Tune Req: My Lagan Love

Subject: Tune to 'My Lagan Love'
From: GUEST,Puffenkinty
Date: 25 Jan 03 - 10:33 AM

There has been discussion on this forum about the words
of "My LaganLove" and even which chords are correct for playing it
on the guitar. However I have seen very little discussion
about the tune which seems to be very old. Does anybody
know its origins? Did it exist under another name before
it became "My Lagan Love"?

Thanks

Subject: RE: Tune to 'My Lagan Love'
From: Alice
Date: 25 Jan 03 - 11:07 AM

Herbert Hughes set the poem to a tune he collected:

Subject: Lyr Add: MY LAGAN LOVE
From: John Moulden - PM
Date: 16 Sep 99 - 07:44 AM


...... The song was first published in "Songs of Uladh" <> [Herbert Hughes and
Joseph Campbell] published in Belfast by William Mullan and sons and in Dublin by MH Gill, 1904.

Hughes' preface says: "I made this collection while on holiday in North Dun-na-nGall in August of last year."
My Lagan Love is on page 32. The note says, "I got this from Proinseas mac Suibhne who played it for me on the fidil. He had it from his father
Seaghan mac Suibhne, who learned it from a sapper working on the Ordnance Survey in Tearmann about fifty years ago. It was sung to a ballad called
the "Belfast Maid," now forgotten in Cill-mac-nEnain." [This pretension in spelling etc is typical of the Gaelic Revival flavour of this book - it is also
embellished with "Celtic knots" and fanciful derivations of half uncial script.]

Subject: Tune Req: My Lagan Love
From: Scintilla
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 05:24 AM

Hi

Does anyone have a link to where I can get an on-line copy of the dots for My Lagan Love please? I ain't too clued up on Mudcat yet but as I gather it you can search for songs on the DigiTrad but not tunes... either way I can't download it cuz the bosses would tar and feather me. Apologies if it's on the site and I just haven't found it.

Ta
Sx

Subject: RE: Tune Req: My Lagan Love
From: s&r
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 05:34 AM

Just downloaded it as midi file. If you want it as notation pm me an address and I'll post it. Or download the midi at home and use a music notation program to convert fr0m midi to notation. It's called the Faery Mistress and it's in F.

Stu

Subject: RE: Tune Req: My Lagan Love
From: s&r
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 07:04 AM

Also here at the session

Stu

Subject: RE: Tune Req: My Lagan Love
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 24 Nov 04 - 06:03 PM

Do you have a program which can download and print MIDI files? If not, I guess you need a .gif file. try this. Go to

http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/#gif

Then follow the links and see if you can find My Lagan Love.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: My Lagan Love
From: Scintilla
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 04:49 AM

Thanks for that Leeneia... I have tried the links but no joy apparently... I am technologically challenged and only have access to a pc at work, where I am not allowed to download anything or use any software other than theirs. However.... S&R has very kindly agreed to send a copy by snail mail (how ironic!)- so problem solved!!!

Thanks for your help guys!!

S x

Subject: RE: Tune Req: My Lagan Love
From: s&r
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 04:59 AM

Sent a few versions - the interesting thing is the variation in tune and time signatures. I suppose because it's an air the timing is very free.

Stu

Subject: RE: Tune Req: My Lagan Love
From: Scintilla
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 05:54 AM

Yes, and I think (?) it's a song too so I suppose that over the years it's been twisted this way and that to fit other words or voices, as most of the best tunes have.

You're a lovely bunch you Mudcatters!!!

Sx

Subject: RE: Tune Req: My Lagan Love
From: masato sakurai
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 06:36 AM

Link to MY LAG(G)AN LOVE at Ceolas: The Fiddler's Companion.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: My Lagan Love
From: ard mhacha
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 06:53 AM

Masota, The Fiddlers Companion has the words of the song written by a Joseph McCahill, this should be Joseph Campbell.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: My Lagan Love
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 07:28 AM

It's a silly error repeated by The Fiddler's Companion from elsewhere; somebody has "translated" Campbell's name back into English from the translation into Irish that he was using at the time Songs of Uladh was published (he dropped it later on) and got it wrong. See earlier threads on this song for more details.

The comment that the tune is "ancient" is also questionable.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: My Lagan Love
From: ard mhacha
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 10:55 AM

If anyone Googles Joseph Campbell [Poet] all of the information on the man is there.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: My Lagan Love
From: Alice
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 11:20 AM

I suggest you get a copy of "Songs of Uladh" by asking your local public library to do an inter-library loan search for you. If they can't loan it, they can get a library that does have the book to make a
copy of just the pages you need.

If that doesn't work, call me and I'll sing it to you over the phone and you can tape it. (send pm to me for phone number)

Alice in Montana

Subject: RE: Tune Req: My Lagan Love
From: Scintilla
Date: 25 Nov 04 - 11:48 AM

Thanks Alice but S&R has kindly offered to post me the dots so problem solved!

I might look up that book you mentioned anyway... I have always shied away from playing Irish fiddle music because I am English and proud of it, and fed up of people asking for diddley diddley, but i've recently started exploring it and actually a lot of it is absolutely beautiful stuff, if you get away from the commercial stuff.

Plus I get so sick of people that say 'I don't like folk/rock/pop etc music' - ruling out an entire genre because of a stereotype, and I've realised I was doing just that myself! Duh!

S X