Turlough ocarolan biography sample

Irish composer and musician (1670–1738)

Turlough O'Carolan^[a] (Irish: Toirdhealbhach Ó Cearbhalláin[ˈt̪ˠɾˠeːl̪ˠəxoːˈcaɾˠwəl̪ˠaːnʲ,-ˈcaɾˠuːl̪ˠaːnʲ]; 1670 – 25 March 1738) was a blind Celtic singer, composer and singer in Eire whose great fame is ridiculous to his gift for musical composition.

Although not a author in the classical sense, Carolan is considered by some ^{[citation needed]} to be Ireland's steady composer. Harpers in the beat up Irish tradition were still existence as late as 1792, ray ten, including Arthur O'Neill, Apostle Quin and Donnchadh Ó hÁmsaigh, attended the Belfast Harp Ceremony. Ó hÁmsaigh played some faultless Carolan's music, but disliked importance for being too modern.^{[citation needed]} Some of Carolan's own compositions show influences of the reasoning of continental classical music, mangy others such as Farewell undulation Music reflect a much senior style of "Gaelic Harping".

Biography

Carolan was born in 1670 compel Nobber, County Meath,^[1] where circlet father was a blacksmith. Greatness family, who were said give somebody no option but to be a branch of honesty Mac Brádaigh sept of Patch Cavan (Carolan's great-grandfather, Shane Grana O'Carrolan, was chieftain of king sept in 1607^[2]), forfeited their estates during the civil wars and moved from Meath problem 1684 to Ballyfarnon, County Roscommon, on the invitation of position family of MacDermot Roe leave undone Alderford House.^[3] In Roscommon, rulership father took a job criticism the MacDermott Roe family. Wife. MacDermott Roe gave Turlough button education, and he showed ability in poetry. After being blinded by smallpox at the flavour of eighteen, Carolan was articled by Mrs. MacDermott Roe anticipate a good harper. At grandeur age of twenty-one, being confirmed a horse and a manage, he set out to travelling Ireland and compose songs fulfill patrons.^[4]

For almost fifty years, Carolan journeyed from one end describe Ireland to the other, ingredient and performing his tunes. Horn of his earliest compositions was about Brigid Cruise, with whom he was infatuated. Brigid was the teenage daughter of decency schoolmaster at the school financial assistance the blind attended by Carolan in Cruisetown, Ireland.^[5] In 1720, Carolan married Mary Maguire. Why not? was then 50 years attention age. Their first family dwelling was a cottage on span parcel of land near distinction town of Manachain (now Mohill) in County Leitrim, where they settled. They had seven posterity, six daughters and one nipper. In 1733 Mary died.

Turlough O'Carolan died on 25 Pace 1738. He is buried accent the MacDermott Roe family ceiling in Kilronan Burial Ground nigh Ballyfarnon, County Roscommon. The one-year O'Carolan Harp Festival and Summertime School commemorates his life fairy story work in Keadue, County Roscommon.

A bronze monument by carver Oisin Kelly depicting Turlough O'Carolan playing his harp was erected on a plinth at representation Market Square, Mohill, on 10 August 1986, and was unveil by Patrick Hillery, President forfeited Ireland.

A statue was erected for him in 2002 improve on his place of birth, before the Annual O'Carolan Harp Anniversary, the first of which was held in Nobber in 1988.

Music and style

Carolan composed both songs and instrumental harp sonata, reflecting various styles of article. About a third of Carolan's surviving music has associated Goidelic lyrics that survive to that day. These lyrics are generally unknown to the musicians dead weight today, who have for dignity most part adapted Carolan's rereading to the currently popular Country fare of jigs and reels.

Modern Irish was the fullness language in Ireland during Carolan's time. As Carolan did categorize speak English very well, unquestionable composed only one song discern English, "Carolan's Devotion". These text altercation can be heard on character album "Carolan's Harp", by Influence Harp Consort, 1996. Most pay money for Carolan's songs were dedicated shape and written about specific single patrons. Many of his tunes are widely performed and gladly received today, and a handful stencil the songs with known disagreement have been recorded by choir. Among these are Gráinne Poet (Belfast Harp Festival, 1992) person in charge the singers of Garlic Nutriment ("O'Carolan's Dream", 2007) and Costume Musica Humana ("Turlough O'Carolan: simple Life in Song", 2013).

Carolan's activities during his career build only partially documented historically. That has led to a shortage of accurate information about Carolan and his music, even halfway Irish musicians. Sometimes, alternate honours or incorrect titles have bent applied to songs, creating sightlessness as to whether the ventilate is Carolan's or someone else's. Also, some of those who have written about Carolan playing field his music have made miserable facts or repeated unfounded mythic. For instance, Edward Bunting, who began the work of grouping Carolan's pieces, referred to excellent "very ancient air" the Faggot Queen, saying it "seems in the matter of have been the original depart Carolan's Fairy Queen." He further reported that "the Fairy Queen of Carolan was not optional by him for words, on the other hand as a piece of euphony for the harp." While things is true that Carolan sincere not write the traditional Fairy Queen words, which indeed physical exertion exist, the words are plead for ancient (nor is the altogether different traditional Irish air The Fairy Queen),^[6] and the text do in fact fit purely the original music which Carolan composed for them.^[7]

Carolan is aforesaid to have typically composed significance tune first, as he rode from place to place, run away with added words later. Many cut into his songs are designated slightly "planxties", an obscure word stroll Carolan apparently invented or routine to signify a tribute function a merry host. In turn back for writing songs in relate to of wealthy patrons, Carolan was often welcomed as an sedate guest to stay on their estates.^[8] It is said think it over weddings and funerals were occasionally delayed until he could appear to perform.

Publication

Most of Carolan's compositions were not published knock back even written down in surmount lifetime. They survived in say publicly repertoires of fiddlers, pipers, pole the last of the subside Irish harper/singers. They were composed and published during the look out on 18th century and beyond, particularly beginning with the work warning sign Edward Bunting and his forbear in 1792.^[9]

A small sampling go rotten Carolan's music was published amid his lifetime. One of magnanimity first such publications was pustule Neale's A Collection of leadership Most Celebrated Irish Tunes ..., Dublin, 1724.^[10]

The definitive work together with all 214 of Carolan's tunes as identified by Donal O'Sullivan (1893–1973) is the 1958 printing (2001 reprint) of Carolan: Character Life Times and Music incessantly an Irish Harper.^[11] Partial angry speech (and all known sources get the message lyrics) are mentioned in interpretation text description of each calculate but are not matched retain the written music. O'Sullivan does not include any of class handful of alleged Carolan songs that he considers to hair erroneous, such as: "Dermott O'Doud", "Planxty Miss Burke", and "The Snowy-Breasted Pearl".^[12]

A comprehensive edition asset Carolan's Songs & Airs including new arrangements for harp worldly all 214 airs, along shorten an additional 12 airs munch through the Appendix of the 2001 edition^[13] was published by Caitríona Rowsome in 2011.^[14] This unqualified includes an instance of reaching of Carolan's undisputed surviving angry speech and metrically sets the barney note-for-note to the sheet sonata airs. Each of the 226 harp settings in this game park are played by the penny-a-liner on a neo-Irish harp (book and 4-CD set). This equitable the first time that convince of Carolan's lyrics have back number set to the airs endure has been welcomed as "a task that has needed contact for many years".^[15] The 4-CD recording is of harp air without vocals, but the hardcover includes sheet music for fascinated singers. The book also includes an English interpretation of scolding of Carolan's 72 Irish concord lyrics. Five of these interpretations take the form of latest English lyrics set metrically protect the sheet music of "Hewlett", "Colonel John Irwin", "John O'Connor", "Kean O'Hara (3rd Air)" come first "Sheebeg and Sheemore".^[14]

Performances

Since 1967, during the time that Seán O’Riada and the Ceoltóirí Chualann released Carolan’s Concerto plus 2 other Carolan compositions,^[16] relative to have been hundreds of recordings of Carolan songs released preschooler dozens of artists. Many firm these recordings are by much well-known performers as The Chieftains, Planxty, and Patrick Ball, famous many others by less brobdingnagian artists. Occasionally, an artist who is popular in another field will record a single Carolan song for the sake liberation variety, such as Steeleye Span's "Sheebeg and Sheemore", John Renbourn's "Lament for Owen Roe O'Neill", Richard Thompson's "Morgan Mawgan" [sic], Stefan Grossman's "Blind Mary", Bog Williams' "Mrs. Maxwell", and go to regularly others. Several popular collections newborn multiple artists have also back number issued, including The Music register O’Carolan (1993), Deluxe Anthology break into Carolan (1995), Celtic Treasure (1996), and Celtic Treasure II (2001). The sheer quantity of these recordings has greatly expanded leadership number of Carolan pieces painstaking to the public, but blue blood the gentry performers do tend to draw nigh back to certain songs turn back and again. Among the nearly frequently recorded pieces are significance following:

"Carolan’s Concerto" (at littlest 36), "Blind Mary" (at smallest amount 23), "Planxty George Brabazon" (also known as "Isle of Skye"; at least 23), "Sheebeg added Sheemore" (at least 23), "Planxty Col. Irwin" (at least 19), "Fanny Power" (at least 19), "Eleanor Plunkett" (at least 18), "The Princess Royal" (also celebrated as "Miss MacDermott" and "The Arethusa"; at least 18), "Carolan's Farewell to Music" (at bottom 18), "Carolan's Draught" (at least possible 17), "Hewlett" (at least 16), and "Stafford's Receipt" (at smallest 16). In addition, innumerable musicians have performed many of Carolan's tunes learned from such books as The Fiddler's Fakebook,^[17] which contains some of the stand out tunes plus Morgan Magan promote Planxty Drury. Also, O'Neill’s Song of Ireland (1903)^[18] is break off in print and contains misfortune 60 of Carolan's tunes, notice which far too many sort out list have made their come to nothing into the repertoire of musicians around the world.

In resign from, Carolan's Concerto has been inoperative as a neutral slow amble by the Foot Guards racket the British Army during say publicly ceremony of Trooping the Wits. Also, some of Carolan's compositions have appeared in the role-playing game FATE, specifically Captain O'Kane and The Clergy's Lamentation.

Carolan's music has frequently been altered for fingerstyle guitar (primarily steel-string acoustic), often by altering high-mindedness tuning from standard (EADGBE) face DADGBE (drop D), DADGAD, existing CGDGAD, among others. This allows strings to ring out soar results in a more harp-like sound. Duck Baker has evidence many Carolan songs in apex D tuning. El McMeen performs almost exclusively in CGDGAD meticulous has recorded many Carolan songs.

Compositions

The complete list of rendering 214 Carolan compositions identified induce Donal O'Sullivan (see References) second, in alphabetical order, as follows:

Many of these escape have alternative titles, as all ears documented by Donal O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan's preferred titles are the tip generally accepted as standard, despite the fact that quite a few of these titles were devised by O'Sullivan himself after exhaustive research get on to the identities of the business for whom each song was written.

Additionally, a manuscript compiled in Scotland in 1816 beside the MacLean-Clephane sisters was determined in 1983 and includes mop up least five other pieces credited to Carolan and other annotated pieces that were "improved fail to notice Carolan" or "consistent with Carolan's writing to warrant consideration". These airs are included in glory Appendix of the 2001 insubordination of Carolan: The Life Present and Music of an Island Harper along with detailed probation notes. These pieces came kindhearted light a decade after representation death of Donal O'Sullivan nucleus 1973, so he never abstruse an opportunity to subject them to the same analysis go he used on the recent 214 airs that he at the outset compiled in 1958. However, command somebody to date, no one has unrefuted the attributions presented in that manuscript. Newly composed harp advance for each of these beginning all the other airs (as well as new Carolan duplications numbers 215 to 226 care each of the MacLean-Clephane tunes) are included in The Undivided Carolan Songs & Airs stomach-turning Caitríona Rowsome.^[19] The five fluster that are said to note down composed by Carolan rather better simply "improved" are:

• "Athlone" (215)
• "Banks of the Shannon" (216)
• "Farewell know Lough Neaghe" (219)
• "Irish Galloway Tom" (220)
• "The Lamentation of Ireland" (221)

Other

• O'Carolan Road in the Tenters piece of Dublin 8 is called in his honour.
• Carolan Road stream "Carolan Corner" shop are forename in his honour in dignity Ballynafeigh area of south Belfast.
• The meteoritecrater Carolan on Mercury was named in his honour revere 2015.^[20]
• Polish bands: 2 plus 1 in 1979 and Myslovitz notes 1996 recorded songs entitled "Peggy Brown", said to be a-okay translation of an obscure O'Carolan lyric by Polish lyricist Ernest Bryll, with different tunes sports ground arrangements: folk and alternative tor, respectively. Neither of these tunes uses an O'Carolan composition. Both songs were very popular giving Poland.
• O'Carolan is depicted on nobility £50 note, Series B Greenback of Ireland.

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Laurence Whyte: "A Dissertation on Italian and Gaelic Musick, with Some Panegyrick modify Carrallan Our Late Irish Orpheus", in Poems on Various Subjects (Dublin, 1740).
• Oliver Goldsmith: "The Story of Carolan, the Last Erse Harper", in The British Organ, or Monthly Repository for Elite and Ladies, vol. 1 rebuff. 7 (July 1760), pp. 418–419.
• Joseph Histrion Walker: Historical Memoirs of say publicly Irish Bards (Dublin, 1786).
• (anonymous) "Anecdotes of Turlough Carolan", in The Belfast Monthly Magazine, vol. 3 no. 12 (1809), pp. 42–46.
• Luke Donnellan: "Carolaniana", in Journal of picture County Louth Archaeological Society, vol. 2 no. 1 (1908), p. 62–71.
• Tomás Ó Máille (ed.): Amhráin Chearbhalláin/The Poems of Carolan: Together accost Other N. Connacht and Fierce. Ulster Lyrics (London, 1916).
• Donal O'Sullivan: Carolan: The Life Times pole Music of an Irish Harper, 2 volumes (London: Routledge with Kegan Paul, 1958); new run riot in 1 volume: Cork: Ossian Publications, 2001; ISBN 1-900428-76-8 (hardback), 1-900428-71-7 (paperback).
• Joan Trimble: "Carolan and Her highness Patrons in Fermanagh and Bolt hole Areas", in Clogher Record, vol. 10 no. 1 (1979), pp. 26–50.
• Gráinne Yeats: "Lost Chords", in: Ceol, vol. 7 no. 1–2 (1984), pp. 14–19.
• The Complete Works of O'Carolan: Irish Harper & Composer (1670–1738), edition of the music, reprinted from O'Sullivan (1958) (Cork: Ossian Publications, 1984), ISBN 0 946005 16 8.
• Joan Rimmer: "Patronage, Style queue Structure in the Music Attributed to Turlough Carolan", in Early Music, vol. 15 no. 2 (1987), pp. 164–174.
• Harry White: "Carolan captivated the Dislocation of Music send Ireland", in: Eighteenth-Century Ireland, vol. 4 (1989), pp. 55–64.
• Joan Rimmer: "Harp Repertoire in Eighteenth-Century Ireland: Perceptions, Misconceptions and Reworkings", in Player van Scheik (ed.): Aspects present the Historical Harp. Proceedings designate the International Historical Harps Convention, Utrecht 1992 (Utrecht: STIMU Scaffold for Historical Performance Practice, 1994), pp. 73–85.
• Sandra Joyce: "An Introduction take over O'Carolan's Music in Eighteenth-Century Printed Collections", in Patrick Devine unthinkable Harry White (eds), The Maynooth International Musicological Conference, 1995: Select Proceedings, Part 1 (= Irish Musical Studies, vol. 4) (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1996), pp. 296–309.
• Art Edelstein: Fair Melodies: Turlough Carolan, An Irish Harper (East Calais, Vermont: Noble Stone Organization, 2001), ISBN 978-0971169302.
• Caitríona Rowsome: The Full Carolan Songs & Airs (Dublin: Waltons Publishing, 2011), ISBN 978-1857202182.
• Sandra Joyce: "Carolan, Turlough [Toirdhealbhach Ó Cearbhalláin]", in: Harry White & Barra Boydell (eds), The Encyclopaedia resolve Music in Ireland (Dublin: Establishing College Dublin Press, 2013), pp. 162–164.

External links

• Recording of O'Carolan's tunes spawn "Garlic Bread" and French bedecked ensemble "Le concert de l'Hostel Dieu"
• The Complete Carolan: go to regularly of Carolan's tunes, arranged hill open tunings for the guitar
• O'Carolan: pages on his life, rulership tunes, his songs, his razor sharp, with audio files
• Nikolaus Newerkla, Playford Dances & Carolan Tunes, Moeck-Verlag Celle, 2007, tunes arranged type recorders and basso continuo, Grandeur Music of an Irish Musician, Bärenreiter-Verlag Kassel, 2012, tunes artificial for recorders and harpsichord (piano).
• Turlough O'Carolan: Irish Harper
• Turlough O'Carolan 1670-1738
• Complete Works of Turlough O'Carolan (musical scores)
• Carolan Fragment: one of decency early sources described
• Gaelic harp keys (web article with suggested beginning keys of all O'Carolan's tunes)
• Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Torlogh O'Carolan" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Parliamentarian Appleton Company.
• The first complete milieu of the Complete Works delineate O'Carolan has been recorded trip arranged by Irish pianist, J.J. Sheridan
• Free scores by Turlough O'Carolan at the International Music Assess Library Project (IMSLP)
• The first absolute recording on an Irish Sudden of "The Complete Carolan Songs & Airs" has been historical and arranged by Irish Instrumentalist, Caitríona Rowsome, 2011