<![CDATA[The Séamus Connolly Collection of Irish Music]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=46&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Connolly%2C+S%C3%A9amus&page=2&sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle&output=rss2 Thu, 28 Mar 2024 14:43:40 -0700 burnsref@bc.edu (The Séamus Connolly Collection of Irish Music) Boston College Libraries Zend_Feed http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss <![CDATA[I'll Always Remember You]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/404

Story

Performed by my friend Bonnie Bewick Brown on violin, along with her friends Julianne Lee on viola and Mickey Katz on cello, this tune came to me on the morning in 1988 when my mother passed on to her place of eternal joy and rest. Being away from one's homeland and receiving a phone call at 6 A.M. somehow sends chills through your body. Usually, these calls relay some bad news or something you would prefer not to hear. 'Yes, Mama has died,' my brother Michael said. For some unknown reason, when I hung up the phone the first thing that I did was take out my fiddle and play. And play I did, all the while thinking of the music we had in our home as I was growing up. I played some of the tunes that my mother taught me, and I thought of all that she did for me as I endeavoured to play the music that I loved. Somehow and from someplace, this tune came to me. I went to Ireland that night and said goodbye to my Mom and when I returned to this great United States I began to work on the tune and make it my own. Looking back now over the last twenty-six years, I have come to realise that this was the last tune that my mother, Lena, gave to me. The beautiful arrangement of the melody comes to us courtesy of Bonnie. Bless you, my friend. Lena Connolly will always be remembered.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
09-15a_Ill_Always_Remember_You_violin-Air.pdf
09-15b_Ill_Always_Remember_You_full-Air.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:10 -0800
<![CDATA[Joy of My LIfe]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/505

Story

This well-known jig is performed on this track by yours truly, Séamus Connolly. With help on the banjo from my friend Kevin McElroy, we offer this grand two-part jig as a way to invite musicians to play this tune once again. The interesting second part of the tune comes from the fiddle playing of Thomas Power from Doonbeg in County Clare.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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07-02_Joy_of_My_Life-Jig.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:14 -0800
<![CDATA[Just Because It's You]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/731

Story

My dear friend Cindy Polo wrote this lovely tune in memory of her Dad. In her own words she tells us how it came to be:

'My first attempt at Irish fiddle playing was at a music camp in 2008, a violin novice, where I had the opportunity to learn from Séamus Connolly. He suggested that I could create a tune if I thought about a meaningful event. The tune played here by Séamus was my first attempt at composing music. It is in waltz time, and I wrote it in memory of my father, Edward Thomas Keane. As a young child, we would waltz across the living room, me riding on his feet. In later years there were father–daughter dinner dances and the dance at my wedding. We had our last waltz in 2001, the weekend before he died in the World Trade Tower on September 11th.'

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
08-08_Just_Because_Its_You-Waltz.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:24 -0800
<![CDATA[Kathleen Lawrie's]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/582

Story

Kathleen Lawrie, Bobbie's sister, recorded this reel for me when she visited me in Limerick in the early '70s. When Kathleen and her husband Tommy Boyle visited Sandy and me in Maine just a few years ago, I played the tune for her on the fiddle and asked her if she had any idea where it came from. To my surprise, she told me that she had never heard it before, so to remind her I played that old tape back to her.

We all had a big laugh when Kathleen discovered herself playing the reel on her accordion! That was my way of reminding her that she did indeed know the tune. I was thrilled to have Kathleen perform it with me for this collection, even though she had not played the piano for thirty-five years. She practiced for two days on a piano we borrowed from Kevin McElroy and his wife Kate Butler in order to give us this performance. I was delighted to have a chance to play with her, and I am happy to say that she has returned to the music and once again plays her beloved piano.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
02-04_Kathleen_Lawries-Reel.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:18 -0800
<![CDATA[Kilfenora Barndance, The]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/412

Story

This tune was one of the ones that I did not know on that tape sent to me over fifty years ago by Kitty Linnane, then leader of the famous Kilfenora Céilí Band (see 'Come to the Fair'). Indeed, many of the tunes on that tape were new to me. I had my work cut out for me, having to learn all of them for our upcoming tour of England. I am delighted that Tara Lynch (of the famed Kilfenora name) joined me on this track. It felt like home having Tara play with me. Thank you, my friend.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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08-06_The_Kilfenora_Barndance.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:10 -0800
<![CDATA[Lagan River, The]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/534

Story

David Curry's broadcasts from the BBC studios in Belfast were eagerly awaited in my home. He broadcast many fine tunes, including this one, which Nicole Rabata and I arranged for flute and fiddle. Not having the tune's original title, I have named it for the river that flows through Mr. Curry's hometown of Belfast.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
10-08_The_Lagan_River-Jig.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:15 -0800
<![CDATA[Leamanagh Castle]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/639

Story

Flute player Frank Neylon had a repertoire of fine tunes associated with his native Kilnaboy in north County Clare. Frank was living in Boston, Massachusetts, when I arrived there from Ireland in the 1970s. He was well-known and respected by all as a gentleman and a fine musician. He made some 78 RPM recordings with the County Kerry fiddle player Paddy Cronin, and he was featured on a long-playing record that I produced of musicians living in and around the Boston area in 1979. I asked Nicole Rabata to learn this reel from Frank's flute playing. For want of the tune's real title, I took the liberty of naming it after a landmark in Frank's home area.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
07-07_Leamanagh_Castle-Reel.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:20 -0800
<![CDATA[Magic Slipper, The]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/571

Story

Flutist Nicole Rabata joins me to play 'The Magic Slipper', a polka I learned from Boston accordionist Billy Caples. Mr. Caples was a well-known musician who had his own orchestra during the Dudley Street era of music and dancing.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
09-27_The_Magic_Slipper-Polka.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:17 -0800
<![CDATA[Man at the Helm]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/650

Story

I made this tune to honour the late Larry Reynolds of Galway, my friend for many years. Larry took me under his wing when I arrived in Boston in the 1970s. As president of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann in Boston, he guided the organisation from strength to strength. Larry always gave a great welcome to any musician young or old who came to visit or live in Boston.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries

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07-23_Man_at_the_Helm-Reel.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:20 -0800
<![CDATA[Miss Chrysandra Walter]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/403

Story

Writing the stories of these tunes brings back many memories. When Sandy, my late wife, was diagnosed with kidney cancer, my life was turned upside down. We were so happy together and loved doing and planning different things: places to see, friends to visit, recordings to make. To help and encourage young and talented people, and to travel, were part of our dreams. After I left Chrysandra at the hospital, late at night whilst driving home I thought of how good she was to me and how she wanted to make my life comfortable and easy. She always said, 'When you are with me, Baby, all you have to do is breathe'. She gave her whole life to me and, until the day she left us, was dedicated to me and to her beloved National Park Service of the United States of America.

Anyway, as I drove home that night, many tears flowed like a river and the pain hurt, but the beginning notes of this tune came to me. As I sat in her hospital room for the next few days I worked on the air, writing it on the corners of the local paper 'The Boston Globe'. The end result is what you have on this track. It is played by my friend Bonnie Bewick Brown, a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Bonnie also arranged 'Miss Chrysandra Walter' for cello and viola and invited her friends to perform it, and they did so beautifully. I am forever grateful to Bonnie for this wonderful arrangement and for all the help she gave to me on this project. I know Sandy would be very proud of this tune and how it was played. My dear wife and friend Chrysandra will be forever remembered by me, and through this tune her memory will live on!

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
09-01a_Miss_Chrysandra_Walter_full-Air.pdf
09-01b-d_Miss_Chrysandra_Walter_Parts-Air.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:09 -0800
<![CDATA[Mordaunt's Fancy]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/497

Story

This jig was played in my home in Killaloe, County Clare, when I was a young boy. It was not played by me, but by button accordionist Terry Lane on the turntable of our record player! Now, whenever I hear Mr. Lane's recordings, or 'Mordaunt's Fancy', it brings back childhood memories. My friend Geraldine Cotter from Ennis, County Clare, joins me on piano. We recorded the track in Geraldine's home in front of a blazing turf fire.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
06-03_Mordaunts_Fancy-Jig.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:14 -0800
<![CDATA[Mountain Pathway, The]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/556

Story

Kevin McElroy, Barbara MacDonald Magone, and I came together to record this tune, which we learned from the cassette tape of fiddle player Mrs. Ellen Galvin that was given to me by Tony MacMahon. A version of this tune was recorded by the great Sligo fiddle master, James Morrison.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
01-35_The_Mountain_Pathway-Polka.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:16 -0800
<![CDATA[Mrs. Galvin's Barndance]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/407

Story

The fiddle playing of Mrs. Ellen Galvin, who was born in the 1880s, certainly did sound as though it were from an earlier time in history. I remember seeing her perform in a concert in West Clare in the late 1950s. I was enthralled with her music then, and I still am. The tune transcribed here was recorded and collected from Mrs. Galvin, and a copy of the tape was passed along to me by accordion master Tony MacMahon. Thanks, Tony! My friends Barbara MacDonald Magone and Kevin McElroy helped out on the recording you are about to hear.

We shall hear Barbara play some of her own compositions (‘Ashcraft-Fraser House’, ‘The Reel Bus’, and ‘A Riverview Cabin’) as we venture through this collection.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
01-29_Mrs_Galvins_Barndance.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:10 -0800
<![CDATA[My Meitheal Class]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/513

Story

A week-long Irish music school known as Meitheal is held every year in Limerick. The five-day immersion in Irish music is directed by flute player Garry Shannon. As a teacher at the summer school, I had an assignment to work with a group of students who were interested in learning how to make up tunes. The music of composers Liz Carroll, Josephine Keegan, and Phil Cunningham from Scotland were used as examples. Students were asked to study the approach and methods used by these well-known composers. 'I'm not too sure where this is going to go', I said to myself. 'Music, I believe, happens when one is least thinking about it." However, after much listening, discussion, agreement, and collaborating, the students composed this tune. A talented group of young musicians – concertina players, accordionists, and other instruments all performing together – a wonderful sight to hear and behold! I have no fear for the future of Irish music. Nicole Rabata, a young flute player from Portland, Maine, joins me on this track. Listen and enjoy.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
07-33_My_Meitheal_Class-Jig.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:14 -0800
<![CDATA[North Road, The]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/669

Story

My young friend Meghan Mette composed this reel. I was delighted that she asked me to play it with her, along with Nicole Rabata on flute and Kevin McElroy on mandolin. She tells us how the tune came about:

'I wrote this tune for Séamus first and foremost as a "thank you" for all of the musical wisdom he has imparted to me. However, it is also a tale of the many afternoons spent in Séamus' music room, learning, listening, playing... Some days we just sat and listened to old albums on the wonderful sound system, the notes vibrating through the varnished floorboards and bouncing off the walls...

My favourite afternoons, however, were when it was just the two of us, sitting side by side, playing tunes for the fun of it; maybe Séamus would think of a special ornament he wanted to show me or a specific tune that was fun to play in a different key. I often enjoyed just sitting back and observing Séamus when he went on a rant of tunes. I was, and still am, mesmerised by the fluidity and grace of his fingers as they tickle the fingerboard, his bow flying over the strings, his mind at obvious peace. These are my favourite images, frozen in time, Séamus in another world entirely, just playing because he loves it so. When I play "The North Road", it reminds me of these moments...'


Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
09-10_The_North_Road-Reel.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:21 -0800
<![CDATA[O'Carolan's (Number 174)]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/729

Story

Turlough O'Carolan's eighteenth-century compositions have attracted the attention of musicians all over the world. His music occupies a unique and permanent place in the repertoire of Irish traditional music. I learned this tune from the guitar playing of my friend Anisa Angarola. We played it together on Anisa's CD Birdwatcher Hill, and that track appears here. The tune can be found as number 174 in Donal O'Sullivan's magisterial collection Carolan: The Life, Times and Music of an Irish Harper, Volume 1.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
05-16_OCarolans_Number_174-Waltz.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:24 -0800
<![CDATA[Old 78 Record, An]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/475

Story

Geraldine Cotter liked this tune the first time she heard me playing it. 'Let's try and record it', she said, and as I played the jig a second time she followed right along. This track is the result of our efforts. I do not have a name for this jig, but I have given it a title based on the fact that I first heard it many years ago on a 78 record.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
03-20_An_Old_78_Record-Jig.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:13 -0800
<![CDATA[Old as the Hills]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/501

Story

Jack Coen gave me the name for this jig, which can be found as a two-part tune in A major in the O'Neill's 1001 collection. I first heard the tune played by 'The Man of Many Tunes', Larry Gavin. I also heard a version of it performed by Mr. David Curry and his orchestra in a radio broadcast when I was still living in Ireland. A classical musician, David Curry took traditional tunes in the public domain and arranged them for orchestra. Maine flute player Nicole Rabata and I play David Curry's four-part setting of 'Old as the Hills'. We transposed it to the key of G major, the key that Larry Gavin played it in many years ago.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
06-15_Old_as_the_Hills-Jig.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:14 -0800
<![CDATA[Old Times]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/693

Story

I found an old brown manuscript page and remembered that my former sister-in-law Maureen Glynn had given it to me. Maureen grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She was a talented lady and widely respected in the Irish music and dance world. Maureen was a great musician: a piano, fiddle, and whistle player who taught hundreds of children in and around The Big Apple. She was also an Irish dance teacher, but most times could be heard playing music at the feiseanna instead of adjudicating the dancing. Maureen loved the old music and it was always a delight to play with her.

The track heard here is taken from a cassette recording that I made years ago of myself playing the tune from that manuscript. If memory serves me well, I believe it was a handwritten transcription of a page from The Roche Collection, where this tune occurs in the key of G under the title above. I moved the tune to the key of A, in order to give it a more open, pipes-like sound on the fiddle. At the time of recording, some variations had come to mind and I did not want to forget them, so onto the tape they went. I forgot about the tune after that, but I recently found the tape in a drawer in my music room. I thought it would make a worthy addition to this collection. So here is Maureen Glynn's old brown manuscript. A tune not to be forgotten. Enjoy!

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
10-16_Old_Times-Schottische.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:22 -0800
<![CDATA[Old Tipperary]]> https://connollymusiccollection.bc.edu/document/471

Story

A great old jig that I first played with the legendary Clare piper Willie Clancy. It seems appropriate that Padraic Mac Mathúna, son of Ciarán Mac Mathúna, the radio and television presenter, should play it with me for this collection. Padraic spent much of his youth in Miltown Malbay where Willie Clancy lived, and Padraic's playing on the pipes is certainly a musical reflection of the nuances of Willie Clancy's music. Hospitality is at its best in the home of Padraic, his good wife Anne, and their lovely children. Sandy and I often reminisced about the evening we spent with them in Dublin, which was topped off when the man himself, Ciarán Mac Mathúna, shared a wonderful dinner with all of us.

Publisher

Séamus Connolly
Boston College Libraries
03-10_Old_Tipperary-Jig.pdf
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Fri, 12 Feb 2016 08:43:13 -0800