19 Dec 18 - 09:11 PM (#3967357) Subject: beautiful tunes From: Andy7 There are certain tunes that are really, really beautiful. And I don't know why! I'm talking about the inherent beauty of the tunes, quite separately from whichever well-known or well-loved words they happen to be attached to (and which, in some cases, actually detract from the beauty of the music) - tunes that are really beautiful in their own right. Here are just a few of my choices ... remembered at random, there are many more besides: Banks and Braes Battle of the Somme Brahms' Lullaby Bunch of Thyme Coquetdale Waltz Cwm Rhondda Grandfather's Clock Meeting of the Waters Michael Turner's Waltz Rose of Allandale Which other tunes would you add to this list? |
20 Dec 18 - 12:19 AM (#3967373) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Joe Offer We had a song circle last Sunday, so of course there were a lot of seasonal songs. I noticed that some of them had really wonderful tunes. Several were from the Piae Cantiones songbook from Finland, so I started a thread on the songbook. One woman, Lonna, doesn't quite realize what a beautiful voice she has, and she sang four gorgeous songs: Good St. Wenceslas (and I sang the Flower Carol to the same tune); Coventry Carol; The Holly and the Ivy; O Tannenbaum. Other songs with beautiful tunes that people sang were Huron Carol, Turning Toward the Morning, People Look East, Wexford Carol, Lo How a Rose, and O Holy Night. Lots of good stuff, and it made for a delightful afternoon with some of my favorite people. -Joe- |
20 Dec 18 - 05:27 AM (#3967404) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Anne Neilson What about 'The Lark in the Clear Air' and Handel's 'Silent Worship'? |
20 Dec 18 - 05:55 AM (#3967405) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Jack Campin Fy Gar Rub Her O'er with Straw Lament for Will Starr The Braes of Auchtertyre The Captain's Apprentice (aka Oxford City) Queen among the Heather Lamma Bada Yatathanna Hasta Siempre, Comandante Che Guevara |
20 Dec 18 - 10:27 AM (#3967459) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Steve Shaw Amazing Grace Eleanor Plunkett |
20 Dec 18 - 10:40 AM (#3967467) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: GUEST The Broom of Cowdenknowes |
20 Dec 18 - 10:47 AM (#3967470) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Jos 'I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls' Usually one only hears a brief snatch of the tune. |
20 Dec 18 - 11:04 AM (#3967477) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Senoufou 'Na Laetha Geal M'Oige'. Enya sings it so beautifully. Always makes me weep. I've chosen it for my funeral. |
20 Dec 18 - 11:08 AM (#3967478) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Tattie Bogle Several from Ivan Drever: Leaving Stoer The Rose of St Magnus El Caballo Blanco The Flower of Kristiansand Several older ones: Niel Gow's Lament for the Death if his Second Wife Rosslyn Castle The Nameless Lassie The Music o' Spey Some Shetland ones: Da Auld Resting Chair Da Slockit Light Da Day Dawn Shingly Beach Some pipe tunes: The Sleeping Tune Anada Pa Gael A couple of Irish ones: Ar Eireann Neosfainn ce Hi Inisheer Marino Casio and others by John Sheahan And plenty from "classical" music. Ask me tomorrow and I'll probably give you a different list! |
20 Dec 18 - 12:00 PM (#3967493) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Stewart Bendemeer’s Stream (a.k.a. Carrigdhoun and Mountains of Mourne) |
20 Dec 18 - 02:27 PM (#3967529) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Helen O Holy Night So many of O'Carolan's tunes: Michael O'Connor (aka Michael Ward) - the second set, (e.g. as performed by Arty McGlynn & Nollaig Casey on Lead the Knave) Carolan's Welcome Mrs Judge Luke Dillon Eleanor Plunkett Princess Royal The Fairy Queen - I could go on and on about O'Carolan's tunes. Hector the Hero Archibald McDonald of Keppoch Buachaill ón Éirne Rosbif Waltz Inisheer King of the Fairies Marches: Return from Fingal Lord Mayo After the Battle of Aughrim Brian Boru's March Then there is my classical list Adagio Appassionata - Max Bruch Domine Deus, Rex Coelestis - Vivaldi (this one is #1 on my list for my funeral) La Campanella by Paganini, but especially Liszt's piano version I could go on and on and on. So many beautiful tunes. Great thread idea! |
20 Dec 18 - 02:48 PM (#3967537) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: fat B****rd Jesu, joy of man's desire Here, there and everywhere |
20 Dec 18 - 04:16 PM (#3967552) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: frogprince Colorado Trail Going Home (Largo theme from Dvorak's 9th) Oars (Tide and the River Rising), Cindy Kallet |
20 Dec 18 - 04:46 PM (#3967557) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: GUEST,Banjo flower Calla's waltz |
20 Dec 18 - 05:09 PM (#3967559) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Gallus Moll Senofou, I have a theory about funerals in particular the 'after' part (purvey and session, particularly in the case of a folkie who has passed): after a certain age / stage in life we should periodically be hosting a pre-death wake - so we can be there to enjoy the session in person! So -- perhaps annually, perhaps less frequently --but so much better than being dead and missing the party! (well, apart from when the inevitable happens -- ?) As for lovely tunes - like Tattie Bogle's selection plus a few of the other submissions (scratching my head at some tho!) Didn't notice any Pipe Major Jock McLellan of Dunoon tunes ? He was a great composer - and as well as pipes he played fiddle, piano; his harmonies really enhance the lovely tunes and he is well worth seeking out. (not to be confused with the more recent Captain John Maclellan who also composed/es) |
20 Dec 18 - 05:33 PM (#3967562) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Steve Gardham Already mentioned most of my favourites. My Lagan Love Dark Island Rhoisan Dhu Boulavogue The May Morning Dew Greensleeves All the variants of Dives and Lazarus Margaret's Waltz O Carolan's Concerto Golden Eagle hornpipe Belfast Hornpipe Miss McCleod's Reel St Anne's Reel The Tinkerman's Daughter/Plains of Waterloo Derry Down Cecilia Costello's Grey Cock Lady Franklin's Lament Some I forget their names. |
20 Dec 18 - 06:20 PM (#3967568) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: StephenH These just spring to mind because I am presently learning to play them on the fiddle: Mi'm shuidh' an deireadha bata (Sitting in the Stern of a Boat) Flitter Dance Peter O'Tavy Old Molly Oxford The first one is an air, but I tend to play them all slowly as I'm not that good! But it does have the advantage of bringing out the beauty of the melody. |
20 Dec 18 - 08:05 PM (#3967583) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Andy7 Some tunes from the world of classical music that are incredibly beautiful: Bruckner - Locus Iste Faure - Cantique de Jean Racine Handel - La Paix, from Music for the Royal Fireworks Mendelssohn - For He Shall Give His Angels Charge Over Thee, from Elijah Mozart - Andante, from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik Schubert - Morgengruss, from Die Schone Mullerin Vivaldi - Spring, from The Four Seasons |
21 Dec 18 - 02:42 PM (#3967750) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: CupOfTea I'm fond of much on Tattie Bogle's list. Tom Anderson's Da Slocket Light & Da Auld Resting Chair are favourites, but mostly I gravitate towards waltzes when I think of beautiful tunes: Flowers of the Thorn Wood Duck Penobscot Memory Ashgrove Ashokan Farewell (despite being played so often) From the Irish top ten: Planxty Irwin, Lord Inchiquin, Fanny Poer, SiBehg, SiMohr The one that brought me to tears the first few times I heard it is Brian Peters "The Twenty-Sixth of Forever" Wish I could work out how to play it myself, but I'm much more paper trained when it comes to orchestrated pieces. Joanne in Cleveland |
22 Dec 18 - 10:38 AM (#3967858) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: GUEST,Geordie boy Carrickfergus tune |
22 Dec 18 - 02:43 PM (#3967895) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: The Sandman Grandfarters Cock? are you serious ? |
22 Dec 18 - 04:00 PM (#3967909) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Tattie Bogle Looking at Gallus Moll's post, and hoping I've got the right J McLellan (or even MacLellan!) but 2 very good tunes are: Lochanside - a 3/4 pipe march, and The Bloody Fields of Flanders - the tune that was slightly adapted by Hamish Henderson to become his famous song "The Freedom Come All Ye". Lochanside has also had words put to it by Jim Malcolm, among others. |
22 Dec 18 - 04:55 PM (#3967918) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: GUEST,Folkie Add one heard in Whitby at folk week,played by a lady Morris musician on a melodeon, while waiting for the rest of the side to arrive up at the Cpn Cook monument, a haunting Russian waltz called "The hills of Manchuria" a lovely tune :) |
22 Dec 18 - 05:05 PM (#3967920) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Tootler Alloa House Westmoreland (Playford) Purcell: Evening Hymn Handel: Almost anything from Messiah, Zadok the Priest The Arran Boat Bonny at Morn |
22 Dec 18 - 05:09 PM (#3967922) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Helen I forgot to mention tunes played by the Scottish harp duo called Sileas: The Little Cascade, composed by a Scottish Pipe Major George S. McLennan (That's tops on my list of their tunes, far and away above everything else they play. That's saying something, because their baseline is "brilliant".) Miss Gordon of Gight (which they play slowly, and a comment on The Session website was that the person for whom the tune was composed was unable to keep still so it was originally a lively tune. IMHO it's beautiful when played hauntingly.) "Fraser started a trend of playing this tune at a funereal pace, and everybody I have heard doing it has followed suit. There is absolutely nothing in the original publication to suggest that. It’s a reel. It ought to go FAST. "I have the story behind it in the "Embro, Embro" pages on my website: it is named after a wealthy young woman who seems to have been publicly emotional to the point of hypomania. Combine that with the historical situation she was in, and the obvious way to see it is as a frenzied explosion. # Posted by Jack Campin 6 years ago." https://thesession.org/tunes/8465 The Judges Dilemma/The Inverness Gathering Margaret's Waltz/Dark Island Dusty Windowsill, composed by John Harling Da Day Dawn Kate Dalrymple/John MacNeill's Reel |
22 Dec 18 - 05:45 PM (#3967926) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Anne Neilson Looking back at Tattie Bogle's post, I must second her proposal of Lochanside -- absolutely one of my favourite pipe marches! A great tune with a great melody that pulls you in. |
22 Dec 18 - 05:48 PM (#3967928) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Tattie Bogle I'll play it for you sometime, Anne! |
22 Dec 18 - 05:48 PM (#3967929) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Jack Campin There are other tunes associated with Gight Castle and the area around it that really were meant to be slow - Hector MacAndrew's "Gight Castle", James Scott Skinner's "Corgarff Castle" and the ballad for another battle in the same feud as that, "The Burning of Auchindoun" which also has a haunting and dramatic tune. But the story of Miss Gordon of Gight is so extraordinary it really deserves to have her tune done right. |
22 Dec 18 - 10:50 PM (#3967964) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Helen Hi Jack, I understand what you are saying and I do think that a tune or song named for someone should match their personality. The issue for me is that the only version I have heard of the tune is the one by Sileas and it is a beautiful tune when played at that tempo. I was surprised to learn from your post on The Session website that it was originally played at a lively tempo and also the reason why. A reel has a totally different feel to a slow air, but it works - for me, at least - as a slow air. One of the reasons I love the O'Carolan tune, Mrs Judge, is because it starts in the 4/4 time signature and then changes to 6/8 in the last section. It's like two tunes for the price of one, and the 6/8 section seems to add another dimension to the 4/4 section. |
22 Dec 18 - 11:47 PM (#3967969) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: GUEST,Terray Love Walked In For All We Know (the one from the 30's) Here I'll Stay (Weill) Nuages (Django's) Our Love is Here to Stay I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan Reverie (Debussy) Afro Cuban Lullaby Sukiyaki Killiecrankie (or Planxty Davis) Tabhair dom do Lámh (Give Me Your Hand) Old Paint Cherokee Trail A Maiden's Prayer Midnight on the Water Midwinter Waltz Oopik Waltz Tombigbee Waltz Out on the Ocean (overplayed but still beautiful) The Miller's Maggot Christmas Eve (Tommy Coen's Reel) Spirit of the Dance and I agree about Lochanside and many others up the page |
23 Dec 18 - 12:32 AM (#3967971) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: JennieG Valse Frontenac.....a lovely tune for dancing, playing or just listening |
23 Dec 18 - 10:53 AM (#3968029) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: GUEST,Jude The Fureys 'Lonesome Boatman'and 'Sweet Sixteen' 'Who's Side Are You On?' Spine-tingling version recently on Desert Island Discs by Natalie Merchant. And yes, 'Bonny at Morn', especially sung by the Lucky Bags, 'Annachie Gordon', 'Master Kilby' and several others sung by Nic Jones, 'Night Visiting Song' esp by Jackie and Bridie, theme to The Piano by Michael Nyman... so many. Aren't we lucky? |
23 Dec 18 - 12:11 PM (#3968036) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: Tattie Bogle Yes! The Lucky Bags were great, especially at their local Northumbrian songs and tunes. But, ah, The Piano: original tune or not? Many have debated this! Accidental or not? The tune is pretty much the same as the 18th Century Scottish Strathspey "Lord Balgownie's Favourite" used for decades as the music to Robert Tannahill's "Gloomy Winter's Noo Awa'", written in the early 1800s and something of a Scottish folk standard?. (See Dougie Maclean sing it - on YouTube.) |
24 Dec 18 - 12:25 AM (#3968087) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: PHJim I love O'Carolan's Blind Mary. Margaret's Waltz is a beautiful tune. Although the words are terrible and unsingable, I think the tune to "Massa's In De Cold, Cold Ground" is lovely, especially the part that starts "Down in the corn field, hear that mournful sound. . ." |
24 Dec 18 - 01:33 AM (#3968099) Subject: RE: beautiful tunes From: MudGuard Traditional: Planxty Irwin (already mentioned) Gentle Maiden Lonesome Boatsman St. Patrick's Cathedral (Dubliners) Baroque: J.S.Bach: Orchester Suites, Brandenburg Concertos, Violin Concertos ... Pachelbel: Canon Jeremiah Clark: Trumpet Voluntary a/k/a Prince of Denmark's March ... |