solo cello sheet music of this is in Irish Airs for Solo Cello available at store.playcell...
Living the Tradition film; go to
www.amazon.com...
In the summer of 2013, I travelled around Ireland in search of the origins of ten Irish Airs, meeting and interviewing fantastic people along the way, and playing each air in the areas where they originated. The journey was made with filmmaker Marten Roos, and the film is called "Living the Tradition" It won best documentary in the EIFF, Eerie International Film Festival, has been shown in Sydney Australia, Ireland, and the UK, and has been playing on Aer Lingus in-flight entertainment.
Carrickfergus, a small town near Belfast in Northern Ireland, was the second air we filmed on our journey. The song talks about “wishing to be in Carrickfergus” and since filming in the town of Carrickfergus was going to be very tricky (busy noisy road, no good open views, etc.), we decided that going across the water looking over to Carrickfergus would be a better option. Thanks to Googlemaps we managed to identify a suitable location at Helen’s Bay, near Bangor. We went for an early morning sunrise shoot!
I wish I was in Carrickfergus, only for nights in Ballygrand.
I would swim over the deepest ocean, the deepest ocean for my love to find,
But the sea is wide and I cannot swim over and neither have I wings to fly.
If I could find me a handsome boatman to ferry me over to my love and die.
My childhood days bring back sad reflections of happy times I spent so long ago.
My boyhood friends and my own relations have all passed on now like melting snow,
But I’ll spend my days in endless roaming; soft is the grass, my bed is free.
Ah, to be back in Carrickfergus on that long road down to the salty sea!
And in Kilkenny it is reported there are marble stones as black as ink.
With gold and silver I would support her, but I’ll sing no more now till I get a drink.
I’m drunk today and I’m seldom sober, a handsome rover from town to town.
Ah, but I’m sick now, my days are numbered, so come all ye young men and lay me down.
store.playcell...
livingthetradit...
ilsedeziah.com
In the summer of 2013, I travelled around Ireland in search of the origins of ten Irish Airs, meeting and interviewing fantastic people along the way, and playing each air in the areas where they originated. The journey was made with filmmaker Marten Roos, and the film is called "Living the Tradition" It won best documentary in the EIFF, Eerie International Film Festival, has been shown in Sydney Australia, Ireland, and the UK, and has been playing on Aer Lingus in-flight entertainment.
On the fifth day of our journey, we went to visit Lillis Ó Laoire at the National University of Ireland, Galway, to ask him about the song. He is a Séan-nos singer and Head of School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures.
A Stór mo Chroí (Treasure of my Heart) was written by Brian O’Higgins (1882 - 1963) at a time when emigration was prevalent. He used the melody of an Irish air, Bruach na Carriage Báine. It was published in his collection of verse Glen na Mona, in 1929. Other songs, for example Bruach Dún Réimhe by a South Ulster poet called Art Mac Cooey, (died in 1773) use a very similar melody.
There is some interesting background information in Lillis’ book “Bright Star of the West: Joe Heaney, Irish Song Man” by Sean Williams, Lillis Ó Laoire (Chap. 5, pg. 132-135). Joe Heaney made the song quite popular as an emigration anthem.
We asked Lillis what would be an appropriate spot to film the air. He suggested we go to the iconic Benbulben in county Sligo. This is a magnificent rock formation that was said to be home of the Fianna, a band of warriors from the 3rd century. Who knows, this melody may even have been sung there in those days!
For anyone wanting to learn to play this beautiful tune easily and quickly I have made a video tutorial.
playcellomusic...
24 авг 2024
