UPDATE:
This BLOG about Scots Gaelic has moved to the following site:
This BLOG about Scots Gaelic has moved to the following site:
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Waulking Songs - Oran Luadhaidh
Waulking songs (Oran Luadhaidh) are so much fun!!!
They are songs that have an alternating chorus and solo lines - with the solo lines frequently improvised - sung by women in the West Highlands when 'waulking' (shrinking) cloth.
The custom no longer survives as modern methods have overtaken the tweed industry. The original method was to soak the tweed in human urine and thump it on a board or table rhythmically with feet or hands, with the cloth being passed round as it was worked on. This could take up to half an hour. The quality of the cloth was much better preserved by the method.
I'll be performing several Waulking songs at the Scots Gaelic song and pipe music concert series in April. I will also be teaching one at the workshop held in St. Paul.
Ticket information on Eventbrite
They are songs that have an alternating chorus and solo lines - with the solo lines frequently improvised - sung by women in the West Highlands when 'waulking' (shrinking) cloth.
The custom no longer survives as modern methods have overtaken the tweed industry. The original method was to soak the tweed in human urine and thump it on a board or table rhythmically with feet or hands, with the cloth being passed round as it was worked on. This could take up to half an hour. The quality of the cloth was much better preserved by the method.
I'll be performing several Waulking songs at the Scots Gaelic song and pipe music concert series in April. I will also be teaching one at the workshop held in St. Paul.
Ticket information on Eventbrite
Friday, January 24, 2014
Working with a piper
Dick and I have been hard at work preparing an all Scots Gaelic Song & Pipe music concert for the people of Minnesota. It is exciting to be involved in this type of project! Scotland’s Western Isles have preserved a wealth of traditional Scots Gaelic songs, as well as music for the pipes. As a duo, we combined these two ancient musical traditions.
Working with a piper has made me think even more about the long tradition these tunes hold. What an honor it is to have the opportunity to be a part of preserving tradition.
Dick Hensold during our most recent rehearsal playing the Northumbrian small pipes.
Dick Hensold is the leading Northumbrian smallpiper in North America, and for the past 20 years has performed and taught in England, Scotland, Japan, Canada, and across the United States. Based in St Paul, MN, he is a full-time musician, passionately presenting the traditional music of Scotland, Cape Breton Island, and Northumberland, as well as Nordic folk music, early music, and traditional Cambodian music. He is also an active composer, studio musician and theater musician, and his solo Northumbrian smallpipes CD Big Music for Northumbrian Smallpipes was released in 2007.
More information on Dick go to www.dickhensold.com
Thursday, January 23, 2014
I see the big mountains!
Another song we are going to feature in our Scots Gaelic Song & Pipe music concert is "I Will See The Big Mountains".
Here is just a chorus and verse of the song and then I sing some mouth music.
www.concertwindow.com
Chi mi na mor-bheanna
{translation below lyrics}
O Chi, Chi mi na mor-bheanna,
O Chi, Chi mi na corr-bheanna,
O Chi, Chi mi na coireachan
Chi mi na sgoran fo cheo
Chi mi gun dail an t-site san d’rugadh mi
Cuirear orm falte sa chanain a thuigeas mi
gheibh mi ann aoidh agus gradh nuair riugeam
nac reicinn air tunnachan oir
chi mi na coilltean , chi mi na doireachan,
chi mi na maghn bana as toraiche
chi mi na feidh air lar nan coireachan
falaicht an trusgan de cheo
failt air na gorm mheallaibh tholmach thulachnach
failt air na corr bheannaibh more mulanach
failt air na coiltean, us failt’ air na h-uile
O! s’ona bhi ‘fuireach ‘nan coir.
{Translation}
O I will see, see the big mountains
O I will see, see the big mountains
O I will see, see the big mountains,
O I will see, see the corries,
I will see the misty peaks
I will soon sore the place where I was born
I will be given a welcome in the language I understand,
I will receive joy and love when I arrive
That I would not seel you futons of gold
I will see the woods, set he groves
I will see the fair and beautiful plains
I will see the deer at the foot of the cores
Enshrouded in a mantle of mist
Hail to the many green hillocks
Hail to the many great mountain
Hail to the forest and hail to all
O what happiness to live newer to them.Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Dirty old man
One of my favorite things about puirt a beul (mouth music) is that most of the time the words are silly and fun. The main emphasis is the rhythm that the lyrics create. So I thought I would share an example of silly and fun lyrics. I pasted the lyrics to this tune in Gaelic and then the english translation below.
To hear the tune you can come to one of my Scots Gaelic Song concerts in April tune in online at www.concertwindow.com to watch our April 5th performance live in Winona, MN.
To hear the tune you can come to one of my Scots Gaelic Song concerts in April tune in online at www.concertwindow.com to watch our April 5th performance live in Winona, MN.
Nam biodh agam giobal bodaich
bhogainn anns an allt e
nam biodh agam giobal bodaich
bhogainn anns an allt e
nam biodh agam giobal bodaich
bhogainn anns an allt e
{If I had a dirty old man, I'd thrown him in the river}
’S mur biodh e glan nuair bheirinn as e Bhogainn rithist ann e
{When he was clean I'd take him out and thrown him in again}
Gum bogainn e, ’s gun toga inn e
’S gum bogainn anns an allt e
Gum bogainn e, ’s gun toga inn e
’S gum bogainn anns an allt e
Gum bogainn e, ’s gun toga inn e
’S gum bogainn anns an allt e
{I'd throw him in, then I'd take him out}
’S mur biodh e glan nuair bheirinn as e Bhogainn rithist ann e
{When he was clean I'd take him out and thrown him in again}
They just don't write lyrics like this anymore! HA!
Monday, January 20, 2014
Who Will Have Fun With Me - Co ni mire rium
Apologies that I can't seem to get grave accent marks on this keyboard for the Gaelic letters! They make a difference but after an hour of trying to figure it out, I realized I had better things to do with my time. So I will carry on minus the grave marks!
I want to share some of the music we (piper Dick Hensold and I) will be performing at our upcoming concert series in April.
One of the pieces that I've wanted to perform for quite a while is a waulking song called 'Co ni mire rium'. It has been recording by several Scots Gaelic singers, so it is always important to make a new arrangement while keeping the traditional sound in tact. In our arrangement, Dick has written some really nice instrumental breaks which I believe keeps the tune interesting. I can't wait to perform it!
This is a waulking song by a young man who is wondering who will flirt with him. He meets a young girl one day when walking on the moors: she is picking flowers by the side of a pool. He went over to her and asked who she belonged to - she told him she was a Chisholm girl and he in turn told her that she was also a Chisholm. She said that she would have nothing to do with him, that a MacLean was her preference and a MacDonald is to meet her.
This is a waulking song by a young man who is wondering who will flirt with him. He meets a young girl one day when walking on the moors: she is picking flowers by the side of a pool. He went over to her and asked who she belonged to - she told him she was a Chisholm girl and he in turn told her that she was also a Chisholm. She said that she would have nothing to do with him, that a MacLean was her preference and a MacDonald is to meet her.
Here is the translation for those interested:
Who Will Have Fun With Me?
Who will flirt with me?
Who will be nice to me?
Who will, unless the young men will?
One day I took off into the mountain moors
I came across a nice young lass
I went over and got her to talk with me
And I asked her what her surname was
She said, "I'm a Chisolm"
And I told her that that was my clan
She said to me, "I'll have nothing to do with you I prefer MacLeans
And a MacDonald will be coming to see me"
Friday, January 17, 2014
Scots Gaelic Waulking Song: Uamh an Òir
Scots Gaelic Song - Uamh an Òir
Cave of Gold (Uamh an Òir ).
I learned the song as a waulking song back when I was studying Scots Gaelic in Scotland. The story is of a piper who went into a cave. His music became fainter and fainter. The piper never came back. Some say that his dog came out hairless. Some versions of the song and story tell of the piper being attacked by fairy hounds.
Here is my version and the translation is pasted below:
Uamh an Oir (Cave of Gold)
Traditional Waulking Song
Every woman with her coat soaking taking the sand-eels from the shore
***
Before I come, before I return, before I come out of the Cave of Gold
Before I come, before I return, before I come out of the Cave of Gold
***
The little calves will be mart-cattle before I come out of the Cave of Gold
The little calves will be mart-cattle before I come out of the Cave of Gold
***
Before I come, before I return, before I come out of the Cave of Gold
Before I come, before I return, before I come out of the Cave of Gold
***
The little children will be householders before I come out of the Cave of Gold
The little children will be householders before I come out of the Cave of Gold
***
Before I come, before I return, before I come out of the Cave of Gold
Before I come, before I return, before I come out of the Cave of Gold
***
Every woman with her coat soaking taking the sand-eels from the shore
Every woman with her coat soaking taking the sand-eels from the shore
***
Taking the sand-eels, taking the sand-eels, taking the sand-eels from the shore
Taking the sand-eels, taking the sand-eels, taking the sand-eels from the shore
Traditional Waulking Song
Every woman with her coat soaking taking the sand-eels from the shore
***
Before I come, before I return, before I come out of the Cave of Gold
Before I come, before I return, before I come out of the Cave of Gold
***
The little calves will be mart-cattle before I come out of the Cave of Gold
The little calves will be mart-cattle before I come out of the Cave of Gold
***
Before I come, before I return, before I come out of the Cave of Gold
Before I come, before I return, before I come out of the Cave of Gold
***
The little children will be householders before I come out of the Cave of Gold
The little children will be householders before I come out of the Cave of Gold
***
Before I come, before I return, before I come out of the Cave of Gold
Before I come, before I return, before I come out of the Cave of Gold
***
Every woman with her coat soaking taking the sand-eels from the shore
Every woman with her coat soaking taking the sand-eels from the shore
***
Taking the sand-eels, taking the sand-eels, taking the sand-eels from the shore
Taking the sand-eels, taking the sand-eels, taking the sand-eels from the shore
Every woman with her coat soaking taking the sand-eels from the shore
I love having this online resource of tobar and dualchais to further learning and growth in Scots Gaelic song from my home. Here is another version of the story which different lyrics and tune - which is common with traditional music!
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