SNOWSTORM #1
SNOWSTORM #2
Snowstorm One was pretty and about eight inches. Snowstorm Two was heavy snow, truly wet cement, and almost a foot and a half before it was done with us. A nightmare. We lost a lot of trees and I spent hours outside knocking snow off of trees near the house. Knox spent two and a half days out on his big tractor moving snow around with the bucket. Of course, he grumbled but was more or less in guy heaven.
Meanwhile, since I last posted, class ended. We had a post-class concert and with a couple of others I played the slow Joe Bane's reel I got off of Kate MacNamara's album "Are You the Concertina Player" on the harp and that went really well. Also our Among Friends bi-annual concert was in early December and I played Marbhna Luimni which was taught to us by Maeve Gilchrist at the Harper's Escape. I am so madly in love with that tune! I also played Captain O'Kane with Rakes of Clonmel (as Kathy taught it - I know there are other versions) with a couple of friends (flute, fiddle) I managed to get one person to learn a new Carolan tune. Tried to get her to learn two, but it is an uphill battle with these non-harpers! It was Laoise Kelly's version of "All Alive" which I got from her years ago at East Durham. It's really a nice tune. Weird key.
I've played at the hospital, down to two visits a month--really just because of winter and the busy disease. Once the snow falls like this I get less and less inclined to leave home and more inclined to stay put. I am still editing my book and will be doing so for at least another couple of months, I think. It's taking forever, but that is the way writing is.
For some INSANE reason I feel the need to 'recover' "Flying to the Fleadh" and also to work on the other Patrick Davey tune, "The Rectory Reel". Why? I don't know, perhaps to prove to myself I can. I also wish to revive "Soft Mild Morning" and fifty other tunes. But for the meanwhile no playing at all as I have one of those skin splits on my thumb-- too much shoveling and carrying on out in the snow.
For some INSANE reason I feel the need to 'recover' "Flying to the Fleadh" and also to work on the other Patrick Davey tune, "The Rectory Reel". Why? I don't know, perhaps to prove to myself I can. I also wish to revive "Soft Mild Morning" and fifty other tunes. But for the meanwhile no playing at all as I have one of those skin splits on my thumb-- too much shoveling and carrying on out in the snow.
Nothing much coming up in my music life. Maybe I need to stir up some trouble?
Keep on posting!
And a big WELCOME to Mary Kay Mann!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm Hepzibah in case you are wondering where Lucy is!
ReplyDeleteOh Mary Kay is coming up as Unknown at the moment--now I know!!
ReplyDeleteLucy, so so much snow! Soft Mild Morn and Flying to the Fleadh are still in my repetoire, def revive them! Crabs in the Skillet is one I am super sad to have left out of ongoing and I've had so much trouble relearning it!
Do you still play it Lucy?
Crabs I only play on the concertina and only sort of, as in, I know the tune but I'm still shaky. Don't have it on the harp at all. But I should think about it, eh? I think Debbie Brewin-Wilson is the "Unknown" so far and Mary Kay's name is listed as a contributor. I invited Kathy too.
ReplyDeleteI really had SMM and then I just let it go.... the same thing is happening with The Fairy Queen which I slaved over last year and have barely played again.... FttF is coming back nicely.
ReplyDeleteglad to hear FtF coming back nicely. For me it's taken 15 years of off and on until I felt it was good enough to play publicly!
ReplyDeleteI love love love Crabs, hope to get it back one day, even Kathy said she's pretty much forgotten it.
Fairy Queen I'm not familiar with--is it O'Carolan?
FtF is going to take a long time to bring back. FQ is one of those attributed to Carolan ones in the back of the book - but I am using Catriona Rowsome's setting which is simply lovely. It's endless, five parts etc. but has that 'ancient' feeling to it - I am guessing Carolan may have fiddled with and popularized something older. Apparently the fifth part was tacked on by someone else even later, but who cares!
ReplyDeleteLove your Boghill photos - dying to come and visit I am!
Merry Christmas to all!
I just tried to publish this comment, rewrote it and am trying again, if it ends up doubled that is why!
Somebody will play Crabs now and then and I go, Oh golly, gotta work on that, and then usually I don't/
ReplyDeleteOh FQ sounds great--is there maybe a link to a youtube version that is close to what you play?
ReplyDeleteCome see me in Boghill!!
Do I have yr. email? I can send it that way.
ReplyDeleteLucy, it's andee.craig @ gmail.com (I put the spaces in between the @ symbol here to protect from spam.....I think that's what you're supposed to do)
ReplyDeleteI'm rushing over to email now to send it to you!!
ReplyDeleteSo is that Catriona playing it on the sound clip? Is it played that slow normally? I can't say I am instantly in love with it, but it may grow on me. A bit heavy maybe? Maybe if it's played a bit faster I'd like it better?
ReplyDeleteI will listen a few times.....thank you!
I think people play it a variety of speeds, but she chose to play it slowly. I think I do play it a little faster (when I have it up to speed, that is!).
ReplyDelete