Browse Content (338 total)
Farewell to Whiskey
Composed by the legendary Scottish fiddle player Niel Gow in 1799, this tune's title is apparently a reaction to the temporary prohibition of distillation in Scotland due to the failure of that year's barley crop. Played on this recording by master…
Bells of Congress, The
The Bells of Congress were presented to the United States by the Ditchley Foundation of Great Britain in 1976. A replica of the bells in London's Westminster Abbey, they are rung in honour of the opening and closing of Congress, and on state…
Bobby Gardiner's (Number Two)
The art form of lilting is demonstrated here by Bobby Gardiner. My grandmother Elizabeth Collins (née Rochford), herself a very good lilter, told me that 'jiggers', as she called them, were commonly called upon whenever musicians were not…
Mrs. Ryan's
Ciarán Mac Mathúna from Radio Éireann recorded this tune from concertina player Mrs. Ryan from Ballinaclough, Nenagh, County Tipperary. Although this tune is played as a slide, the area around North Tipperary and Limerick is…
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…
Thomas Power's March
Another tune from the playing of Thomas Power from Doonbeg in County Clare. On this track, I am joined by Kevin McElroy on bodhrán and Nicole Rabata on flute to perform our interpretation of the march.
Brave Irish Boys, The
Irish céilí dancing was very popular in the late 1950s and early '60s, and dancers loved the idea of dancing to the music of different bands. In the late 1950s I was invited to join The Ormond Star Céilí Band, one of a…
Thomas Power's Polka
Thomas Power, fiddle player from Doonbeg, County Clare, had a repertoire of unusual old tunes. His son Michael, who lives in upstate New York, sent me a recording of his father playing this and a number of other tunes. Fiddle player Kevin Burke did a…
McQuillen's March
This tune is not a composition of 'Professor' Bob McQuillen, but of the master fiddle player from New Hampshire, Rodney Miller. Rodney is considered today to be the foremost exponent of the music of New England. He has traveled all over the world…
Magherafelt May Fair
The Pride of Erin Céilí Band, led by All-Ireland fiddle champion Sean Nugent, was held in high esteem throughout Ireland. Sean, from Lack in County Fermanagh, was a vibrant, energetic, and fun-loving man who adored the music. On a…
Celtic Lamb, The
This track comes from the CD To The Dance Floor, released in 2006 by a Rhode Island-based group called The Gnomes. Among its members is Phil Edmonds, the composer of this beautiful tune. Phil and I went to the same school in Killaloe, where we…
Biddy from Sligo / The Connaughtman's Rambles
And as we present this last selection, we come to the end of a long musical journey. It is my hope that whoever reads my stories, anecdotes, and ramblings will get some insight into the tunes' histories, and some new information about them.…
Young When He's Dancing
This tune was composed by Chicago fiddle player Devin Shepherd. He plays it here with his friend Sean Gavin on flute. Devin named the tune for Mike Doyle from County Wexford, who now lives in Chicago. Mike is an avid enthusiast of the music and can…
What Care I for the Minister?
This slip jig from the Scottish tradition was taught to me by Boston harpist Kathleen Guilday. I told her about this project and asked her if she would record it for me. Kathleen was delighted, and graciously agreed to come to Maine to do the…
Biddy from Sligo
The fiddle master Néillidh Boyle recorded this tune as part of a two-jig set in Dublin in 1937. That recording happened to be the very first record of Irish fiddle music that I had when I was growing up. It is performed on this track by…
Road to Durham, The
Cathal McConnell, 'The Great One', gave me this tune, and he also gave it the above title. Recently, I discovered that the other 'Great One', Liz Carroll, had recorded her rendition of the tune on her long-playing record A Friend Indeed. Liz informed…
Champaign Jig Goes to Columbia, The
During that musical evening at the Gavins' in Balbriggan so long ago, Jimmy Keane, the piano accordion player from Chicago, played this tune. He informed me that it is one of Liz Carroll's compositions, entitled 'The Champaign Jig Goes to Columbia'.…
Lagan River, The
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…
New Road to Sligo, The
David Reiner composed 'The New Road to Sligo'. It is played for us by Liz Carroll. David told me that he composed this tune 'to tell the story of a musical road trip, from the bold beginning in G minor, to the detour into B flat, to the simpler and…
Port an Deoraí
This lovely and unusual slip jig is played here by Geraldine Cotter. It may also be found in her collection of fifty traditional Irish tunes called Rogha, Geraldine Cotter's Choice.