Turlough O'Carolan
Encyclopedia
Belfast Harp Festival
The Belfast Harp Festival, 11-14th July 1792, was a four-day event organised by Dr.James McDonnell, Robert Bradshaw and Henry Joy McCracken, following a six year lapse from the last Granard harp festival...
, but there is no proof of any of these being composers. Some of Carolan's own compositions show influence from the style of continental classical music, whereas others such as Carolan's Farewell to Music reflect a much older style of "Gaelic Harping".
Biography
O'Carolan was born in -34 near NobberNobber
Nobber is a village in north County Meath, Ireland. The village is built near a river called the Dee and near Whitewood Lake which is situated in the town land of Whitewood. It is on the Navan–Kingscourt road about north of Navan. This places the village about from the M50 motorway ; the...
, County Meath
County Meath
County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...
, but in 1684 he moved with his family, to Ballyfarnon, County Roscommon
County Roscommon
County Roscommon is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the town of Roscommon. Roscommon County Council is the local authority for the county...
, where his father took a job with the MacDermottRoe
MacDermot Roe
MacDermot Roe is the name of a sept of the MacDermot Kings of Moylurg.Tracing their origin to 1266, the MacDermots Roe of Ireland served as Biatachs General of the Kingdom of Connacht and were the principal patrons of the Irish composer Turlough Carolan, 1670-1738...
family of Alderford House. Mrs. MacDermottRoe gave him an education, and he showed talent in poetry. After being blinded by smallpox, at the age of eighteen, Carolan was apprenticed by Mrs MacDermott Roe to a good harper. At the age of twenty-one, being given a horse and a guide, he set out to travel Ireland and compose songs for patrons. For almost fifty years, Carolan journeyed from one end of the country to the other, composing and performing his tunes.
In 1720, O' Carolan married Mary Maguire. He was then 50 years of age. Their first family home was a cottage on a parcel of land near the town of Mohill
Mohill
Mohill is a town in County Leitrim, Ireland. The town is located in the south of the county, north of the midlands of Ireland. The town of Carrick-on-Shannon is approximately 16 km away....
in Co Leitrim, where they settled. They had seven children, six daughters and a son. In 1733 Mary died.
O'Carolan is buried in the McDermottroe family crypt in Kilronan Burial Ground near Ballyfarnon, County Roscommon. The annual O'Carolan Harp Festival and Summer School commemorates his life and work in Keadue, County Roscommon.
A bronze monument by sculptor Oisin Kelly depicting Turlough Carolan playing his harp, was erected on a plinth at the Market Square, Mohill
Mohill
Mohill is a town in County Leitrim, Ireland. The town is located in the south of the county, north of the midlands of Ireland. The town of Carrick-on-Shannon is approximately 16 km away....
, on 10 August 1986, and was unveiled by Patrick Hillery
Patrick Hillery
Patrick John "Paddy" Hillery was an Irish politician and the sixth President of Ireland from 1976 until 1990. First elected at the 1951 general election as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála for Clare, he remained in Dáil Éireann until 1973...
, President of Ireland
President of Ireland
The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...
.
Music and style
Carolan's musical style shows a mix of traditional and classical elements. He typically composed the tune first—as he rode from place to place—then added words later. Many of the tunes attributed to Carolan are older traditional melodies that he improved or lengthened. He wrote many "planxties" (tributes) in honor of some person. It is said that weddings and funerals were often delayed until he could arrive to perform.
Publication
His music was first published in Neale's A Collection of the Most Celebrated Irish Tunes ... in Dublin, c.1726. At least 220 tunes which survive to this day are attributed to him, though most were not published or even written down in his lifetime; they survived in the repertories of fiddlers, pipers and the last of the old Irish harpers and were collected and published piecemeal in the late 18th and 19th centuries.Only in 1958 was his entire repertoire published in one edition by Donal O'Sullivan, and even then few lyrics were given and some of the tunes were edited to make them fit the treble register.
A definitive and comprehensive edition of harp settings matched with the words of the songs has yet to be produced although a number of song settings appeared in The Bunting Collection of Irish Folk Music and Song by Donal O'Sullivan.
Performances
Some of his compositions are performed by many popular Irish musicians, such as PlanxtyPlanxty
Planxty is an Irish folk music band formed in the 1970s, consisting initially of Christy Moore , Dónal Lunny , Andy Irvine , and Liam O'Flynn...
, The Chieftains
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
and The Dubliners
The Dubliners
The Dubliners are an Irish folk band founded in 1962.-Formation and history:The Dubliners, initially known as "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", formed in 1962 and made a name for themselves playing regularly in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin...
. In addition, Carolan's Concerto has been used as a neutral Slow March by the Foot Guards
Foot Guards
-British Army:The Foot Guards are the Regular Infantry regiments of the Household Division of the British Army. There have been six regiments of foot guards, five of which still exist. The Royal Guards Reserve Regiment was a reserve formation of the Household Brigade in existence from 1900-1901...
of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
during the ceremony of Trooping the Colour
Trooping the Colour
Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed by regiments of the British and the Commonwealth armies. It has been a tradition of British infantry regiments since the 17th century, although the roots go back much earlier. On battlefields, a regiment's colours, or flags, were used as rallying points...
.
Notable compositions
- "Carolan's Concerto"
- "Carolan's Draught"
- "Carolan's Receipt (Dr. John Stafford)"
- "Carolan's WelcomeCarolan's WelcomeCarolan's Welcome is a traditional air composed by Turlough Carolan. It is also known by a number of different titles, including "Carden's Welcome", "O'Carolan's Welcome", and "Carolan's Air"....
" - "Carolan's Ramble to Cashel"
- "Dr. John Hart, Bishop of Achonry"
- "Eleanor Plunkett"
- "Fanny Power"
- "George Brabazon"
- "Hewlett"
- "John O'Connor"
- "Mrs Mc Dermott" (alternatively known as "Princess Royal")
- "Lord Inchiquin"
- "Planxty Irwin"
- "Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór"
Compositions
Complete list (alphabetical order)
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William Wood (Mintmaster) William Wood was a hardware manufacturer and mintmaster, noted for receiving a contract to strike an issue of Irish coinage from 1722 to 1724. He also struck the 'Rosa Americana' coins of British America during the same period.... 's Lamentation on the Refusal of his Halfpence Cock Up Your Beaver "Cock Up Your Beaver" is a song and poem by Robert Burns, written in 1792.It was based on an older song, published as "Johnny, cock up thy Beaver". It is widely claimed that this is found in "The Dancing-Master", a collection of folk tunes published by John Playford of London in 1657... " |
Other
- O'Carolan Road in the Tenters area of Dublin 8The LibertiesThe Liberties of Dublin, Ireland were jurisdictions that existed since the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century. They were town lands united to the city, but still preserving their own jurisdiction. The most important of these liberties were the Liberty of St...
is named in his honour. - Carolan Road and "Carolan Corner" shop are named in his honour in the Ballynafeigh area of south BelfastBelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. - The Polish band MyslovitzMyslovitzMyslovitz is a Polish rock band, whose music incorporates elements of college rock, shoegazing, and, arguably, Britpop. Since 2003, EMI Group has been attempting to establish them internationally, with considerable support from MTV Europe...
performs a cover of one of Carolan's songs called "Peggy Brown", which is arguably one of their greatest hits.
External links
- Recording of O'Carolan's tunes by Garlic Bread and french baroque ensemble "Le concert de l'Hostel Dieu"
- The Complete Carolan: all Carolan's 227 tunes arranged in open tunings for the guitar
- Carolan: pages on his life, his tunes, his songs, his harp, with audio files
- Nikolaus NewerklaNikolaus NewerklaNikolaus Philipp Newerkla is a harpsichordist, arranger and conductor.He began his musical career by studying piano at the University of Music in Graz under Eike Straub...
, Playford Dances & Carolan Tunes, Moeck-Verlag Celle, 2007, tunes arranged for recorders and basso continuo - Turlough O'Carolan: Irish Harper
- Turlough O'Carolan 1670-1738
- Complete Works of Turlough O'Carolan (musical scores)
- Carolan Fragment: one of the early sources described
- Gaelic harp keys (web article with suggested original keys of all Carolan's tunes)
- The first complete recording of the Complete Works of Carolan has been recorded and arranged by Irish pianist, J.J. Sheridan