The album notes are as follows:
Ri na bPiobairi (The King of the Pipers) — a double jig. Also known as The Knights of St. Patrick, after the illustrious and exclusive order of Saint Patrick, founded by George III.
O' Carolan's Concerto—Planxty Davis. The blind harper, Turlough O'Carolan (1670- 1738) was one of the great figures of cighteenth century Ireland. Swift translated the words for one of his melodies and in a famous essay, Goldsmith describes Carolan's contest with a continental musican, presumably Geminiani:
"He accordingly played over on his fiddle the fifth concerto of Vivaldi. Carolan, immediately taking his harp, played over the whole picce after him, without missing a note, though he had never heard it before; which produced some surprise; but their astonishment increased when he assured them he could make a concerto in the same taste himself, which he instantly composed, and that with such spirit and elegance that it may compare (for we have it still) with the finest compositions of Italy".
Planxty Davis (see also No. 8 below) more correctly known as Dha Uilliam Daíbhís (The Two William Davises) was probably composed by Carolan's predecessor, the harper-composer Thomas Connellan. The tune is a variant of the Scottish tune Killiecrankie, and Connellan spent much of his time in Scotland, where he may have composed it.
An Chulfhionn (The Coolin) refers to an ancient Gaelic method of wearing the hair in a long lock on the back of the head. Prohibited by English law in the thirteenth century, the Coolin became a patriotic symbol and source for a famous song.
The Pipe on the Hob—The Bride's Favourite. Two fine examples of the Double Jig. Pipers often performed at weddings, hence the title The Bride's Favourite.
The Fox Chase. A brilliant descriptive piece, based on an Irish foxhunt. It opens with the Gallop of the Horses; then the scent of the fox is caught and the tempo quickens to the Chase. The horns sound, followed by the barking and baying of the hounds in full pursuit. Again the horns sound and the yelping pack close in for the Kill. Slowly the horns sound a Lament for the Dead Fox.
The Fox Chase was composed by a blind Tipperary piper named Edward Keating Hyland (1780-1845) in the year 1799. When he visited Dublin, Hyland played before him in what would now be called a command performance. The King presented him with a set of pipes costing 50 guineas.
An Buchaill Caol Dubh (The Dark Slender Boy). In this song by Seán Scanachain (Scán Aerach) The Dark Slender Boy is a synonym for alcohol accompanying the poet on his travels. The author of this song lived in the mid-eighteenth century near Glin County Limerick.
Jenny's Wedding — Lord MacDonald. Reels are traditionally the test piece of a piper and here we have two fine examples.
Planxty Browne. A Planxty is a sportive tune, usually composed in honour of a patron or host, who gives his name to the tune.
SIDE 2 — The pieces on this side of the record are played on flat pitch pipes.
O' Carolan's Concerto—Planxty Davis. The blind harper, Turlough O'Carolan (1670- 1738) was one of the great figures of cighteenth century Ireland. Swift translated the words for one of his melodies and in a famous essay, Goldsmith describes Carolan's contest with a continental musican, presumably Geminiani:
"He accordingly played over on his fiddle the fifth concerto of Vivaldi. Carolan, immediately taking his harp, played over the whole picce after him, without missing a note, though he had never heard it before; which produced some surprise; but their astonishment increased when he assured them he could make a concerto in the same taste himself, which he instantly composed, and that with such spirit and elegance that it may compare (for we have it still) with the finest compositions of Italy".
Planxty Davis (see also No. 8 below) more correctly known as Dha Uilliam Daíbhís (The Two William Davises) was probably composed by Carolan's predecessor, the harper-composer Thomas Connellan. The tune is a variant of the Scottish tune Killiecrankie, and Connellan spent much of his time in Scotland, where he may have composed it.
An Chulfhionn (The Coolin) refers to an ancient Gaelic method of wearing the hair in a long lock on the back of the head. Prohibited by English law in the thirteenth century, the Coolin became a patriotic symbol and source for a famous song.
The Pipe on the Hob—The Bride's Favourite. Two fine examples of the Double Jig. Pipers often performed at weddings, hence the title The Bride's Favourite.
The Fox Chase. A brilliant descriptive piece, based on an Irish foxhunt. It opens with the Gallop of the Horses; then the scent of the fox is caught and the tempo quickens to the Chase. The horns sound, followed by the barking and baying of the hounds in full pursuit. Again the horns sound and the yelping pack close in for the Kill. Slowly the horns sound a Lament for the Dead Fox.
The Fox Chase was composed by a blind Tipperary piper named Edward Keating Hyland (1780-1845) in the year 1799. When he visited Dublin, Hyland played before him in what would now be called a command performance. The King presented him with a set of pipes costing 50 guineas.
An Buchaill Caol Dubh (The Dark Slender Boy). In this song by Seán Scanachain (Scán Aerach) The Dark Slender Boy is a synonym for alcohol accompanying the poet on his travels. The author of this song lived in the mid-eighteenth century near Glin County Limerick.
Jenny's Wedding — Lord MacDonald. Reels are traditionally the test piece of a piper and here we have two fine examples.
Planxty Browne. A Planxty is a sportive tune, usually composed in honour of a patron or host, who gives his name to the tune.
SIDE 2 — The pieces on this side of the record are played on flat pitch pipes.
Cath Eachdhruime (The Battle of Aughrim) March. On the twelfth of July, 1691, the Irish and French forces under St. Ruth and Sarsfield were defeated at Aughrim Hill, near Ballinasloe, by the Williamite forces. It was the end of the old Gaelic and Norman aristocracy, most of whom departed into exile, to fight under the banners of France and Austria.
The Kerry Jig — The Ballintore Fancy. Two excellent examples of the single jig, once very popular in Ireland, it is one of the most graceful dances in the old piping tradition.
The Old Man Rocking the Cradle. In this special piper's variation on the old lullaby, the first part represents the old man singing the lullaby, the second the rocking of the cradle. This lullaby is traditionally supposed to have been sung by Saint Joseph to the Infant Jesus: "Oh I'm weeping and wailing and rocking the cradle and praising a Child that's none of my own"
Molloy's Favourite - My Sweetheart Jane. Two joyful and spirited reels which have been unjustly neglected.
Madame Bonaparte. One of our very fine set dance tunes. The title pays homage to our ancient ally, France, in the person of the Empress Josephine.
The Death of Staker Wallace. An old lament commemorating a famous Limerick patriot. His name derives from the fact that he defended a breach in the Walls of the City with a stake.
Will You Come Down to Limerick? -- Hardiman the Fiddler. Two jolly examples of the Slip or Hop Jig. as played by famous fiddlers and pipers of the past century. The Hop jig is not as popular now as the Reel, the Hornpipe and the Double Jig, but it is an essential part of our heritage, illustrating, like the Single Jig. the rich diversity of our old dance tunes.
The Derry Hornpipe. One of the most popular of all hornpipe tunes. Played with all the intricacy of the old piping tradition, it stands as a salute to all the musicians of the past who have helped to preserve our tradition by handing down their art, from father to son, from master to pupil.
LEO ROWSOME
Leo Rowsome comes of a long line of pipers. His grandfather, Samuel Rowsome, a farmer piper from Ballintore, Ferns, Co. Wexford, was a close friend of the famous John Cash and learned much of his piping from the Shangarry piper "Jemmy" Byrne. His three sons, John, William and Thomas were all excellent pipers and when William moved to the north side of Dublin he brought the family piping and pipe-making tradition with him. He in turn had three piping sons, the most famous of them being Leo Rowsome, who inherits all the skill of the Cash and Rowsome traditions. A many times winner of the Feis Ceoil, Leo Rowsome is now responsible, through his post at the Municipal School of Music, for the training of most of the young Irish pipers. Beside frequent broadcasts, he has appeared on television at home, in England and America and in several of the Ardmore films, like The Big Birthday and Home is the Hero. He is President of the Pipers Club (from which sprung Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eircann) and performs regularly at concerts in England and Ireland.
THE UILLEANN OR UNION PIPES
There are two historic forms of the Irish pipes, the original mouth-blown war pipes (an piob mór) and the later bellows-blown Uilleann or Union pipes developed from them. The latter were introduced in the sixteenth century; when Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice speaks of "woollen bagpipes" he probably means the Uilleann pipes. The Gaelic word "uilleann" (i.e. elbow) which describes the method of inflation by an under-arm bellows was probably later corrupted to "Union".
The Uilleann or Union pipes are played sitting, with the drones lying across the The present day examples are very complex in structure: a standard set consists of bag and bellows, chanter, drones and regulators. The chanter is the flutelike part on which the melody is played. The three drones, tenor, baritone, and bass, each sound a note continually during the playing of a piece.
The regulators are three pipes, stopped at the end, with closed keys which lie under the piper's wrist. By depressing two or more of the keys accompanying chords can be sounded. The earliest sets of Uilleann pipes had no regulators, and only two drones, while many nineteenth century sets have up to five regulators and six drones. Sets of pipes vary from the modern concert pitch through half tones to three whole tones below; the lower the pitch the longer the chanter, from 14 to 18 inches. There are two sets of pipes played on this record, a concert pitch set and a flat pitch set one and a half tones lower. Apart from the chanter of the flat set which comes to him from his father, both sets of pipes are made by Leo Rowsome himself.
Recorded in Ireland by Peter Hunt Studios, Dublin for Claddagh Records Lid., 29 Raedh na nartharach. Baile Atha Cliath. Cover Printed in the Republic of Ireland by the Dolmen Press Lid., Dublin.
Equipment used in this transfer:
Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 10 minutes in clean water.
Turntable: Technics SL-1200
Cartridge: Audio-technica AT33MONO
Pre-amplification: refurbished Pioneer SX-780.
Recorder: Sound Devices MixPre6ii at 96kHz resolution with 32-bit floating point
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