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12 May 99 - 11:02 PM (#77978) Subject: Lyr/Tune Add: FAIRY HILLS / SI BHEAG SI MHOR From: John in Brisbane I have a feeling that this has been posted recently, but could not find it. This is apparently O'carolan's first/earliest composition which he based on an existing Irish folk song. Hope that Bruce or Harpgirl can elaborate. Regards, John
FAIRY HILLSMelody SI BHEAG SI MHOR, ABC Seq. by Henrik Norbeck Long long ago in this ancient land 2. So the bard did sing of these fairy hills 3. Beneath these hills great heroes lie
4. And so the harper was told these fairy tales 5. Twas after the battle the prophet foretold 6. So then the harper wrote of these fairy hills X:23 T:Sheebeg and Sheemore/Si Bheag Si Mhor R:Other O:Ireland M:3/4 C:Turlough O'Carolan K:D de|f2fe d2|d2de d2|B4A2|F4 A2|BABc d2|e4 de|f4 e2|d4 f2|B4e2|A4d2|F4E2|D4f2| B4e2|A4dc|(d6|d4)::de|f3ed2|ed ega2|b4 a2|f4ed| e4a2|f4e2|d4B2|B4BA|F4E2|D4f2|B4e2|A4a2|ba gf ed|e4 dc|(d6|d4):|
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12 May 99 - 11:57 PM (#78001) Subject: RE: NEW LYR/MUS: Fairy Hills/Si Bheag Si Mhor From: harpgirl Hello John, I am not familiar with this composition. I am also not in Dr. Olson's league with regard to old song knowledge. He will undoubtedly know it if we can lure him back. Helen might also know it since she is a real Irish harper. Helen? harpgirl |
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13 May 99 - 12:26 PM (#78118) Subject: RE: NEW LYR/MUS: Fairy Hills/Si Bheag Si Mhor From: MMario The tune is very popular in Ren-faire circuits, but this is the VERY first time I have ever heard of or seen lyrics to it. MMario |
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13 May 99 - 01:41 PM (#78127) Subject: RE: NEW LYR/MUS: Fairy Hills/Si Bheag Si Mhor From: Jeri I believe the original lyrics were in Gaelic? In the book "The Complete Works of O'Carolan," Published by Ossian, it's also mentioned as his first attempt at songwriting. (There are no lyrics in this book.) I've heard the tune wasn't composed by Carolan, that he wrote the song to a pre-existing tune called (I think) "The Bonnie Cuckoo." I've also heard the song "Twa Bonnie Maidens" pre-dates "Planxty G. Brabazon." (Same tune) I'm wondering if anyone has/has seen any physical evidence supporting these two tunes not having been written by Carolan? (Method of rumor transmissal: Robin Williamson's penny whisle tutor that I can't remember the name of) |
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13 May 99 - 06:24 PM (#78202) Subject: RE: NEW LYR/MUS: Fairy Hills/Si Bheag Si Mhor From: Barry Finn Jeri, is that the same Jeri the in south somewhere via recently Korea? If so nice to see youve found your way in here. Barry |
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13 May 99 - 07:19 PM (#78215) Subject: RE: NEW LYR/MUS: Fairy Hills/Si Bheag Si Mhor From: emily rain the original lyrics were indeed in gaelic, and i used to have a copy of it sung and harped by grainne yeates... lost it. damn. i know nothing about who wrote the words/tune... i'd be fascinated to know more.
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14 May 99 - 08:25 AM (#78365) Subject: RE: NEW LYR/MUS: Fairy Hills/Si Bheag Si Mhor From: Harald Si Bheag Si Mhor (One big one small) refers to two brial mounds. In one of them the remains of an ancient celtic hero (please don´t ask me who - I don´t know, I regret) are suspected. And there was a dispute between two families which one the right one is, because each of these two families owns the ground of just one of these brial mounds. So, because it seems to be a story from long times ago it is high-grade suspicious that original lyrics were in gaelic. (Furthermore I´m not sure, if O´Carolan ever wrote something in english...) |
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14 May 99 - 09:28 AM (#78375) Subject: RE: NEW LYR/MUS: Fairy Hills/Si Bheag Si Mhor From: Ewan McVicar The lyrics read as a very modern and non too distinguished addition to a fine and much loved tune recorded by Planxty in their glory days. I can't just now put my hand on the 19th C 'fairy tale' volume containing the Irish story of the battle of the two fairy hills, one big and one small, who played at the hurling, but the losing team used magic and terrible damage was caused to the countryside. I've a notion that the human musicians called to play for the game played the tune in question to calm the tempers of the players, but I may be inventing or interpolating that. Ewan |
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14 May 99 - 10:40 PM (#78593) Subject: RE: NEW LYR/MUS: Fairy Hills/Si Bheag Si Mhor From: Áine I found these lyrics and the translation on this webpage: http://www.dnaco.net/~mobrien/irishptr/iresongs/sibeagsi.html
However, I do not vouch for their accuracy in Irish or English. |
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14 May 99 - 11:29 PM (#78601) Subject: RE: NEW LYR/MUS: Fairy Hills/Si Bheag Si Mhor From: Helen I don't know much about the origins of this song, although I can do a bit of looking up in my copy of Bunting (17th Century book of harp tunes). Most of them are just tunes without words, and I haven't *read* the book so I don't know what sort of information is in it about individual tunes. Unfortunately I have a lot of work to finish this weekend and shouldn't even be on the net but I wanted an update on Catspaw, and decided to see what else was happening in the threads. So maybe someone else can come up with the information before I get a chance to do it. Even the 17th Century Bunting book will still be based on hearsay more than fact. BTW, harpgirl, you scare me when you say I'm a real harper because I don't play very well, but now that you have started the thread on autoharps I know what you actually mean is "real harp" versus "autoharp" rather than "real player" versus "rank amateur" (grin) Helen |
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18 Jul 02 - 12:09 PM (#750491) Subject: RE: NEW LYR/MUS: Fairy Hills/Si Bheag Si Mhor From: MMario refresh |
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18 Jul 02 - 11:40 PM (#750847) Subject: RE: NEW LYR/MUS: Fairy Hills/Si Bheag Si Mhor From: Kaleea Emily, Somewhere I have the harp recording with Grainne Yeates--found it second hand, I think! That is the only vocal recording I have ever heard of Si Bheag Si Mhor--aka Little Faerie, Big Faerie, and she does sing it in Gaelic. What I have read is that it is believed to be O'Carolan's first tune. His son evidently traveled around and notated his music for posterity. Here's an interesting site about him (sorry I don't know how to make it a clicky!): http://www.contemplator.com/carolan/ |
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18 Jul 02 - 11:57 PM (#750857) Subject: RE: NEW LYR/MUS: Fairy Hills/Si Bheag Si Mhor From: Gypsy It was the battle with the Tuatha de Dannan. Don't quote me on the spelling. Twas a big battle indeed. Seems to me that we had a thread on this a while back, and Bruce O did indeed put this tuppence worth in. |
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20 Jul 02 - 11:52 AM (#751600) Subject: RE: NEW LYR/MUS: Fairy Hills/Si Bheag Si Mhor From: allanwill I don't think it's been mentioned above, but The Wolfetones recorded The Fairy Hills (as posted by John in Brisbane) on their Belt of the Celts album. Allan |
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16 May 03 - 10:37 AM (#953759) Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Fairy Hills / Si Bheag Si Mhor From: MMario The Bunting version of 'The Bonny Cuckoo' from his 1840 collection His source listed as "Ballinascreen and from the late H. Joy. Esq. Belfast, 1793" Per O'Sullivan & O Suilleabhain Bunting noted: "From this aincient melody . . .another tune "The little and great mountain (Sí beag, Sí mór) seems to have been arranged with some slight variations." X:1 T:The Bonny Cuckoo N:O'Sullivan &Osuilleabhain - from Bunting I:abc2nwc M:6/8 L:1/8 K:D z4zA|d3/2 e/2 f f e d|B2A F2A|A3/2 B/2 d e2d|f2e d2f| B2e A2B|F2E/2 D/2 E2A|A B d e3/2 d/2 e|f2e d2|] My bounny cuckoo, I tell you true, That through the groves I'll rove with you; I'll rove with you until the spring, And them my cuckoo shall sweetly sing. Suckoo, sing girls, let no one tell, Until I settle my seasons well. The ash and the hasel shall mourning say, My bonny cuckoo, don't go away' Don't go away, but tarry here, And make the season last all the year. Don't go away, but tarry here, and make the season last all the year. |
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16 May 03 - 02:04 PM (#953911) Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Fairy Hills / Si Bheag Si Mhor From: Felipa thanks MMario For further background info. on the Bonny Cuckoo see Bonny Shaljean's recent message at this Sí Beag - Sí Mór thread and my message at bonny cuckoo |
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16 May 03 - 06:52 PM (#954088) Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Fairy Hills / Si Bheag Si Mhor From: paddywack If you look on the trad' gold website you will notice that it has the title "She bang, she bong".I know you can loose something in the translation but that it is taking it a little to far. |
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14 Aug 03 - 03:26 PM (#1002137) Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Fairy Hills / Si Bheag Si Mhor From: GUEST,Jonah I need to hear the tune "Si Bheag, Si Mhor" asap, so I can learn it for a gig this weekend. Does anyone have a link to a midi file or something? Messages from a separate thread transferred to this one. --JoeClone |
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14 Aug 03 - 03:35 PM (#1002144) Subject: RE: Tune Request: Si Bheag, Si Mhor From: Sorcha Click! and when you get there, click GIF for sheet music, and MIDI for tune. |
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14 Aug 03 - 05:15 PM (#1002227) Subject: RE: Tune Request: Si Bheag, Si Mhor From: masato sakurai See also The Fiddler's Companion -- SI BHEAG, SI MHOR for info & ABC. |
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14 Aug 03 - 06:57 PM (#1002300) Subject: RE: Tune Request: Si Bheag, Si Mhor From: Leadfingers Request on Thursday for a gig at the week end for an O Carolan tune? You obviously learn things a lot quicker than I can. |
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14 Aug 03 - 07:08 PM (#1002315) Subject: RE: Tune Request: Si Bheag, Si Mhor From: greg stephens Just remember(those midi versions are often a little lifeless) that the tune is meant to imitate a cuckoo(9th-12th bar). That will help your phrasing no end. |
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14 Aug 03 - 07:16 PM (#1002328) Subject: RE: Tune Request: Si Bheag, Si Mhor From: Helen Barry Taylor's Midi's f Carolan's tunes are beautiful, at Lesley Nelson's Contemplator site. Be warned, this whole site is addictive. I love it. It's like a picnic for the mind. Helen |
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15 Aug 03 - 02:01 AM (#1002471) Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Fairy Hills / Si Bheag Si Mhor From: alison here you go from JC's abc tunefinder..... click on the symbols at the bottom to get the MIDI.... this link should take you to the sheet music slainte alison |
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18 Apr 16 - 01:23 PM (#3785877) Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Fairy Hills / Si Bheag Si Mhor From: keberoxu The post from 14 May 1999, by Áine, submits the Gaelic lyrics for "Sí Bheag, Sí Mhor." , along with an English translation. Don't know about the translation; however, I have just used Áine's post to follow along with the "Sí Bheag, Sí Mhor" recording from Gráinne Yeats' commemoration of the Belfast Harper repertoire from 1792. Mrs. Yeats recorded that repertoire on a two-disc vinyl recording, for the Gael-Linn label. What I just listened to, however, was Gael-Linn's "Amhráin Ghrá," an anthology of eight Gael-Linn recording artists, all singers, and all women. Not all of them are harpists. And I believe that the anthology title translates love songs, which is kind of amusing: "Sí Bheag, Sí Mhor," whatever it is, is NOT a love song! Anyhow, I can confirm that the Gaelic lyrics submitted by Áine are the lyrics which Gráinne Yeats sings, while accompanying herself with Carolan's harp music. No mean feat! That melody is not easy to sing, and although I don't have Gaelic, to my ears those words are a real mouthful, there are tongue-twisters in there. Brava, Bravissima! |
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18 Apr 16 - 03:28 PM (#3785896) Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Fairy Hills / Si Bheag Si Mhor From: Helen Hi keberoxu, I have to ask. Do you play harp? I notice that you are starting a lot of harp threads, so I'm just curious. The late great Derek Bell's version is beautiful too. I've had the recording on vinyl for over 25 years, I think, and then I upgraded to CD about 10 years ago. It is still one of my favourite albums. He doesn't sing the lyrics but beautiful harp arrangements and harp playing. Carolan's Receipt, track 1, Sidh Beag Agus Sidh Mor Helen |
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19 Apr 16 - 02:11 PM (#3786108) Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Fairy Hills / Si Bheag Si Mhor From: keberoxu Hi Helen, my interest in Irish harp goes back to a recording in my parents' record collection. My comments are on a Mudcat thread about Deirdre Ní Fhlóinn, because she was the artist on my parents' LP. No, I ended up getting classical piano lessons and took that to university, where I veered away from solo piano and took to accompanying choruses and solo voice students in recital. I don't play the harp. And regarding Derek Bell, I have not heard his Carolan albums, so I have a question: did he record these albums with a wire-strung harp (chlairseach)? He was quoted as saying that he would not tour with a wire-strung harp because keeping them tuned was harder than keeping a nylon-strung harp tuned. But I heard he did make studio recordings with a wire-strung harp, is this true? Thanks! |
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19 Apr 16 - 03:43 PM (#3786140) Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Fairy Hills / Si Bheag Si Mhor From: Helen Hi keberoxu, I'll have to dig my CD's out and check the list of instruments, but I know that he did play wire-strung harp. Carolan's Receipt: The Music of Carolan, Vol. 1 AllMusic Review by Rick Anderson "Interestingly, Bell plays a steel-string harp on most of the tracks -- though gut-string harps are more commonly used in Celtic music today, this particular instrument was specifically constructed to resemble the kind used by Carolan himself." Steel strings sound unlikely to me, especially if it "...was specifically constructed to resemble the kind used by Carolan himself". I think the writer possibly used the word "steel" as a generalisation for "metal". I'll look at each CD and report back, but the liner notes on Derek Bell's CD called Ancient Music for the Irish Harp states: "Derek Bell plays a brass string harp on Little Molly O (note, Molly is misspelled as Molloy in the liner notes), and Love in Secret, and Lady Iveagh, and The Black Rosebud. On all other selections he play a gut strong (sic) neo-Irish harp. I have a copy of the CD called Derek Bell Plays With Himself (double-entendre was intentional, apparently he liked to tell dirty jokes) and he plays a lot of different instruments on that album. It's a lot of different styles of music, not just Irish. I had a quick look for it but it is 5.30am here in Australia and the caffeine hasn't kicked in yet. I'll have another look when the sun comes up. All my CD's are loaded onto my computer so that I can load them onto a USB stick and listen to them in the car, so that's why I have to look through my (relatively unsorted) collection to find it. Helen |
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20 Apr 16 - 03:47 AM (#3786225) Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Fairy Hills / Si Bheag Si Mhor From: GUEST Having read this thread yesterday, I decided to have a go at this one myself and am in the process of uploading it now. I also discovered that there is already one version of it on YouTube performed very nicely by The Wolfe Tones: Fairy Hills - The Wolfe Tones |
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20 Apr 16 - 04:38 PM (#3786356) Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Fairy Hills / Si Bheag Si Mhor From: Helen Thanks for the link, Guest. That's a beautiful version and I have never heard it as a song, only as a tune. It's one of my perennial favourite tunes, since I first heard it over 30 years ago. Helen |
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30 Nov 16 - 06:34 AM (#3823618) Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Fairy Hills / Si Bheag Si Mhor From: GUEST,jim bainbridge I can see these two hills from my window, at the southern end of Lough Allen, behind the village of Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim. Have never felt the urge to play the tune though.... |
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30 Nov 16 - 11:53 AM (#3823666) Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Fairy Hills / Si Bheag Si Mhor From: JMB I've heard it played at different tempos. There is a version I've heard by two brothers who do a slower version of it. One is playing the low whistle, and the other is playing a nice guitar part with DADGAD tuning. I play the Bb tin whistle for this song, because I like the tone of that particular whistle. It's one of my favourites to play on tin whistle. |
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30 Nov 16 - 06:54 PM (#3823763) Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Fairy Hills / Si Bheag Si Mhor From: leeneia That's a good idea, JMB. I'll have to try that at home. |
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30 Nov 16 - 08:37 PM (#3823781) Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Add: Fairy Hills / Si Bheag Si Mhor From: Tattie Bogle That Wolfe Tones' version is HELLUVA fast! Even Planxty's version is too fast for me, if not as fast as that! Much prefer it slower! My friends and I play a 3-part version, and have various amateur recordings of it. I'll check them out and put a link to Soundcloud, once I've uploaded it there. |
