American slow airs?

[jim stone]

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/pla ... +Brigadoon

This is from the hit play, Brigadoon, and it's American pseudo-Scottish. Call it want you want, it's slow and it sounds
ravishing on the Irish flute.

By the way, the rendition on the video is in G, and you can simply play along on the flute.

Wow! Thanks for this, Jim - it's gorgeous. Can't wait to try playing along.

You betcha. Note the high B sung toward the end of the tune. That's great fun on the flute.

[Denny]

It's called Bonaparte's Retreat, but it's not the tune as I've known it heretofore.

I'd think not! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fLfFeO8h5Q

nice though, innit

[Nanohedron]

nice though, innit

It's just one more reason to kick myself for never having taken up the fiddle.

[MTGuru]

It's just one more reason to kick myself for never having taken up the fiddle.

Kick yourself if you must. But the world thanks you.

[Nanohedron]

But the world thanks you.

And...? You know full well what I think about that.

[Denny]

don't beg dear

[BigDavy]

Hi Nanohedron

If you liked Bonaparte's Retreat, then Aly Bain playing Waiting for the Federals would be a nice follow on. (Though I think he should have used it's proper name - The Seneca Square Dance).

Transatlantic Sessions 5 has been recorded, hopefully it will be broadcast soon.

David

[david_h]

Any American tune played slowly by Aly Bain

(I was also going to suggest "Waiting for the Federals" but wasn't sure if it was a slow tune when at home over there)

[talasiga]

......
The Scottish tradition has a lovely selection of slow airs/laments
......

Is that what they traditionally call pibroch?
I look forward, with pleasure, at your response to this first.
thanks, mate.

[dunnp]

I think pibrochs are in a category of their own. Their are loads of Scottish Airs that are not connected with any word set or piborochs and are lovley listening pieces if you will. Just as thier are Irish slow airs not connected with words but Scotland seems to have them in spades.
By the way I'm sure I read somewhere from Jay Ungar that Ashokan Farewell was composed in the style of a scottish air which makes perfect sense to me. My favorite air at the moment is a listening piece called Freddie's tune from a shetland player recorded by Aly Bain and Tom Andersen.
Someone metioned that airs are always connected to words or the song tradition sung in Irish however there are many that are not and so I think if I say air, it can mean both the melody of a sean nos song connected with words and a sort of listening piece not connected with words that is not a jig, reel, mazurka, waltz, various other dance form. So by extension any American song melody or listening piece {I'm sure they exist though hard to put a finger on, though John Hartford's Man of Constant Sorrow thing would certainly qualify} influenced by the way by Scottish and Irish music, that is not meant to be danced to can be an air. Wow what a run on sentence.
I'll leave the explanation of Pibroch to someone who really knows their sh*t however something like Neil Gow's Lament for his second wife or Oh The Airds are not piborch the 'classical music' of the bagpipe.

[NicoMoreno]

Someone metioned that airs are always connected to words or the song tradition sung in Irish

Who said that? I didn't read anyone saying that.

Please be careful: "slow air" and "air" are different terms. In my mind, an air is the tune to a song (or a piece in a similar style), not necessarily slow or fast. But as I said previously "slow air" means something fairly specific.

[BigDavy]

......
The Scottish tradition has a lovely selection of slow airs/laments
......

Is that what they traditionally call pibroch?
I look forward, with pleasure, at your response to this first.
thanks, mate.

Hi Talasiga

Pibroch or Piobaireachd to give it it's full Gaelic spelling (it quite literally means pipe music) is effectively a specialist art form within piping - it's alternative name Ceòl Mór, which means Big Music, is IMO more correct.

Lament for the Children is one of the more ancient pibrochs.

I would half agree with dunnp, in that Ceòl Mór is a specialist form of music in the Scottish tradition, but most slow airs that are playable on the GHB could be used as the ground for a pibroch.

Seeing as this is the flute forum, here is dunnp playing a beautiful pipe air Flowers of the Forest on flute.

David

[talasiga]

yes, given that a Ceòl Mór performance can be informed by a slow air, wouldn't it be reasonable to presume that all urlars may be informed by slow airs or expressions analagous to slow airs?

And, in as much as the oldest traditions of Gaelic Scotland are sourced in the migration of the Gaels from Ireland in olden times, might it be fair to suggest that the Ceòl Mór holds (and reflects) the olden Irish air complex (symbiosis amongst different types of air)?

(if you know what I mean, Big Davy).

[BigDavy]

Hi Talasiga

I would think that there was more than just Irish influences, ancient and modern, Scandinavian influences as well, and influences from other parts of Scotland.

Given the number of mercenaries the highlands supplied to Europe, continental influences can also be included. Especially France, with it's plethora of bagpipe types.

I would expect that tune wise it would be the harp traditions of Ireland and Scotland that would have been the main influence and early source.

David

[talasiga]

I have noticed that both Nico Moreno and Big Davy have spoken on their subject matter and have used the word "tune" correctly in their posts without meaning "dance tune" per se .....