Turlough O'Carolan - "Planxty Lady Athenry" for Oboe & Strings Oboe solo, String quartet |
Composer : | Turlough O'Carolan (1670 - 1738) | ||
Instrumentation : | Oboe solo, String quartet | ||
Style : | Celtic | ||
Arranger : Publisher : | MAGATAGAN, MICHAEL (1960 - ) | ||
Copyright : | Public Domain | ||
Added by magataganm, 18 Jun 2019 Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738) was a blind Celtic harper, composer and singer in Ireland whose great fame is due to his gift for melodic composition. Often called “the last of the Irish Bards”, even though there were traditional Irish harpers living as late as 1792. Carolan is considered a national treasure — his compositions are still often played during a session and are also highly regarded. Focusing on Carolan’s works first will bring you high rewards as a player. By the way, though it is correct to say “Turlough O’Carolan” when giving the full name, when no first name is given one should simply refer to him as “Carolan.”. Although not a composer in the classical sense, Carolan is considered by many to be Ireland's national composer. Harpers in the old Irish tradition were still living as late as 1792, and ten, including Arthur O'Neill, Patrick Quin and Donnchadh Ó Hámsaigh, attended the Belfast Harp Festival. Ó Hámsaigh did play some of Carolan's music but disliked it for being too modern. Some of Carolan's own compositions show influences of the style of continental classical music, whereas others such as Carolan's Farewell to Music reflect a much older style of "Gaelic Harping". “Planxty” is a word that Carolan prefixed to the surname of a lively melody for one of his patrons. Although its exact meaning is of some debate it appears to some to be a form of salute. The most respected Carolan authority, Donal O’Sullivan, suggested that ‘Planxty’ was based on the Latin plangere (in its supine form, planxtum) on the model of the existing Irish word planncaim, which means to strike (as ‘strike the harp’). There have been several other thoughts about the origins of Planxty. The academic and concertina player Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin (1998) writes that the word was derived from the Gaelic plearácha, or praise pieces (see below). Seán Ó Riada proposed that since many of Carolan’s songs begin with the Irish word sláinte (health), perhaps Planxty was derived from it—a corruption of sorts. Guitarist Paul de Grae believes it is simply a nonsense word employed by Carolan in a snippet of English verse in the otherwise Irish song called “Planxty George Brabazon.” However, In a review of several arguments, Donal O’Sullivan concludes that each explanation for the derivation of the word planxty has too many exceptions, and therefor there was no useful definition that could be promulgated. Regardless of its origin, O’Sullivan points out that Carolan seldom actually used the word, and that it was later publishers who applied the term to his tunes—for example, his “John Drury” became known as “Planxty Drury.” "It seems probable that the early editors used the term 'Planxty' in the title only when they did not know the name, or at any rate the full name, of the subject of the tune, says O’Sullivan. The title planxty appears twice in Neals' Collection of the Most Celebrated Irish Tunes (Dublin 1724, spelled "Planksty". Paul de Grae finds that John Lee published a Carolan collection c. 1780, “possibly a revised re-issue of another collection he published in 1748 (ten years after Carolan's death) of which no copy survives; out of 68 tunes, only three are titled "planxties" - "Plangsty Bourk", "Plangsty Connor" and "Planksty by Carolan", the latter being a version of the "Madam Cole" in the same book.”. A contemporaneous Irish term used for a planxty-type air was "Pléaráca" (spelled "Plea Rarkeh" in one title of the Neal collections), meaning ‘merriment’. In modern times, says de Grae, Brendan Breathnach used the term "Pléaráca" as the Irish equivalent of “Humours,” as in "The Humours of Drinagh" = " Pléaráca Dhraighní". Source: Ibiblio (https://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/PLANXTY_PLYM.htm). Although originally composed for Traditional Irish Instruments, I created this interpretation of the "Planxty Lady Athenry" for Oboe & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello). |
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