Annotation:Caisleán an nÓr

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 CAISLEÁN AN ÓIR/CAISLEÁN NA nOR (The Castle of Gold). AKA and see "Golden Castle (The)." Irish, Hornpipe. G Dorian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Composed by West Clare fiddler Martin "Junior" Crehan (b. 1908). Peter Woods (in his book The Living Note: the Heartbeat of Irish Music, 1996) relates Crehan's story about how they got the tune. It seems that at one time a crowd of men were digging a grave for a fiddler at a location that overlooked a place called Caislean Oir. An old man happened by on the road and asked whether the group had made the sign of the cross before they dug, and was assured they had. The old man then proceeded to tell them, in Gaelic, the story of a priest who had taken a wife and was banished to live above the Cliffs of Moher (County Clare), and then he sang them a song in Irish known as "The Priest's Lament." The air of the song stayed with then and formed the basis of the hornpipe "Caisleán an Óir," named for the prominent feature where they heard the melody.  Source for notated version: fiddler Junior Crehan (West Clare, Ireland) [Breathnach]; Martin Hayes [Fiddler Magazine].  Printed sources: Breathnach (CRÉ III), 1985; No. 223, p. 102. Ceol, (II, (1) pg. 50. Fiddler Magazine, Spring 1994; p. 11.  Recorded sources: ACM Records, Mick O'Brien - "May Morning Dew." Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann CL17, Junior Crehan - "Ceol an Chlair, vol. 1" (1979). Green Linnet SIF 1058, Matt Molloy & Sean Keane - "Contentment is Wealth" (1985). Green Linnet GLCD 3009, Kevin Burke - "If the Cap Fits" (1978. Learned from Martin Rochford of Bodyke, Co. Clare). Green Linnet SIF1127, "Martin Hayes" (appears as "The Golden Castle").  See also listing at:  Alan Ng's Irishtune.info.

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