Hi pipers,
the last track on the album “Forgotten Days”, besides Kevin Glackin featuring Dave Spillane on the UP is absolutely lovely. Seems this is where Spillane really shines.
The tune is an air Called “Port na bPucai”; (song of the fairies) and probably partly contains imitated whale calls (!). Hmm.
Anyway I just thought I’d ask if any knew of similar recordings I could check out?
E.
Liam O’flynn plays Port na bPucai on "the Poet and the Piper as does (?? I can’t remember who) on “The Drones and Chanter Vol.2”
I like Spillane’s version the best though.
Jeff
That was Ronan Browne on Drones and Chanters II. He’s a great piper, easily one of the best alive.
If you like the ‘feel’ of that tune,I think that you may be interested in Ronan Browne’s version of ‘Paddy’s ramble in the park’ on his 'The wynd you know’album.
Also Liam O’Flynn does a very moving version of ‘Aisling Geal’ on the aforementioned ‘The Poet and the Piper’ album.Bear in mind though,that about half of the album is Seamus Heaney reciting his own (to my mind,good) poetry- mainly without musical backing.
Ronan Browne, eh?
I saw Sean Tyrrel and Kevin Glackin (w/SeanPotts) in Copenhagen in november. They brought the “Tyrrell, Glackin, Browne - Spec. limited Tour CD 2003”; home-burnt for the occasion.
Just one air, though. And that was “Paddys’ ramble through the Park”. Beautiful, though initially not as spectacular as I found the one track I mentioned; “port na bPucai”. It has UP, fiddle, layers of flutes and bowed bass.
I am not a native english speaker, so I dont understand the title 100%. But the music actually gives me associations of a slightly animated character in a rather jolly mood; stumbledancing through a dark park, engaging lamp posts and smelling the grass and flowers moist from the morning dew. He is content, happy and at peace. He maybe on his way home from a wedding, actually 
And the music commemorates this moment with humourous strikes of this jesting character, while maintaining the beauty of his content state of mind. It has a somewhat suspended and detached feeling to it.
There’s a slight clash between the title and the overall ‘sacred’ and celebrating mood of the music, though. Not that it’s misplaced, it only makes it more beautiful in my opinion. Because it seems to celebrate something very alive and related to things people actually do (i.e. have a wee dram), as opposed to something static. Like e.g. a countryside view, a still lake, mountain or whatever.
And then you have these slightly melancholic undertones as well. Hmm, now I find myself appreciating this air more and more. I am just writing myself right into it!
These are just my immediate associations, though.
What do you guys think? ANyone knows what it’s actually about?
And: could a painting do this?
E.
There is some discussion of the origins of the tune in the liner notes to Johnny Doherty’s “Bundle and Go” CD (highly recommended, lovely fiddling). Ronan included a version of the story in his “Wynd You Know” CD.
Basically, the melody is supposed to be the song of a banshee that Paddy overheard while taking a shortcut through a “park”, ie a piece of wild, undeveloped, un-farmed land.
It’s an odd but lovely tune. I happen to like it a lot, especially Johnny Doherty’s version.
Port na bPucai (also sometimes titled “Port na bhFaries”) originated on Inis Mhic Aoibhlin, one of the now-unpopulated Blasket Islands off the coast of West Kerry. The story is that one of the islanders heard eerie noises in the middle of the night and made a tune out of them. It has been widely speculated that the noises in question were from birds or whales, though the possibility of Seamus Ennis riding in a UFO has never been entirely ruled out.
There’s quite a few good recordings of it. Claddagh did a recording of some of the last native Blasket musicians and singers and I think they play it on there, though I’ve never heard it. Martin Hayes does a nice version on fiddle and there are even a few recordings of it done on Highland pipes. Patrick Molard plays it with Triptique on their self titled album and Allan MacDonald does an absolutely spine-chilling version of it on “Fhuair Mi Pog”, his album with Gaelic singer Margaret Stewart.
Interesting…I had always seen the word “port” translated as “jig.”
Does it mean “song” also?
J.
Yes…and yes. “Port” (pl. “poirt”) does mean “jig”, but it can also be used in a broader sense to mean “tune.” Take this Scottish Gaelic proverb, for instance:
Ged a chual’ iad an ceol, cha do thuig iad am port."
“Though they heard the music, they didn’t get the tune.”
Or at least that’s what I think it is…I’ve forgotten more Gaelic than I ever knew.
Terry Moylan some years ago posted to the Uilleann or IrTrad mailing list that the tune was more likely a composition of Sean O Riada’s and made a good argument for it. O Riada apparently passed several of his own tunes off as collected from some old country fiddler, accompanying them with some yards of bull. Whales! He must have been taking the Mhic Aoibhlin 
Basically, the melody is supposed to be the song of a banshee that Paddy overheard while taking a shortcut through a “park”, ie a piece of wild, undeveloped, un-farmed land.
Aha, I see. I didn’t know that meaning of “Park”.
Regarding “Port Na bPucai”, I read somewhere that it was supposed to be inspired by the sounds some fishermen heard through the hull of their Curragh when returning from the sea. A fiddler was on board and started imitating what was most likely whale-sounds (“song”). Transported some distance through the water and amplified in the hull, it emerged right out of the sea with an eerie, distant and unearthy sound. Hence the tune was born. Another theory 
[quote=“The Sporting Pitchfork”]Port na bPucai (also sometimes titled “Port na bhFaries”) originated on Inis Mhic Aoibhlin, one of the now-unpopulated Blasket Islands off the coast of West Kerry. The story is that one of the islanders heard eerie noises in the middle of the night and made a tune out of them. It has been widely speculated that the noises in question were from birds or whales, though the possibility of Seamus Ennis riding in a UFO has never been entirely ruled out.
Seamus Ennis riding a UFO-What a vision! 
I love the ‘folkloric’ aspects of the music-the best example has to be Neil Boyle telling Peter Kennedy that he was taught the ornamentation of “The enchanted music of Ireland” by the Fairies(!).
I have often wondered if he was taking Kennedy for a ride (who,I’ve heard, was a bit of a rip off merchant,as far as recompensing the musicians he recorded is concerned),and he was getting one over him,or whether he was just ‘away with the Fairies’!
Docherty’s album is fantastic-I really enjoy his playing.
If,like me,you like to delve deeply into the historic/sociological/folklore aspects of the music,then you can do no worse than get yourself a copy of ‘Between the Jig and the Reels’ by Caoimhin MacAoidh,which is a great read about the Donegal fiddle tradition.It has a whole chapter about Folklore.
As far as ‘Port na bPucai’ goes,I think it is quite plausable that it was written by Sean O’Raida-still a good,though rather offbeat tune though.Cormac Breatnach does an interesting version on low whistle on his ‘Musical Journey’ album.
Hmmm…interesting. I’d never heard that theory before. Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s true. People take such an overly-reverential attitude toward some of this stuff. It is amazing what kind of rubbish you can pass off on people though.
Perhaps O Riada should’ve had a go at politics instead of music…
"I saw Sean Tyrrel and Kevin Glackin (w/SeanPotts) in Copenhagen in november. "
Eivind, just out of curosity - where are you from? There is a pipers club in Denmark you know.
Morten
-Dont forget Mick O’Brien & Caoimhin O’ Raghallaigh in Copenhagen 20. march
I’m from Norway, and live in the middle of the country. 500km’s north of Oslo.
I was at the “copenhagen Irish Festival” early november. They even had an Uilleann workshop, so I guess there must be a few of that kind around Denmark 
Were you there too?
E.
I was at the “copenhagen Irish Festival” early november. They even had an Uilleann workshop, so I guess there must be a few of that kind around Denmark
Were you there too?
I arranged the workshop 
… currently there is only 6 or 7 active pipers i Denmark - there is a few that gave up over the years, but the number is slowly rising, partly because of the club activities (however few…)
Morten
Hmm, Could I join the workshop without a set of my own?
Sure would be nice to get to try a set and have some instruction on it.
It would help deciding whether you should go for it or not.
I know it’s still 10 months away, but hey; I just ordered my 1st flute!
BTW, concerts and jams fri-sat were greeeat! Not much pipes on the sessions/jams, though. I only saw one that joined on a tune or two with a very quiet set.
E.
I am really taken with the air Gol na mBan san Ar as played by Cillian Ó Briain on the CD The Music Makers by the Dingle group Geantraí. Very haunting…
Rick
I am very taken with Ronan Browne’s version of Lament for the Wild Geese. The reg accompaniment is incredible. I know this style of reg work comes from Ennis (e.g. Easter Snow), but Browne took it to a whole other level.
djm
Cillian’s a first-rate piper. He was very kind when I was starting out and took a few hours out of his day to teach me a few tips and tricks. Learned more in about thirty minutes than I had in the past two months…It’s a real shame he hasn’t recorded much. Aside from the Geantrai CD and an old cassette by “Devenish” (a group he and his wife were in back in the 80s), I don’t think he’s put anything else out. Then again, making pipes is probably more than enough to keep him busy.