Can anyone give me a translation for this Lunasa title off Merry Sisters of Fate? I have lent the CD to a friend, and only have the Gaelic.
I’d been playing along with the CD on a Bb whistle, but I’d like to get the sheet music to clarify the bits I’m fudging over.
Anyone who wants to hear this gorgeous tune:
Well, first, I know you’ve just quoted the website, but according to the CD the name is “Inion Ni’ Scannla’in”. It’s Donogh’s sweetheart’s name. (I believe “Ni” is “daughter of”, the same way “Mac” is “son of”. But my reference doesn’t list an accent mark for the i, so perhaps I’m wrong about that.)
Second, Donogh is planning on publishing a book of Lunasa tunes at some point, so I’m uneasy about the idea of putting up an ABC for the tune. (And not sure I’d be any more accurate than your ear anyway.) What bits are you uncertain about?
Third, I had massive trouble convincing anyone other than a whistle player to play it in its recorded key of Eb. So I’m reckoning that dropping it a half-step to D (played on A whistle) probably makes sense. Has anyone tried this and had any luck getting non-whistles to play along?
Hi Colomon,
Thanks for your tips and input - I guess I’m just being lazy trying not to get it all by ear. Actually I only tried it for the first time last night, so I guess I’m being dreadfully impatient.
Regarding the key, once I’ve learnt it in the key it’s played by Lunasa, I’d have no trouble switching whistles to something others can join in on. A whistles are still relatively rare round these parts, so I’d play it on a D, in the key of (guessing) G?
I’m also having a bit of trouble with the third section of The Last Pint. It’s not in the JC’s transcription, so I’m getting that by ear too.
In Gaelic, it literally means “daughter of O’ Scanlon,” which is the Gaelic idiom for saying “(young) Miss O’Scanlon.” (The word “iníon” almost always refers to an unmarried woman.)
'luck now,
brian _k.
Thanks guys, especially Psychih for the link!
That’s going to make life much easier for me! Brilliant!
What a brilliant tune this would make for a Wedding processional or recessional!
On 2002-07-17 10:25, brian_k wrote:
In Gaelic, it literally means “daughter of O’ Scanlon,” which is the Gaelic idiom for saying “(young) Miss O’Scanlon.” (The word “iníon” almost always refers to an unmarried woman.)
Arrrrgggh! I should know better than to believe what Kevin Crawford says in concert.
I’m very glad I didn’t post a transcription, because the version Chih linked to is significantly more accurate than what I’d been playing for the last year and a half. Thanks!
(Of course, I think the version I’ve been playing is about what local whistle players play, leading to a chicken-and-the-egg type question – do I play it that way because they do, or do they play it that way because I do?)
Thanks for posting this. I didn’t know this song, and it’s beautiful.
Tery
A gorgeous tune.
Donogh DID write that tune for his girlfriend.
It’s played with a Bb flute on the album. Play along with a Bb whistle and you should have no trouble picking it up. It’s pretty easy.
This looks like a pretty good transcription. Still, there’s a lot of variation in the tune and it has a nice swing so it would probably be much better to learn it by ear.
Best,
Chris
[ This Message was edited by: ChrisLaughlin on 2002-07-17 13:53 ]
On 2002-07-17 13:50, ChrisLaughlin wrote:
Donogh DID write that tune for his girlfriend.
I didn’t mean to imply that he didn’t. (Though (re Kevin) the tune wasn’t tagged with that name yet the first two times they played it around here – they were calling it the “Hennessy Waltz”.
)
But rather, the way that Kevin explained it was named for Donogh’s girlfriend gave me (and I think others) the impression that her actual first name was Inion. Being Gaelic-challenged, it never occurred to me that he’d simply named it “Miss Scanlon” (in effect).
On 2002-07-17 13:50, ChrisLaughlin wrote:
A gorgeous tune.
Donogh DID write that tune for his girlfriend.
It’s played with a Bb flute on the album. Play along with a Bb whistle and you should have no trouble picking it up. It’s pretty easy.
This looks like a pretty good transcription. Still, there’s a lot of variation in the tune and it has a nice swing so it would probably be much better to learn it by ear.
Best,
Chris
I’ve (pretty much) nailed this in one evening thanks to Psychih’s link to the transcription & my CD in unison. It’s a definite party piece for me now. Now I need to get a few more of the Lunasa pieces learnt.
This tune finally enamoured me to my Generation Bb, which until now has been gathering dust. But why, I wonder, did they choose a Bb flute, not a regular C or D?
Well, without any special knowledge, I’d guess it’s because A) Kevin has a Bb flute, and B) it sounds so cool on it. Basically, in other words, the same reason they play some tunes on F whistle.
I’m pretty sure his Bb flute was pretty new when they started playing it in concert, so it might be as simple as looking for a good excuse to play the thing.
But this thread has already proved me terribly ignorant about this tune I thought I knew well, so maybe somebody has a better explanation.
Pedants’ corner:
Iníon Uí Scannláin is Miss Scanlon.
Iníon Ní Scannláin would be Miss Scanlon’s daughter. Is there something we haven’t been told?
“Iníon Uí Scannláin” would mean “daughter of (Mr.) O’ Scanlon.” And – by logical extension – it would also mean “Miss O’Scanlon.” If you were to say it that way to a native speaker, he would certainly know what you meant; but he would smile to himself knowingly, since only a Sasanach or other strainséir would ever say it that way.
The “ní” in “Iníon Ní Scannláin” actually repeats the word “iníon,” since, etymologically, it is an abbreviation for it, which is customarily used in naming female people. It is the usual way of saying “Miss O’Scanlon,” in Connemara Gaelic. It does not mean “daughter of Miss O’Scanlon,” but rather “daughter of Mr. O’Scanlon” – quite literally, “daughter-daughter O’Scanlon,” which sounds like gibberish when translated word-for-word into English; but let me assure you that it is quite correct, in Irish Gaelic idiom.
As stated previously, “iníon” invariably refers to an unmarried girl or woman.
Seachaint lorg an Bhéarla, a chara …
'luck now,
brian_k., the underground grammarian.
Hey Brian… Thanks for clearing that up for me… It appears that some would think I wouldn’t notice a mistake in my own name! Go Raibh maith agat as ucht do chuid ciall! Pauline Scanlon
Welcome to C&F, O Eponymous Daughter.
Thanks Martin for the source, and Psychih for the sheet. Great tune.
But, sheesh… did I eally need another yet push in the back to go get that low Bb ? 
On 2003-02-03 06:10, Zubivka wrote:
Thanks Martin for the source, and Psychih for the sheet. Great tune.But, sheesh… did I eally need another yet push in the back to go get that low Bb ? >
Course you do Zoob! I have a couple of Generation Bbs and a Dixon A. I really like these mid-key whistles, low enough to be easy on the ears, without needing special grips, hands like hams or leather lungs.
Go splash on that Gen Bb, and get a brass one, 'cos the Nickels are a bit slippery.
Martin,
For the sake of the unborn generations who will use the “search” function in the future (won’t they?), perhaps you should put on the old bifocals and look again a little more closely at the thread title .