I’m learning this very beautiful tune “Amhran A Leabhair”.
Does anyone know how to pronounce the name?
Giles
Song of the Books 
I wish I’d gone the ‘Peter Laban route’, when suggesting how to pronouce Feadog, in another thread.
So: Feadog is pronouced Whistle.
Steve
Did that get settled yet ?
Dan
I just learned this beautiful air recently. I can’t help you on pronunciation, in fact, I also have a question. I know it is recorded on Mick Woodruff’s site, but I know it from somewhere else. I have looked through my entire celtic CD collection (200+) and can’t find it. This is driving me crazy! Anybody know where I might have heard this tune? - N
Pronunciation:
“Amhran” Our-awn
“A” Ah
“Leabhair” lyow-or
Hope that helps
Cheers
Gerry
On 2002-02-05 07:47, NancyF wrote:
Anybody know where I might have heard this tune? - N
Maybe on a Séamus Ennis record, under the title “Valencia Harbour”.
In addition to some information on the air, which I supplied in a thread recently I came across this little bit written by Breandan Breathnach In An Piobaire 1983:
Amhran na Leabhar was composed by Tomas Rua 0 Suilleabh~in (1785-1848) who, besides being a poet, was also a schoolteacher, fiddler and dancing master. Compelled to yield up his school near Cahirdaniel to a newcomer, he sent his bag of books and other belongings on to the harbour at Derrynane to have them transported across to Goilin. The boat struck a rock on the way over, turned turtle and everything aboard her was lost in the waves. On the same night Tomas’s clothes were accidently burnt while he was asleep and he had to stay put where he was until the tailor had made a new suit for him. When he finally reached his destination he heard the bad news and was suddenly struck down ill. On recovering he wrote this lament for his books; in it he mentions also the other loss he had suffered that left him gan snath on speir
Seamus got this song from Colm 0 Lochlainn who wrongly attributed it to Conchiir Maistir Riordain
Fenton in his edtion of Tormas Rua’s songs gives "An Spealadoirl’ i.e. “Mo lean le lua” (The Cuckoo’s Nest) as the air to which this song was sung. He prints eleven verses, of which the first is here given as an aid to phrasing the melody.
Go cuan Bheill fnse casadh me,
Cois Goilinn aoibhinn Dairbhre,
Mar a seoltar f lit na farraige
Thar saile i gcein
1 bPortmagee do stadas seal
Fe thuairim intinn maitheasa
Dlfhonn bheith sealad eadartha
Mar mhaistir leinn;
is gearr gur chuala an eachtra
Ag cach, mo lean!
Gur i mBord Eoghain Fhinn do cailleadh, theas,
An t-~rthach trean.
Do phreab mo chr6idhe le hathtuirse
'Dtaoibh loinge an tfosaigh chalma,
mbIfearrde an tir f seasamh seal
Do raibh an tsein.
[I used scanning software to convert the original to a Word file, this software was not fully able to cope with the fada’s etc used in the written Irish, some mistakes may occur)
Nancy, I believe it was featured as a “Tune of the Month” on our beloved Chiff and Fipple Board about a year ago. It was beautifully performed by one of our members with a C whistle. Jim
I think that it is pronounced AHM-rahn A (as in “cat”) LAY-vair. In Gaelic, bh = v in the middle of a word.
~ Thornton
Nancy,
Others have already mentioned where you may have heard the tune, and it’s probably one of those. One other place, though, and where I first heard it, is here:
http://www.verinet.com/~ktcrumb/tunes/index.php3
on the “Sounds of the Irish whistle page” where it’s played by David J. Finnamore (the composer and performer of the lovely “Ithilien” piece Dale posted in the Christmas 2001 newsletter).
Regards,
Cees
[ This Message was edited by: Cees on 2002-02-05 11:20 ]
I’ll take a swing at this too. .
Amhran: I’d try for Av’ran, despite the broad ‘a’.
Leabhair: Lah vihr
But that’s an uneducated guess.
Unfortunately I am not able to reproduce it phonetically (not adequately anyway) but my eight year old son here gives a spin on the Irish pronunciation, rather different from the ones above. I’ll stick with the English if you don’t mind.
I think that it is pronounced AHM-rahn A (as in “cat”) LAY-vair. In Gaelic, bh = v in the middle of a word.
Not is this case. That wold be more at the begining of a word.
The pronunciation as stated in my Irish/English dictionary is:
Amhran: aura:n
Leabhar: l’aur
Cheers
Gerry
[ This Message was edited by: WhistlingGypsy on 2002-02-05 13:14 ]
Nancy F asks where she heard this.
I’m pretty sure it’s on a Matt Molloy CD. Try the one with something about ‘Heather’ in the disc title. But the track name is neither “Amhran A Leabhair” nor “the song of the books” just to make matters more iffy.
The disc is not here with me now, and I’m going from memory now…
Well, thanks folks, but still no luck. It isn’t on the Seamus Ennis I have, and the only Matt Molloy I have is the self-titled one. Sigh. It’s so familliar, I know it is on something I have. I can just hear uillian pipes playing it in my head. – N
Hey Nancy ~ if you have Ireland’s Best Slow Airs and accompaning CD you would have heard it there. Gm
Make a joyful noise!
[ This Message was edited by: grannymouse on 2002-02-05 23:38 ]
Nancy said:
I can just hear uillian pipes playing it in my head.
Then I really think you’ve heard the version from the Matt Molloy CD! I don’t know who was playing the pipes, but that’s how it was performed!
Looking at Amazon.com, the title of the CD is “Heathery Breeze”. There are samples on the amazon page, and I think what we’re looking for is no. 7 “The Hare in the Heather”. I unfortunately can’t play those samples here, so I can’t verify it.
but the amazon link is http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000000E7Q/qid=1013007043/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_3_1/104-6824806-8081569
On 2002-02-06 09:56, rosenlof wrote:
Then I really think you’ve heard the version from the Matt Molloy CD! I don’t know who was playing the pipes, but that’s how it was performed!Looking at Amazon.com, the title of the CD is “Heathery Breeze”. There are samples on the amazon page, and I think what we’re looking for is no. 7 “The Hare in the Heather”. I unfortunately can’t play those samples here, so I can’t verify it.
but the amazon link is > http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000000E7Q/qid=1013007043/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_3_1/104-6824806-8081569
There’s no piping on Matt Molloy’s recording and the song of the books isn’t on it either .The Hare in the heather is a version of the reel ‘The Morning Dew’
For the record: this was the Matt Molloy recording that made me decide never to buy anything by him again. I like music with a bit of taste, not with an ego placed in front of it.
Track #7 on Matt Molly’s “Heathery Breeze”
is a reel called “The Hare in the Heather”
…not even close to the slow air,
“Amhran na Leabhar” I am familiar with and
play regularly.