I am really interested in hearing what all of you feel is your favorite whistle song. Perhaps you have one per category, jig, reel, air, etc. Who played it and on what album is it on.
My collection of Celtic music has become quite large, especially through the past two years. However, I have found that unless the local store has a listening station to preview the CDs, you can really get stuck with something you don’t want.
One of the first CDs I ever purchased is still one of my favorites. It is Joanie Madden’s Song of the Irish Whistle. The second cut, “Down By the Sally Gardens” is my favorite song to date. The first cut,“The Imigrant” is my second favorite slow song to date. She records on Hearts O Space.
I’d like to hear from each of you on your favorites.
Cinead
[ This Message was edited by: Cinead on 2001-08-11 16:59 ]
O’Carolan’s Farewell to Music, played by Jerry O’Sullivan. It’s on Gentle Breeze, a Green Linnett compilation/sampler of whistle and flute music. You can buy it for under $8 at amazon.com. It should be a mandatory cd for whistle players.
For a low D tune, Joe McKenna’s The Irish Low Whistle has a new composition by McKenna, “Echos Calling,” that I think is very cool. He plays it on a Copeland low D.
My all-time favorite whistle tune is on a reel-to-reel tape I recorded from a guy’s vinyl album in 1976. I’ve never been able to find a copy of the record. Quays of Goretown by The Wild Geese has the sweetest whistle tune that starts out slow and shifts into a reel and gets picked up by bouzouki. Don’t know the name of the tune and I’ve never heard another recording of it. The next time I get an unexpected burst of energy, I’ll drag the tape player downstairs and make an mp3.
Tony
I assume you are asking about whistle tunes (instrumental), as opposed to songs (with words). I like airs, mostly. There are some faster ones that I like, too, but in general, the slow stuff is easiest to be expressive on, I think. I like the Ballad of Innisheer. And Southwind. I think Joanie is the best whistle player of airs in the world.
‘favourite’ is tricky, because it implies ‘all time favourite’ - and I’m fickle!!
However: Phil Hardy, Joe McKenna and Joanie Madden notwithstanding (they all have wonderful CD’s out now), there is a tune that I can’t get out of my head at present.
It’s a new version of the Scottish song ‘Leezy Lindsay’, played as an instrumental on a new album ‘Celtic Moon’, by Lancashire Low whistler Phil Brown. He plays it on an Overton. He sent me a ‘comp’ and I can’t stop playing it. I called him on the phone and he told me that his wife is also playing that particular track non-stop. Must be catchy!
For me it’s a tie between track #5 from The Dubliners Live In Carre - Dunphy’s Hornpipe, and track #8 from the Lewis & Clark Original Soundtrack Recording - When Summer Ends.
Eamon Coyne by Seamus Egan
Sean Sa Cheo by Larry Nugent
Anything by Seamus Ennis on whistle
Anything by Leo Rowsome on whistle (can be found on Ceolnet)
My favourite is still the one that made me want to take up playing the whistle in the first place - ‘Portsmouth’ as played by Mike Oldfield. Actually he played it on a recorder, but I didn’t know that at the time! Another favourite is the ‘1812 quickstep’. It can be heard at the beginning of the movie ‘The Outlaw Josey Wales’ Add that to anything from Mary Bergin’s "feadog stain album.
If you ever run into some recordings of Willie Clancy in the whistle you’d better buy them. There are not many but I think he’s the best whistler that has ever lived.
On 2001-08-11 17:10, Cinead wrote:
My favorite jig is “Toss the Feathers”, cut nine on the Corrs album “Forgiven, Not Forgotten.” (Atlantic, Polygram, 143 Records, 1995).
I really like the way Andrea tosses the feathers.
Cinead
Toss the Feathers is a reel not a jig.
Favorite reel (today)-The Mason’s Apron
Favorite jig (today)- The Kesh
Favorite polka - Denis Murphy’s
Favorite hornpipe - Off To California
Favorite air - Inisheer
Favorite highland fling - Frank Roches Favorite
[ This Message was edited by: bsykes62 on 2001-08-12 08:48 ]
One of the first CDs I ever purchased is still one of my favorites. It is Joanie Madden’s Song of the Irish Whistle. The second cut, “Down By the Sally Gardens” is my favorite song to date. The first cut,“The Imigrant” is my second favorite slow song to date. She records on Hearts O Space.
I love this CD. My favorite songs are Roisin Dubh and Down by the Salley Gardens. Slow airs are my favorite whistle songs in general. Another beautiful slow air is Catherine Tyrrell. I like the way Carrie Crompton arranged this song for hammered dulcimer in her book, Hammered Dulcimer Solos, vol. 2. I also really enjoy Carrickfergus, another slow air. Joemy Wilson plays a beautiful version of this song on hammered dulcimer on one of her CDs.
A couple faster songs I really like are The Butterfly, a slip jig, and Saint Anne’s Reel, a French-Canadian reel, I believe.
My all time favorite air is the the Theme from treasure island by the chieftains. First irish and whistle song/tune I heard which was while I was many years ago when I was just a wee lad:) I also really like an air I heard years ago on Thistle and shamrock I think by the whistle binkies but dont remember what it was called. Ok I guess Ive significantly confused everyone onto some more solid ground.
Reels: Musical Priest, The pride of the parish
Jigs: The Langstrom Pony,
Polkas: Ballydesmond 3(or is it 1? I always get them confused)
Thats all I can think of off the top of my head.
Cinead–you are asking us to PICK! You have my brain hurting, but here is my fav list at the moment
Marches: O’Sullivans,O’Neill’s March
Brian Boru’s March
Jigs: Lark in the Morning, BlarneyPilgram,
The Butterfly; Munster Buttermilk.
I buried my wife and danced on her
grave
Slides: Merrily Kiss the Quakers Wife
Harvest Home, The Brosna,
Dennis Murphy’s
Reels: Mountain Road, St. Annes, Maid behind the Bar. Silver Spear, Father Kelly’s
Any and all Polkas: especially Britches full of Stitches, and Bill Sullivan’s and the Balleydesmonds.
Airs: The Fairy Child, Da Slockit Light and Sliabh Gallion Brae, Eamonn a Chnoic. And Dirty old Town (bluesy version on a Low G)
I can go on but my favourite is always the one I’m learning now. Air: Casadh an tSugain.
I listen to all of Joannie Madden’s. Waves of Kilkee is excellent. The Ruby by Phil Cunningham, Chris Laughlin’s version on Clips & Snips got me hooked. Sean Ryan’s Mickey Finn. Then, Down by the Sally Gardens, Inisheer, and For Ireland I’d Not tell Her Name.
Some years ago, I took a road trip from Salt Lake, down to Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ and the Grand Canyon. The trip was wild, and we managed to see Lowell, and both the complete north and south rims of the canyon in under 48 hours!
Needless to say, the drive back to SLC was long and dark, since we decided to start at about two in the morning. I had borrowed a friend’s copy of Joanies Song of the Irish Whistle (#1) and at the time, didn’t really know what a whistle even was. I just knew the CD was beautiful.
At any rate, I was driving north watching grass fires burning off in the distance, when almost at once, there was a blaze of light and the rays of the rising sun streaked across the sky. It was one of those pink and orange desert sunrises like you see in the movies! Just as I saw this, Mna na h’Eireann(Women of Ireland) began to play.
Several years later, I picked up the whistle, and the rest is history! Anyway, sorry about the life story there…but you asked!
Brian~
[ This Message was edited by: Brian Lee on 2001-08-13 09:41 ]
Jessie