Is it really impossible to play this sweet little sucker on the whistle?
This beautiful waltz plays nicely in key of G on a D whistle starting note 2nd oct D and THAT note(yes,you know the one I mean!)is 2nd oct F nat,the only half holer in the tune.Good luck,Mike 
The tune works very well indeed, except that you have to fudge one low note which goes lower than a D whistle can handle.
I had the good fortune to meet the composer of this gorgeous tune several years ago at a local Border’s Books. I told him that I liked to play this tune on the whistle ( even played it by the shores of the now inaccessible Ashokan reservoir !), and he seemed intrigued by the idea. I can’t swear if it’s just a coincidence, but about a year later, I heard Jay play it with the Albany Symphony and Mark O’Connor, and the arrangement included a whistle solo…
This is the tune that I play specifically on my A whistle because all the people I play with play it in the key of D. Works beautifully there…especially the octave jump in the second part, and the half hole to get the F is an easy slide up.
Does anybody have a gif for this tune?
Mark
There’s umpteen versions on JC’s Tunefinder…all in the key of D with parts 2 and 3 that I’ve never heard before. I just bought the “real” music for this on my way home to TX (It’s in a stack here someplace..I’ll find it Anna). And I just played it on my A whistle…does work well. Gm
Wow! And I don’t even have to bully you guys to get it! When I do get it, does that mean I can play as good as Mick? It looks impossible to play just for me, but Sir James and Phil Coulter’s version just egged me into trying it!
I actually just used this as part of the prelude for a wedding last weekend. My track (thanks, Band In A Box!) starts in Db, and goes to D the 2nd time through. You have to do some fudging with the octaves, but with a little improvising, it’s a gorgeous solo piece for whistle!
Cal
I grew up in the Hudson Valley in NY, and Jay Ungar’s daughter Ruthy was my best friend through adolescence. I am visiting my parents now and I think I am going to see Ruthy on Tuesday at an open mic night she’s hosting. I learned to harmonize from spending time with Ruthy, Jay, and his wife Molly Mason, and I was fortunate enough to sing with them on their radio show and in other concerts. Last year when I was visiting, my parents had a music get together and Jay and Molly came over. When I pulled out an Abell d and started to play Southwind, they joined in and we got into a lengthy talk about whistles and Irish music. I am embarassed to say that I don’t know how to play Ashokan Farewell. Shame on me!