I’ve been listening to May Morning Dew as played by Davy Spillane. He has recorded it several times. I found there’s a song by that name played by the Chieftains and others. Is it the same thing? The melodic line seems completely different with the sung version going up and down and the whistle version going up and up. I transcribed the version Spillane plays on low D whistle and compared it to one he plays on F whistle. The basic melodic line is the same, except the version in F continues on for another section. I would have expected it to go back and reprise the beginning but it seems to be additional material.
So anyway, I gather that the performer is hitting the “big notes” and improvising ornamentation between them. I notice he adds large flourishes in many of the same spots (mainly in the 2nd half of the recording), though the flourishes themselves are different.
I also notice (especially on the D whistle version) that he frequently plays a roll in the middle of a long note. Does that have a name? I also wonder if any of the extended flourishes names. I’ve tried searching for performance standards for slow airs in the Irish tradition and I haven’t come up with much. I know airs are used in competition so there are standards, but it seems like they aren’t written about much.
The usual advice is to play, ornament and phrase it as a good singer would. After that, you’re on your own.
I do remember a very fine singer listening to someone playing an air and commenting afterward ‘you left out a few words there’
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Thanks! Does anyone compose instrumental slow airs without words?
I got the CD today (The Sea of Dreams) and it credits Davy Spillane as the composer. Assuming that’s accurate then it’s just not the same tune.
It’s definitely the May Morning Dew, in part at least. First time he recorded it was with Moving Hearts (on The Storm)where it is credited as Trad Arr Davy Spillane, Dónal Lunny and Eoghan O"Neill.
In the past the point has been made it seemed he actually plays The Snow it melts the soonest then goes to the May morning dew and later slips back into the snow, as it were.
On thesession there are several attempts at notation of Spillane’s take on the tune, of varying success. This is one:
T: The May Morning Dew
R:
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Edor
E2|Aa|g>e e2 e2 e2|e<g B<A A2 A2|AG A2 A2 E2|
A<e e2 ef ga|a2 a2 a2 g<e|f<d d2 c2 d2|d2 d2 d2 E2|
A<e e2 e2 fg|a2 a2 a2 g<e|f<d d2 d2 de/f/|g2 g2 g2 a2|
g<e =fe A<c c2|c2 c2 d<e a2|a2 a2 ed e<A|A2 AG A2 A2||
E|A<e e2 e2 e2|a2 ag/f/ g<e e2|e<g B2 B2 AG|A2 A2 A2 A2|
ab c’2 c’2 c’2|ba b<e e2 e2|e/d/e/g/ g2 b<a a2 a2|a2 a2 a2 a2|
ab c’2 c’2 c’2|b2 b2 b2 g/a/b/a/|a2 g2 g2 g2 g2|b<a a2 g2 ed/c/|
B2 B2 B2 B2|E2 Af|g>a a2 a2 a2|e2 =fe A2 A2|G2 A2 A2 A2||
E|Ae e2 e2 ag/f/|g<e e2 e2 e2|B>A A2 A2|G2 A2 A2 E2|
A<e e2 e2 fg|a2 a2 a2 g<e|f<d d2 c2 d2|d2 d2 d2 E2|
A<e e2 e2 f<g|a2 a2 a2 g<e|f<d d2 d2 d2|e<f gf/g/ g2 g2|
ag/e/ =f3e A<c|c2 c2 c2 e<a|=f2 =f2 =f2 e>d|e<A A2 A2 G2|A4 A4||
Here’s a, perhaps, more mainstream approach:
