Annotation:Coolun (The): Difference between revisions

|f_annotation='''COOLUN/COOLIN, THE''' (An Cúilfhionn/Chuilfhionn) AKA – "An Cuilfion Le Atrugad," "An Cuilrionn," "The Coulin," "The Coolin," "Cuilin," "Old Coolun (The)." AKA and see "[[In this Calm Sheltered Villa]]," "[[Had You Seen My Sweet Coolin]]," "[[Oh! hush the soft sigh]]," "[[Oh! the hours I have passed]]," "[[Though the Last Glimpse of Eri]]," "[[Lady of the Desert (The)]]." Irish, Slow Air (3/4 time). D Major (Gow, Mulhollan): G Major (Clinton, Ó Canainn, O'Farrell, O'Flannagan, O'Neill/1915 & 1850, Roche): E Flat Major (Forde): F Major (Joyce). Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Forde, Joyce, O'Neill/1850, Sullivan): AAB with variations (Roche): AA'B (Ó Canainn): AABB (Clinton, Gow, Mulhollan, O'Flannagan): AABBCCDDEEFF (O'Farrell). "The Queen of Irish Airs" maintains Francis O'Neill (1913). There are many versions of this ancient and celebrated air "of which Bunting's and Moore's are not among the best: they are both wanting in simplicity," states P.W. Joyce (1909), who prints the tune as collected by William Forde (1795-1850) from Hugh O'Beirne (a Co. Leitrim piper<ref>P.W. Joyce concluded that O'Beirne had been a fiddler in his '''Old Irish Folk Music and Songs''' (1909, p. 296). However, William Forde, the only collector who had direct contact with O'Beirne, wrote in a letter to John Windele of Cork, dated Sept. 21, 1846, that he had obtained over 150 airs from a piper, Huge Beirne. Forde was looking for Irish airs and was glad to make the piper's acquaintance, staying on in Ballinamore longer than he originally planned.  He also found O'Beirne in poor health in the time of Great Famine, writing "Stirabout and bad potatoes were working fatally on a sinking frame," and helped by improving his diet ("but a mutton chap twice a day has changed Hugh's face wonderfully."</ref> from whom a great many tunes were collected ). He considers Forde's version "beautiful...(and) probably the original unadulterated melody," and adds that it is similar to the version he heard the old Limerick people sing in his youth during the 1820's. Grattan Flood (1906) states it is probable the air dates from the year 1296 or 1297, believing it must have been composed not long after the Statute, 24th of Edward I, in 1295, which forbade those English in Ireland (who were becoming assimilated into the majority Gaelic culture) to affect the Irish hair style by allowing their locks to grow in 'coolins.' The original song, told from a young maiden's point of view, berates those Anglo-Irish who conformed to the edit by cutting their hair, and praises the proud Irishman who remained true to ancestral custom (the Gaelic title "An Chuilfhionn," means 'the fair-haired one'). The Irish Parliament passed another law in 1539 forbidding any male, Irish or Anglo-Irish, from wearing long or flowing locks of hair; this enactment, relates Flood, is the source of the claim printed by Walker in 1786 in '''Historical Memoirs of the Irish Bards''' as the impetus for the song. [Ed. note: Grattan Flood is notorious for inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims; his information should be viewed as suspect until confirmed.] Walker states:

The air is arranged for 'Temperance Band' in '''The Dublin Magazine''' (December, 1842, No. 5); there were separate parts for flute, three clarinets, horn in Eb, trumpet in Eb, bassoon, and trombone or bass. The melody is contained in the music copybook [https://buttreymilitarysocialtunes1800.wordpress.com/melodies/] of John Buttery (1784-1854), a fifer with British army's 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot (so designated in the army reorganization of 1782), who served from 1797-1814. Later in life Buttery emigrated to Canada, where he died. In his manuscript Buttery identifies the tune as "A Retreat", which in military use represents the musical announcement of the end of the day's activities and a time for rest. The operant condition for a retreat was a specific drum roll, over which a melody--any melody--could be played, and it was the drum roll (not the tune) that was the musical signal for a retreat. The Buttery manuscript, as well as other period military manuscripts, often include a variety tunes that are labelled 'Retreats', which were selections the musician employed for the duty. Buttery's manuscript collection has also been identified as belonging to John Fife <ref>Early American Secular Music and Its European Sources [https://www.cdss.org/elibrary/Easmes/Index.htm]</ref>, with a suggested date of 1780. Fife was a family name, like Buttery, identified with the manuscript.

|f_printed_sources=Aird ('''Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. 5'''), 1797; No. 71, p. 29. Bunting ('''Ancient Music of Ireland'''), 1840; No. 119, pp. 88–89. Carlin ('''Gow Collection'''), 1986; No. 537. Clinton ('''Gems of Ireland'''), 1841; No. 48, p. 24. William Forde ('''300 National Melodies of the British Isles'''), c. 1841; p. 1, No. 1. Gow ('''Complete Repository, Part 2'''), 1802; p. 10. P.M. Haverty ('''One Hundred Irish Airs, vol. 2'''), 1859; No. 101, p. 45 and No. 180, p. 81 (two settings). Hime ('''Pocket Book, vol. 3'''), c. 1810; p. 33. Holden ('''A Collection of Old Established Irish Slow and Quick Tunes, vol. 1'''), 1806–7; p. 28. Joyce ('''Old Irish Folk Music and Songs'''), 1909; No. 564, p. 299 (appears as "The Coolin"). Kinloch ('''100 Airs, vol. 1'''), c. 1815; no. 25. Mooney ('''History of Ireland, vol. 1'''), 1846; p. 532 (as "The Youth with the Fair Flowing Locks"). Mulhollan ('''A Selection of Irish and Scots Tunes'''), Edinburgh, 1804; p. 20. Murphy ('''Irish Airs and Jigs'''), 1809; p. 8. Ó Canainn ('''Traditional Slow Airs of Ireland'''), 1995; No. 103, p. 88. O'Farrell ('''Collection of National Irish Music for the Union Pipes'''), 1804; p. 33 (appears as "Coolun with Variations"). O'Farrell ('''Pocket Companion'''), 1801–10; No. 122. O'Flannagan ('''The Hibernia Collection'''), 1860; p. 39. O'Neill ('''O'Neill's Irish Music'''), 1915; No. 46, p. 30 (with variations). O'Neill ('''Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies'''), 1903; No. 89, p. 16 (with nine variations). O'Sullivan/Bunting ('''Bunting's Ancient Music of Ireland'''), 1983; No. 119, pp. 168–170. Roche ('''Collection of Traditional Irish Music, vol. 1'''), 1912; p. 22, No. 43. Stanford/Petrie ('''Complete Collection'''), 1905; Nos. 598 & 599, pp. 150–151. Sullivan ('''Session Tunes, vol. 3'''); No. 40, p. 17. Samuel, Anne & Peter Thompson ('''The Hibernian Muse'''), London, 1787; No. 54, p. 33. Walker ('''Historical Memoirs of the Irish Bards'''), 1786; Appendix IX, No. 10, p. 8.