Charlotte Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Tonight I discovered the The Recorded Tunes Link Page! Great idea. I hope that I, one day, will be able to contribute something.... I fell in love with one of the contributions : "Sheebeg an Sheemore" (what does it mean???) performed by Henk van Aalten. I should definitely like to learn to play that tune (eventually)! Does anyone know where I can get the abc/notes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Evans Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 I can't translate it for you, but I've a bit of conjecture put forth by harpist Mairead Dorhety: She says legend has it that Tourlough heard a young girl singing The Cuckoo and years later it inspired him to compose Sheebeg an Sheemore. In a concert I did with Mairead she sang The Cuckoo in Gealic while accompanying herself on harp. As she came to the last note, the tin whistle started right in with Sheebeg an Sheemore. Sure made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end and I started to get weepy as we all joined in. Worked for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wild Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 (edited) The Queen of the fairies lives under the little hill (Si Beg), and the King of the Fairies lives under the big hill (Si mor). Various books of Irish tunes, including a section on O'Carolan should have the tune. - John Wild Edited January 14, 2006 by John Wild Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 (edited) This is as good a place as any to remind folks of John Chambers' tune finder at http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/music/abc/FindTune.html. Because of the non-standard spelling of the title, I just typed in "sheebeg" and got dozens of hits (links to where the tune is on the web). Here's one of them. Edited for typo. Edited January 14, 2006 by David Barnert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted January 14, 2006 Author Share Posted January 14, 2006 This is as good a place as any to remind folks of John Chambers' tune finder at http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/music/abc/FindTune.html. Because of the non-standard spelling of the title, I just typed in "sheebeg" and got dozens of hits (links to where the tune is on the web). Here's one of them. Edited for typo. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 The Queen of the fairies lives under the little hill (Si Beg), and the King of the Fairies lives under the big hill (Si mor). "Sídhe" in Irish means "fairies"; I think Sí is modern spelling. And wouldn't you know that in Irish a word that means "little" sounds like "big", while the word that means "big" sounds like "more". As John says, the title means "Fairies of the little [hill], fairies of the big [hill]." I don't know about "queen" vs. "king", but the story I have is that Carolan originally composed it with words, which commemorate a battle between the two groups of fairies. (I wonder if it would be translated into Russian as "Mensheviks, Bolsheviks"? ) Like many an Irish tune name, it's spelling and pronunciation have been widely and variously corrupted by people who simply try to spell what they think they heard... from others who tried to pronounce what was written by someone... who tried to spell what they thought they heard.... (Ever play "telephone"? I think that game also goes by the name of "gossip".) By the way, there are two major variants in the B part. The eighth full measure of the version David linked to has a half-note A, which is how I learned it many years ago. Then some years later I ran into folks who play that note as a B, same as the note that precedes it. I prefer the A (and I suspect that's the original, though I haven't researched it deeply), but I think the folks in Copenhagen sessions usually play the B, so you should be ready to adapt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henk van Aalten Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Tonight I discovered the The Recorded Tunes Link Page! Great idea. I hope that I, one day, will be able to contribute something.... I fell in love with one of the contributions : "Sheebeg an Sheemore" (what does it mean???) performed by Henk van Aalten. I should definitely like to learn to play that tune (eventually)! Does anyone know where I can get the abc/notes? Charlotte, I'm glad you found the page and that you enjoyed the tunes. One remark about my recording of Sheebeg an Sheemore. In 99% of the time the tune is played in D. I play it in C however for the simple reason that I only had a C/G concertina and I had not find out yet how to play it in D. One of the charms of the recording is the guitar playing by my brother. Makes a big difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animaterra Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 I can't remember where I read that when Carolan was first playing the harp, a patron suggested he write a tune, and offered him the story of the big hill and little hill nearby. Carolan duly dashed off a tune, which we know as "Si Beag, Si Mhor" (or whatever spelling you choose). In Edward Bunting's collection that includes "Bonny Cuckoo" he refers to "Cuckoo" as "an ancient melody, procured by the editor in the poetical district of Ballinascreen". He adds re "Si Beag, Si Mhor" that it seems to have come from the former tune "with some slight variations". If you want me to cite chapter and verse, I can, but it will take a little more research- this info I had scribbled onto a set list for our own dear Mark Evans' college concert series! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted January 14, 2006 Author Share Posted January 14, 2006 Thank you all, for the fast replies. I now have the music - That Tune-O-tron converter is great, I discovered it last night - and I know two Irish words! I will start practising on it, when I'm better at "An Paistin Fionn" which is my current project - hmmm I seem to have a knack for finding tunes with titles I don't understand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Evans Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 (edited) "An Paistin Fionn" which is my current project - hmmm I seem to have a knack for finding tunes with titles I don't understand Now that I can take a stab at helping with... The fair child is what I understand. Great song, haunting and beautiful. Edited January 14, 2006 by Mark Evans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 By the way, there are two major variants in the B part. The eighth full measure of the version David linked to has a half-note A, which is how I learned it many years ago. Then some years later I ran into folks who play that note as a B, same as the note that precedes it. I prefer the A (and I suspect that's the original, though I haven't researched it deeply), but I think the folks in Copenhagen sessions usually play the B, so you should be ready to adapt. I also originally learned it with the A and learned the B years later, but I prefer the B (and suspect that's the original, though I haven't researched it deeply). I usually wind up playing the A, however, since that's what everyone else is playing (reading from The Waltz Book, or whatever ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Brook Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 There's quite a lot of conjecture about the origins of this tune - Si beg -Si mor. The version of the origin that I am most familiar with is that it wasn't about a battle but a game of hurling between the farie folk of the big hill and the little hill. The patron of each team was the queen of the faires and her consort (not the king) respectively. Carolan is believed to have fallen asleep overlooking these two hills and had a dream about the hurling match. When he awake the tune was in his head. Is any of this true? - probably not but it is a fantastic tune and a nice story. If you are interested in Carolan, there is a great book by Donal O'Sullivan "Carolan: The life, times and music of an irish harper" which is probably the most historicaly accurate record of Carolan's life and a record of about 200 tunes. BTW the book suggests that a modern English translation of Turlough would equate to Terrence! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wild Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 If you are interested in Carolan, there is a great book by Donal O'Sullivan "Carolan: The life, times and music of an irish harper" I would recommend another book as a great read - not a biography or with any claim to historical accuracy. This is 'Carolan's Concerto' by Caiseal Mor. the subtitle is 'A toast to the three sacred pastimes of old Ireland: Music, storytelling and whiskey! the book draws on real aspects of O'Carolan's life. It begins with an 18th century rebel on the run from English redcoats, who is helped to escape, and one of hs rescuers knew O'Carolan and has the tales to tell. the book contains the story of the squire who became his patron, and was actually the King of the fairies. It also recounts the 'battle' in the form of the hurling match. If nothing else it is a great read. Published by Simon & schuster ISBN 0-7434-2901-X - John Wild Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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