Annotation:Lament for Donoch an Bhaile-Aodha

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LAMENT FOR DONOCH AN BHAILE-AODHA (Donogh of Ballea). Irish, Slow Air (2/4 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. "From the whistling of Phil Gleeson of Coolfree: about 1851. The Irish ode, or lament, of which the following is the air, was sung for me by Phil Gleeson: but there is no need to give it here, as it will be found in Hardiman's Irish Minstrelsy, vol. ii., p. 272. It was composed by a well-known Munster Gaelic poet of the 18th century, Timothy O'Sullivan, commonly called Tadhg Gaodhlach, 'Timothy of the Irish Composotions', to commemorate the death of Donogh Mac Carthy of Ballea Castle near. Carrigaline, 8 miles S.-E. of Cork. As to Phil Gleeson's traditional manner of singing the ode--which he learned of course from older people:--To the note D at the end of the air he chanted, in monotone, a sort of cronaun consisting simply of the continued repetition of the two vowel sounds, 'ee-oo', 'ee-oo', 'ee-oo', &c., which was prolonged ad libitum: the change from 'ee' to 'oo' being nade at intervals of about a crotchet. Occasionally he ended the cronaun by suddenly sliding his voice up to the third, fifth, or octave--a common practice in laments, nurse songs, plough whistles, &c" (Joyce).

Source for notated version: From the whistling of Phil Gleeson of Coolfree: about 1851 [Joyce].

Printed sources: Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and Songs), 1909; No. 36, p. 21.

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