

changing the keysignature.Without Collinsons constraint ofplacing missingnotes ina

fixedlocation,eachoftheseshiftsmightmakeapentatonictuneappeartobeinadifferent

modedependinguponthevariablemechanismbywhichthetranscribersetthetune.12

In order to minimize confusion, I attempted to follow Collinsons approach for thepentatonic tunes in this collection. Furthermore, following Collinsons additional

instructionsforhexatonic(sixnotesperoctave)tunes,IthenplacedthosetunesmissinganoteoneitherForB.Whiledoingthis,Isawapatternof triadsthatwasunmistakable.I

thenmovedthose tunesupordownaperfect fourthorfifth (andoccasionallya thirdor

sixth).Therewasnomistakingtheresults:thenaturalscaleleaptoffthepage.Whatisthenaturalscale?13Itisaseriesofnotesplayedbynaturalinstruments.Typical

naturalinstrumentsincludebugles,valvelesstrumpets(suchasthecommon,woodenlur)andhorns, earlyhornpipes, andwillow flutes.14 The latter was so important thatEivind

GroveninhisNaturskalaen15hassuggestedthatNorwegianfolkmusicsintonationisbased

10Tolmie,KennedyFraser,Reichenbach,Dauney,MacFarlane,Bodley,etc.11FrancisCollinson,TheTraditionalandNationalMusicofScotland(London:Routledge&KeganPaul,1966).12Modeattributionsareoftendeterminedbythepitchofthefinalnoteofatune.WithCollinsonsmethod

supplementedbymyown,thetunesinthiscollectionhaveendingpitchesasfollows:C:54%,G:21%,D:13%,A:12%. TunesendingonC andG comprise75%of the songs. In thepast, tunesendingonG have been

ascribedbytranscribersasbeingeitherIonianorMixolydianbecauseoftheindeterminatepitchofthe7 th

degreeof the scale. The early Christianchurch bannedsongsendingin C (IonianMajor) and A (Aeolian

Minor)becausetheywerethoughttobelascivious.Possibly,thiswasanattempttoproscribefolkmusic. 13Thispatternofnotesisalsocalledtheharmonicseries.14ManypeoplefamiliarwithEnglishtraditionalinstrumentswouldbeawarethatthetaborpipe,although

possessingthreeholes,usesthenaturalscale/harmonicseries.15 Eivind Groven, Naturskalaen; Tonale Lover I Norsk Folkemusikk Bundne Til Seljeflyta (Skien: Norsk

folkekultursforlag,1927).


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xiiontheseljeflyta.Willowflutesaremadefrombarkpulledfromacutwillowtreebranch;thisisfacilitatedwhenthereisalayerofsapbetweenthewoodandthebark,whichoccursinthespringtime.Afipplenotchiscutnearthelargeend,likearecorder.ExtantmedievalboneandwoodenductflutessimilartowillowfluteshavebeendiscoveredinIreland.16

It should also be noted that a bagpipes chanter is tuned using the just intonation

principle,17

whichisamethodoftuningthatusesthedronespitchesasnodalmarkersforthechantersindividualpitches.Thepitchofanoteplayedonachanterismovedupordowninpitchbyusingwax,treesap,orcellophanetapeinthefingerholeopeningsuntilthepitchlocksintothedrones. 18Thisprocesscreatespitchesthatmatchtheidealizedharmonics of the natural scale; chanters are generally not tuned in amean tone, equaltemperament,orPythagoreanmanner.

The inclination to create intune triadic harmony for fixedpitched instruments, andhenceanequallytemperedscaleinmainlandEurope,cameaboutduetotheexistenceofnatural instruments.Major thirds played onPythagoreantuned, fixedpitch instrumentsareconsidereddissonant(twentythreecentssharp);naturalinstrumentsplaythirdsintune.Therefore,itmaybethenaturalscalethatinfluencesGaelicmusictobe,asRada

putit,liketheserpentwithitstailinitsmouth.19ThestapleofEuropeanartmusic,theunequallyspaceddiatonicscale,forcesamelodytomovebetweenwholeandhalfsteps.Thisprogression isthecauseofwhyartmusic,whichisbasedon thediatonicscaleandassociated harmonies, constantly shifts between harmonic dissonance and consonance.Gaelicmusic,whichseemstousethenaturalscale,issmoothandconsistentfromonenotetothenext;itjustdoesnotlookthatwayonastaffsystemdevelopedforthediatonicscale.

Afternoticingwhatappearedtobe the naturalscale in themusicof thiscollection,Ithenadjustedthemusicsothatreadercouldseethenaturalscaleifdesired.Thisprocessalsomovedthescalehigheronthestaffsothatitisagooddistanceawayfromthesolfanotation;thisimproveslegibility.SlightlyadjustingCollinsonsstructuretoaccommodatethenaturalscaleresolvesmanyoftheissuesthathismusicalframeworkdoesnotaddress,

such as: why is the Gaelic/folk music scale often described as being gapped?Why isalmostallofthemusicthoughttobeeitherpentatonic(notmerelyfivenotesperoctave,but devoid of halfsteps) orhexatonic?Why does the musics intonation not match theequally tempered scale? Why do Irish musicians have a special expression, Fflat, todescribetheleadingtoneinmusicwhichisostensiblyinGMajor?

Itshouldbenotedthatsomeofthepitchesofthenaturalscaledonotperfectlymatchthenotesofthediatonicscale;someofthosenotesarethe7th,11th,13th,and14thpartials(wholenumberofwavesthatcanfitinatubeoronastring),whichareconsideredoutoftune with instruments tuned in an equally tempered manner (how a piano is tunedtoday).20 The 7th partial is between A (A4) and B (B4),21 the 11th partial is halfway

16AnnBuckley,MusicandMusiciansinMedievalIrishSociety,EarlyMusic2(2000),16592:173.17ThebestresourceIhavefoundtoexplainvarioustuningsystems,althoughrathercomplexforthegeneralreader, is Cristiano Forster, Musical Mathematics: On the Art and Science of Acoustic Instruments (SanFrancisco:ChronicleBooks,2010).18Infact,thechanterspitchisactuallymatchinganovertoneofthedrone.19SenRiada,OurMusicalHeritage .Mountrath(Ireland:TheDolmenPress,1982),22.20Equaltemperamentisatuningsystemwherethedistancebetweennotesofthediatonicscaleareadjustedsothatallwholestepsareperceivedtobeofanequaldistance.Halfstepsarealltunedtobehalfthespanofawholestep.Therefore,allkeyssoundthesamewhenequaltemperamentisdoneexactly.


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xiiibetweenF(F5)andF(F5),22the13thpartialisbetweenA(A5)andA(A5),23andthe14th

partialisbetweenA(A5)andB(B5).24Hereisthenaturalscalewritteninstaffnotation

with significantly divergent notes from equal temperament made bold (see Figure 7,

below).Arrowspointinthedirectionthatthenaturalscalenotesoundsincomparisonto

thewrittenstaffnotation.

Figure7

IhadnoticedthenaturalscaleinGaelicmusicwhenIfirstwenttoCapeBretonIsland

tenyearsago andheard older fiddlersplaying atcilidhs. Fiddlersplayed between the

cracks(ofthepiano).The11thpartialwasespeciallyapparent.Unfortunately,itisdifficult

toshowthisnoteusingstaffnotation.Attemptingtoaccuratelyannotatethenaturalscale

usinga system thatwas conceived torepresent the diatonic scale isextremely difficult;moreover,viewingthenaturalscaleonastaffimpelsthereaderwhomightbetrainedin

thestructureofartmusictoseepossibleharmoniesandmelodicrelationshipsthat,infact,

donotexistinmusicbasedonthenaturalscale.

Therearesomeproblemsinrepresentingthenaturalscaleonastaffthatwascreatedto

representthe diatonicscale. Firstly, the 7th partial is oftenwritten as B but is actually

betweenAandB.IfamusictranscriberlistenstoaGaelicsongbeginningandendingonC,

andhearsapitchsoundingbetweenGandC,thetranscriberwouldnotthinktowriteBsinceBisnotinCMajor.ThepitchwouldsoundmuchclosertoAthanB.25ThereforeatranscriberwouldhaveatendencytowriteAforthe7 thpartial.Secondly,the11 thpartialis

writtenasF; itcouldalsobewrittenasF sinceit isalmostexactlyhalfwaybetweenthetwo. Also, you may have observed that there is a D4 in the diatonic scale shown in

Collinsonssystem(Figure5)thatisnotinthenaturalscale.Thisnotedisappearswhenthe

tuneistransposedbyaperfectfourthorfifth.When the natural scales representation on the diatonic staff is adjustedwith these

concernsinmind,thefollowingresults(seeFigure8,below):

Figure8

21 The 7th partial is 69 cents sharper than an equally tempered A and 31 cents flatter than an equally

temperedB.Thereare100centsinanequallytemperedhalfstepinterval.22 The11th partial is 51 cents sharper than an equally tempered F and 49 cents flatter than an equally

temperedF.Thequartertone(diesis)symbolthatapproximatesthisisF .23The13thpartialis59centsflatterthananequallytemperedA.24The14thpartialis31centsflatterthananequallytemperedB.25Onascaleof100,betweenAthanB,the7thpartialwouldfallon35;therefore,itisclosertoAthanB.


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xivItshouldbenotedthatthefirstandsecondpartialshavebeenomittedfromthisfigureas

theyareverydifficulttoplayanddonotappearinanyofthesongsofthiscollection.The

blacknotesintheabovefiguremightbetranscribedvariouslyupordownahalfstep.Some

ofthevariationsIhaveseenaredisplayedinFigures9and10,below:or

Figure9 Figure10Trainedartmusiciansaretaughttothinkintermsofoctaveequivalency,wherethere

areanequalnumberofnoteswithinanyoctave.Forexample,theexpressionspentatonic

andhexatonicareoctavebasedequivalencyterms.WhenanalyzingaGaelic/folktune,a

musicianwilllookforanymissingnote.Ifoneismissing,theanalystwillthensearchtosee

ifthatnoteexistsinthenexthigher/loweroctave.Ifthenoteismissinginalloctaves,the

song is tentatively designated hexatonic. The analyst will then look to find another

missingnote. If such anote is foundmissing in a loweroctave, butpresent in a higher

octave,thetunedoesnotmeettheoctaveequivalencyconstraintsrequiredforthetuneto

bepentatonic.Incontrasttotheoctaveequivalentdiatonicscale,thenaturalscaledoes

nothaveF4andB4,butdoeshaveF/F5(perhapsmoreaccuratelywrittenF 5).Therefore,if

the natural scale is the basisofGaelicmusic (andEuropean folkmusic ingeneral), one

should beable to lookat some tunes placed in Collinsons system which artmusicians

would normally describe as hexatonic and find an absent F4 but an existing F/F5.

Significantly,thisconditionwasfoundtooccurinthefirstsong:MuilenamMr-Bheann.Inthiscollectionofsixtyeight tunes,46%canbeplayedbynovice(natural) trumpet

players(tentotwelveyearold/primaryschoolstudents).51%requiresomeskillandcanbeplayedbysecondaryschoolstudents.26Theremaining3%ofthesongsrequireagood

dealofskilltoplayonanaturalinstrument,althoughnotthatmuch,asIcanplaythem.The3%consistsofthetwosongs,FuadachnanGidhealandAmfonn.Bothwerepossiblycreatedonabagpipe.27Althoughthepitchesofthebagpipechanteraretunedusingthejust

intonationmethod,theinstrumentisnotlimitedtothelowernotesoftheharmonicseries.A natural instrument must be played rather high in its range in order to match the

consecutivenotesofthepipes.Playinganaturalinstrumentdiatonicallyinahighregister

(called the clarino register by trumpeters in the Baroque musical era) is physically

demanding.

IsthenaturalscalethegenesisoftheGaelicmusicalscale?Intheend,Occamsrazor

holds: the simplest theory that explains the most tends to be more correct. Which is

simpler? Was the Gaelic musical scale formed by a shepherd mulling over stacked

tetrachordsandtuningalyrebaseduponsuchmathematicalconstructs,ordidhejustpull26Asayoungman,IwasplayingasonatabyTorellionavalvedDtrumpetformyteacher,PeterVoisin(sonof

Roger).ThepitchesthatIwaslookingatappearedasthepitchesdointhiscollection.Unfortunately,Iwas

missingnotesasIplayedthepiece.Petersaidthattherewasnoexcuseforthis.HethentookhisBtrumpet,

pulled out the slides to their maximum extension, pushed all three valves down and, using only his

embouchure(lips),playedthemusic.27Thesong,Aghruagachbhanailwhichusesthetune,Bithibhaotromstogaibhfonn,alsoseemstobea

pipetune,asithaslimitedrangeandisdiatonic;however,itiseasytoplayonanaturalinstrument.


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xvthebarkoffawillowbranch,cutanotchinitandstartplayingatune?Maybehetooka

fallentwometrelongbranch,split itopen,holloweditout,bounditback togetheragain

withtreesapandbark(thebasicconstructionoftheNorwegianlurasitisstillmadetoday)

andpuffedaway.Noonewilleverknowforcertain.However,currentinvestigationintothe

performancepracticesofmedievaldndreachpoetryisbeginningtosuggestthatmusic

played at a Gaelic chieftains court employed instruments that played a variety ofintonations. Bagpipes were tuned using just intonation principles; trumpets and flutes

played the natural scale; harps were tuned using something similar to Pythagorean

tuning.28Yet,eachinstrumentalgroupfoundwaysofplayingthatallowedthemtowork

together. For example, inCapeBretontoday, fiddlersplay inoneintonation system, theaccompanyingpianoplays inanother. Sincethepianoplayersutilizeopenharmoniesof

fifthsandoctaves,thereisnoconflictwiththeintonationofthemelodicfiddle.Thetwo

systemswork togetherwithout effort. No one system isbetter than another.Much like

languages,eachintonationsystemhasadvantagesanddisadvantages.Thereisnoneedto

championoneovertheother.Eachoneisverdantandlushinitsownway.Thesongsinthiscollectionwerealsofoundtobeessentiallysyllabic;thatis,forevery

syllable,thereexistedonlyonepitch.Inasyllabicsong,theremaybenumeroussyllablesonthesamepitch,butnomorethanonepitchforthesamesyllable.Ifonesyllableissung

ontwoseparatepitches,theconditionistermedneumic.Iftherearemanypitchestoone

syllable, it is called melismatic. Only with melismas are the notes rhythmic values

prescribedtobeidenticalfromonepitchtothenext.Contrastingly,withsyllabicmusic,the

lengthofanoteisoftenmadelongorshorttomatchthewayitisspoken.

Ingeneral,most Gaelic and otherEuropean folk songs seem tohave been originally

syllabic.Asingermightsingapitchononesyllableandthenmovetoadifferentsyllableon

apitchperhapsathird,fourth,orfifthaway.Thesinger,overmanyyears,thenmightbegin

to slidebetween the two pitches, and an intermediate pitchmight form (aneum). This

wouldnotbeadiscretepitchbutamalleableone.Asapossibleexampleofthisprocess,

considerthepickupmeasuretothefirstmeasureofAllt-an-t-Sicair.ThefirstsyllableisAonG4.ThenextsyllableisdolonE4.Anintermediatepitchperhapsformedbetweenthe

twopitchesasthesingerbegantoslidebetweenthetwo.Atranscribermighthearwhat

seemedtobeadiscretenotebetweenthetwosyllablesandmighthavepossiblywrittenaneum(twopitchestothesamesyllable)inthemusic.Thenotewouldbequickandnot

particularlydiscrete,butthetranscribermighthaveguessedwherethepitchwas.Inthisexample,thereisanintermediatepitchofF4inthediatonicscale;thereisnosuchpitchin

thenaturalscale.ThetranscribermighttherebyaddanF4tothenotationofaGaelicsong

without being aware that his knowledge of the diatonic scale would be directing histranscription. Therefore, the placements of transcribed notes in a neumic condition are

unreliable.

28 Harpswere tunedto produce adiatonicscale. IncreatingG Mixolydian(calledhighbass orthe flatt

key),harpsweretuned fromG toFusingfifths,octaves,andtwofourths.IncreatingGIonian(calledthe

sharpkeyorthenaturalkey),harpsweretunedfromGtoF usingfifths,octaves,andonefourth.This

shiftingbetweenFandFcouldbeduetothepresenceofnaturalinstrumentspitchedinCplayingthe11th

partial,orbagpipestunedjustlyandpitchedinG,tomatchtheirleadingtone.Additionally,thetranslated

expressionnaturalkey,mightnotrefertothenaturalmajorofG,buttothetuningusedtomatchnatural

instruments.TheharpstringofF/Fisreferredtoastadanleithghlis(thestringofthemidtuning).


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xviThereisanothersimilarmechanismatworkthatseemstobeslowlychangingmelodies

overtime.Inthiscase,therearetwostressedsyllablesseparatedbyanunstressedsyllable.

Thetwostressedsyllablesmaybeapartinpitchbyaboutathirdormore.Incomparing

audiorecordingsatarchives,Ihaveoftenfoundthattheunstressedsyllablebetweenthe

twostressedonesisgenerallyplacedonthesamepitchasthefirststressedsyllable.The

pitchoftheunstressedsyllablecanbeimperfectlytranscribedsinceitissungimprecisely.Forexample,considerthesong,Dthaichnancraobh.Muchlikethesong,ofAllt-an-t-Sicair,considerthepickupmeasuretothefirstmeasure.ThefirstsyllableisAonE4.The

nextstressedsyllableisfg(offgail)onG4.Thereisanunstressedword, bhi,betweenthe

two. Over time, the singer perhaps slid between the stressed syllables, causing anintermediatepitchtodevelopontheunstressedsyllablebetweenthenotesofthestressed

syllables.Thetranscriberwith knowledgeof thediatonicscalemayhavesubconsciously

heardanintermediatenoteandwroteanoteofthediatonicscalebetweenthetwostressed

syllables.

Almostallofthesuggestednotesinthiscollection(placedinparenthesis;thisallowedthe tune to conform to the natural scale) originated from the abovestated conditions.

There were only a few instances when a suggested note fell on a stressed syllable.Generally,thisoccurredwhentheendofaphrasemovedtothefinalnote.Asanexample,

consider Moladh naLandaidh. On the finalword Landaidh, the transcriber placed the

syllableLanonanoteonefullstepabovetheendingnotefordaigh;thisplacedthenote

forLanoutsidethenaturalscale.Thisoccurrenceseemedtohappeningroups;thatis,I

noticed a few songs where this process happened repetitively and then stopped. This

suggests that therewas one particular transcriber who had a penchant to end musical

phrasesinthisparticularmanner,notthatthesongswereactuallysungthatway.

Alloftheabovecommentsweremadeforthoseinterestedintheunderlyingrootofthe

formthatIusedinthisnewmusicalsettingof TheCelticLyre.Totheaveragereader,this

formistransparent,asitshouldbe.Thetuneshavebeenupdatedinmakingtheirrhythms

reflect theGaeliclanguagewithoutregard toEnglish; the rhythmsnowapproximate thewaythatpeopleactuallysangthemandstillsingtheminGaelicsocietytoday.Themelodies

were not changed, but just set on the staff simply, so that they are easier to read. The

spellinghasbeenupdatedsothatitisconsistentandaidsintranslationandpronunciation.Inconclusion,itismysincerestdesirethattheformatoftheworkpresentedherewill

betakenasapossibletemplateforperformanceandnotaprescriptivemandate.Thereisagreatdealofbeautyinthesesongs,astheydescribetheyearningsanddepthoffeelingof

the universal human condition. Yet, they were created in the Highlands and Islands of

Scotland and their intent flows from the condition of the people rooted there. It is myferventwishthatthewordsandmelodiesinthiscollectionflowfromeveryreadersmouth

withthemomentumofGaeliccultureandtradition.

AindriasHirtAmBaileMr(Antaiginis),AlbaNuadh


12/20

ClrInnsidhTableofContents

TaingThanks ........................................ .............................................. ........................................... ......................... v

FacaltiseachaidhForeword.........................................................................................................................viRoimhRdhPreface..........................................................................................................................................vii

HenryWhyteFionn............................................ ............................................. ............................................ .. xvii

ClrInnsidhTableofContents....................................................................................................................xix

1.MuilenamMrbheann.....................................................................................................................................1

2.Ghruagachdhonn................................................................................................................................................2

3.AChruinneagleach...........................................................................................................................................3

4.Bidhmigadchaoidh..........................................................................................................................................4

5.Morngeal,dleas...............................................................................................................................................5

6.Mobheannachdort,aMhiri..........................................................................................................................6

7.MoladhnaLandaidh...........................................................................................................................................7

8.Thamornairaghille ......................................... ............................................. ............................................ ...8

9.Gurmochrinnmidsgadh........................................... ............................................. ................................... 10

10.Gunchrodhgunaighean...................................... .............................................. ......................................... 12

11.Fearabhta......................................... .............................................. ........................................... ................... 14

12.Anrbhinndonn........................................... ............................................. ............................................ .......... 1513.Tuireadh..................................... ............................................. .............................................. ............................. 16

14.ranmulaid......... ............................................. ............................................ ............................................. ....... 18

15.Dealachadhleannain ............................................. ............................................. .......................................... 19

16.IstoighleamaGhidhealtachd............................................... ............................................. ................... 20

17.Anrbhinnluinn....................................... ............................................. ............................................ ........... 21

18.Monigheanchruinn,donn ............................................. ............................................. ............................... 22

19.AChuairtshamhraidh ............................................. .............................................. ..................................... 24

20.Senaidachilridh.......................................... ............................................. ............................................ 25

21.LeisanLurgainn...................................... .............................................. ............................................ ............. 26

22.Soiridh! ............................................ ............................................. ............................................ .......................... 27

23.ClachanGhlinndaruail .......................................... ............................................. ....................................... 28

24.AnGidhealsaleannan ......................................... .............................................. ...................................... 30


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xx25.Gurtrom,trommocheum...................................... .............................................. ...................................... 31

26.Citencaidilanrbhinn? ......................................... ............................................. ..................................... 32

27.Dthaichnancraobh ............................................ ............................................. ........................................... 33

28.Monigheandonn,bhidheach ......................................... ............................................. ........................... 34

29.Miribhidheach .............................................. ............................................. ............................................ .... 36

30.Amfleasgachdonn........................................................................... ............................................. ................. 37

31.SoraidhslnleFionnAiridh ......................................... ............................................. ............................... 38

32.Dhfhalbhmoleannanfhin ........................................... ............................................. .............................. 39

33.Ancluinnthu,leannain! ............................................. ............................................. .................................... 40

34.Mochailindonng ......................................... ............................................. ............................................ ...... 42

35.AlltantSicair ......................................... ............................................. ............................................ ............ 44

36.Nalitheanadhaom........................................ ............................................. ............................................ ... 4637.AntEileanMuileach ......................................... .............................................. ............................................ . 48

38.Amhaighdeanluinn.......................................... ............................................. ............................................ 49

39.Amfonn......................................... ............................................. ............................................ ............................ 50

40.Gabhaidhsinnanrathadmr ........................................... .............................................. .......................... 52

41.Ealaidhghaoil ...................................... .............................................. ............................................ .................. 54

42.igfhearachildualaich................................ ............................................. ............................................. .. 56

43.O,till,aleannan.............................................. ............................................. ............................................ ........ 57

44.Mochailindleasdonn.......... .............................................. ............................................ ............................. 5845.FuadachnanGidheal........................................... .............................................. ......................................... 60

46.Mirilaghach........................................................ ............................................ .............................................. .. 62

47.Aghruagachbhanail ......................................... ............................................. ............................................ .. 63

48.Cruachanbeann.......................................................................... .............................................. ...................... 64

49.Gillemoluaidh ......................................... ............................................. ............................................ .............. 65

50.Eilidhbhn.......................................... .............................................. ............................................ .................... 66

51.Monigheandonn.............................................................. ............................................ .................................. 68

52.EileananFhraoich.............................................. ............................................. ............................................ .. 69

53.Monigheandubh.................... ............................................ .............................................. .............................. 70

54.Eileanache ............................................ ............................................. ............................................ .............. 72

55.Cagarangaolach......................... ............................................ ............................................. ............................ 74

56.AnCineachan.............................. ............................................ ............................................. .......................... 75


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xxi57.CrodhChailein.......................................... ............................................. ............................................ .............. 76

58.Cuirachinndleas .......................................... .............................................. ............................................ ..... 77

59.Modhachaidh .............................................. ............................................. ............................................ ........... 78

60.AileanMideartach........................................... .............................................. ........................................... ... 80

61.Gaolantseladair......................... ............................................ ............................................. ....................... 82

62.Sfheudardhomhbhitogailorm......................................... ............................................. ...................... 84

63.Iorram............................................ ............................................. ............................................ ............................ 86

64.Donchuthaig........ ............................................. ............................................ .............................................. ... 88

65.Maraichenantonn..................................... .............................................. ............................................. ......... 90

66.Moshiladdhidh........................................... .............................................. ............................................ . 91

67.ToirtmaghaidhriDira......................................... ............................................. ..................................... 92

68.Antigearuallach.......................................................... ............................................ ................................... 93LeabhraicheanFiosrachaidhBibliography........................................... ............................................. .... 94

TabulaGratulatoria .......................................... ............................................. ............................................ ........... 95


15/20

1

The Celtic Lyre

Copyright2012,SolCulturalEnterprises

Gusocrach

DonnachadhnamBlrMacaLeith,

Crogan,Muile

Seannhonn

Athsgrobhadh:AindriasHirt

1.MuilenamMrbheann

Sisd:

1.2. Do

Am

Bho n

*

SeDohC |stha

Muilshlios

|d' :mi

emar

.d'

gun

nanan

:l

sunnd,

craobhhaoil

|s :

s

thaean,

gur

:s

dth

mhaightaobh

|m' :

dean

dhomh

na

:m'

mul

bhanmar

|m'

ad,

ail,a,

:r'

DDo

Cha

an

|m'tog

tugghruaidh

|r'mi

mimar

:d'

mo

moan

:l

shil

ghaolcaor

|d' :

s

ri

ann,mi

:m'

sgr

faoinsgaoilt

|r' :adh

amair

:d'

tuill

bharmhean

|l

e;

ail;gan;

:s

SCha

Silma

|mtid

chaidhghorm

|smi

eis

:l

le

foglan

:s

mirn

sgaoilaoidh,

|m' :

s

gu

fonach

:f'

cirt

faodchaoin

|s' :nan

mirosg

:m'

cruinn

faightan

|r'

eag.

inna

:d'

3.Thasmuainenodhandrsdairmaire;

Chaninnismichchceannfthmoghalair;

Gedlaidheasmitrth,chatmhdhomhcadal,

Sdoghrdhgamsgaradhancmhnuidh.

4.Dochlmaranlonnamhlecamag,

Nachgreannachfochr,issodgacheangal;

Dodheudmarnadsnean,donach,daingeann;

Beulbinnaghabhailnanran.

S

SCha

tu

mo

n

|r'

taobh

rn

igh

|m':r'am

mia

:d'

Muil

cailmheall

|l

e

eagadh

:d'

nam

angach

:l

mr

Chmhig

|s : :bheann.

ail.ear.

|s

:

This is about half the length of afermata; it is somewhat analogous to rubato, but the time is not stolen from anothermeasure.

*Although better suited to 12/8 time (four groups of three eighth notes per measure), 6/8 is used here since it is

probably more familiar to the reader. The next song, Ghruagach dhonn, is in the same metre but is placed in 12/8 time.The lack of a bar line helps to make the realization moreparlando (speech-like). Extra bar lines are added here to easethe transition to 12/8 time. 6/8 time is used in lieu of 12/8 time throughout this collection whenever the scansion

proved dificult.


16/20

2

Luath

The Celtic Lyre


Seann9honn


Gunurra

2.Ghruagachdhonn

1.2.3. Rinn

GhruagGhruag

SeDohC |l :

miachach

:l

dhonndhonncoinn

|d' :

agun

eamh

:d'

bhroillgh,riut

|s :

ichgungl

:m

bhin,9hoill,

g,

|s : :

Ann

Chum

Chum

|d' :do

aan

:t

chdh

choinncoill

|l :

ail

eamhe

:l

rium

riumdhlth

|d' :

Di

annan

:r'

Mrt,

raoir,cn,

|m'

: :

BhaBhith

Ghrua

|s' :gach

miinn

:m'

g

dhonncmh

isd

|r' :

aradh

eachd

:d'

bhroillriut

ri

|r' :

sich

doa

:m'

bhin,choill,chel,

|s : :

4.Gunrobhisefallain,sln,

ChumachdhailriumDiMirt,

Iarguinmaignesmairsnealphrmh,

Smochiongridhdarreadhthu.

S

GuSinn

bha

|l :maando

:d'

slncaoimh

phg

|f ' :

aneasmar

:d'

ch

domh9hg

|r' :

miairis

:d'

thu.each.leam.

|l

: :


17/20

8

*Gumall

8.Thamornairaghille

The Celtic Lyre


CatronaMunn,

Muile

Seann


19/20

30

Gusocrach

The Celtic Lyre


Seann9honn


UilleamMacCoinnich,

InbhirNis

24.AnGidhealsaleannan

Sisd: Thid

*

SeDohC |d' : :i s

|m

gun

:s :

tid

|l :i

:s

leam,

|s : :

Leam

|m' : :sa

|r'

gun

:m' :

tid

|s' :mo

:f'

leann

|m'

an,

:r'

:

Thid

|d' : :i s

|m

gun

:s :

tid

|l :i

:s

leam.

|s

Andeireadh

: :

3.

1.2. Sel

Thid

Thid

|d :i

aidhi

:r

leamsinnleam

|s :

a

:s

trtr

null

|m'

:

namar

thar

:f'

fraochdthsil

|s' :

bheann,chais,

e,

:l'

*Amoreappropriatetimesignaturewouldbe12WX,butitisdif9iculttoread.

6.Chumsguntrrarmisesmannsachd,

Ntrnambeannnangleannsnangaisgeach.

5.Ismuncirearannsanirsinn,Semodhrachdtilleadhdhachaidh.

4.SgedabhiodhgachlnaShamhradh,

Chaoidhbidhtrnambeannairmaire,

O

FarCur

n

NotebyFionn:GaelicwordsandmusicfromtheCelticMagazine.

|s' :thaaran

:m'

daoin

dancl

|r' : :t

an

airaobh

dolris

Gidh

|d' :

naeal

:r'

fasbeannbeairt

|m'

an.aibh.eas.

:r'

Chunantoisich

:


20/20

93

Glmhall

SeumasRothach Seann fhonnAth-sgrobhadh: Aindrias Hirt

68.Antigearuallach

1.2.3.

SGedCha

e n

*

SeDohC |s

b

tthig

ig

ion

:s

earan

ann

:l

m

uallSamh

bh

|d' :

achradhaist

:r'

alean

|m'shel

thrusguair

:s :

tharanbu

.s

greannghnth

chu|l

an:s

uainnmhorleam

:m

ABhi

Rinn

n

|rm

glaicsgead

Mhg

:m

ail

achmo

:s

truagh

ghleannghrdh

|m' :

dheth,

agaich

s

:r'

usair

a

|m'

luaisg

sgthbheann

:s' :

mo

lena

.m'

lth.frth!

chridh;

|r' : :

A

AnCha

|d'

duill

Mhleasgtog

:r'

aich

eache

:m'

uafonnuain

|s :

sailaire

:l

.san

namo

|mlead

sgilchridh

:r

ain

mune

:m

dual

cuairttrom

|s :

dhuinn,

aich,sa;

:l

*AmoreappropriatetimesignatureQouldbe12,butitisdifMiculttoread.

4.Ancoirealcelmhorairfeadhnancrcmheur,

Santeas,gubidheach,adrtadhstill;

Ancrodhairilean,santeasgansrach,

Snalaoighleilleasribhachddhuinn.

6.Ansinbemilleasachoillsnablithean,

Sbhitathaichfsaichissgilnafrth

Lemigearluinn,dondthugmingrdhsin

AdhWisgmochrdhonadhMhgentr.

5.Antigeardualach,sacheannancluainrium,

Agabhaildhuanagchuanalbinn;

Treiseilairbrodalgumilismogach,

SmochneasdlWthMhilltenamhnghlaicghrinn.

SThaTha

an

|d'mi

thrusgsaogh

:r' :

alfo

an

.r'

lom

ghruaim

snuadh

|m' :

oleam

mhor

ns

:r'

a

mumo

|d'dhMhgshonn

bhruaich

:l :

thu

aam

n

.s

tr.dhith.ghlinn.

|s : :

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