Browse Content (196 total)
- Subject is exactly "Fiddle tunes--Ireland"
Magic Slipper, The
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.
Tulla Lodge
Martin Hayes, the great fiddle player from East Clare, gives us this beautiful rendition of a tune I have given the title 'Tulla Lodge'. This tune was given to me by Larry Gavin.
Grover Jones' Waltz
The great Appalachian fiddle player Alan Jabbour recorded this tune for me with Ken Perlman on banjo and Pete Sutherland at the piano. Alan told me that Grover Jones loved to play this tune on his fiddle, and even when in the company of other…
Killaloe Reel, The
My nephew Damien Connolly plays a reel of his own composition. In his words he tells us about his native Killaloe: 'I am very proud of my hometown of Killaloe, County Clare. I lived there for twelve years before moving to Ennis. Killaloe is my first…
McDonnell-Garvey Hornpipe, The
On this track we once again hear Josephine Keegan performing one of her compositions. The tune is dedicated to her friend, the late Máire McDonnell-Garvey, who was a fiddle player and the author of a number of books about her native province…
Pádraig O'Keeffe's
I first heard this tune played by Nicky McAuliffe and Connie O'Connell on two fiddles. They played it at a concert in Miltown Malbay at the Willie Clancy Summer School in 1988. They learned the tune from a Pádraig O'Keeffe manuscript. Here we…
Gallant Tipperary Boys, The
This tune may be found in the O'Neill's Music of Ireland collection under the title 'Gallant Tipperary'. It also appears in The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music in the 'Airs' section of that book. The tune, played here by Laurel Martin,…
Linda Ray's
The great fiddle player from New York City, Mr. Tony De Marco, composed this reel for his friend Linda Hickman, herself a lovely flute player. When I heard this reel performed by Tony and Charlie Lennon on Tony's CD The Sligo Indian, I fell in love…
Rakish Highlander, The
Larry Redican, the great New York fiddle player and composer, once told me he loved going through old books and manuscripts 'looking for strange tunes'. The reel on this track is certainly a version of the tune found in Ryan's Mammoth Collection,…
Séamus Connolly's
I am so honoured that my great friend, the prolific composer Bob McQuillen, wrote this tune for me. 'The Professor', as I call him, is a special person in my life and I have for many years admired his compositions and music. Bob is heard playing his…
North Road, The
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…
Mike Duggan's Polka
On this track we once again hear Eamon Flynn on fiddle as he plays 'Mike Duggan's Polka'. Thanks to Brosna-born accordionist Michael Mulcahy for the tune title.
Four-Fingered Fisherman, The
The young Chicago fiddle player Devin Shepherd composed this fine jig. He plays it on this track with his musical friend, flute player Sean Gavin from Detroit, accompanied by Brian Miller on guitar and Jackie Moran on bodhrán.
Rock Point Lane
'Rock Point Lane' is the name of the street in California where Sandy's parents live. One Christmas day, around 1990, when she and I were visiting them, the basic outline of this jig came to me. After working on it for a while and deciding which key…
Sporting Nell
A fine version of 'Sporting Nell', played here for us by one of my favourite young fiddle players, the talented Tina Lech from Boston. I first heard this reel in Chicago in 1972 played by another of my favourite fiddle players, the great Johnny…
For Betty Killoran
Another composition of accordionist and concertina player Charlie Mulvihill from New York. It is played on this track by Charlie and his children Tommy on fiddle, and Geraldine on piano. It is another of the tunes on the tape that Mr. Mulvihill made…
Shoemaker's Fancy, The
The young fiddle player Liam Lewis played this jig on a tape given to me by a friend one night after a concert. I stuck the tape into the cover of my fiddle case and forgot about it. Finding it later was a lovely surprise. My friend Laurel Martin…
Montague Processional, The
David Kaynor graciously played his own composition for me, with Pete Sutherland at the piano, at the Northeast Heritage Music Camp held at Johnson State College in Vermont in 2009. David told me that this tune occurred to him after he hosted a fiddle…
Drumnagarry Strathspey
Tommy Peoples played this tune for me at a recording session at Boston College. The tune may also be found on Tommy's fine albums Traditional Irish Music Played on the Fiddle and Waiting for a Call.
Crooked Hurricane, The
My good friend Cindy Polo made this tune and dedicated it to another friend, Randy Bridgman. I enjoyed playing this tune with Cindy and Gabriel Donohue. In Cindy's own words, she tells us about 'The Crooked Hurricane': 'What else to do while the…