I recently bought ‘A Dossan of Heather’ - music from Donegal by Packie Byrne. It has some superb tunes to play on the whistle, especially the Jigs - which paradoxically seem to have something more to them by having a smaller melodic range. A lot of the tunes don’t go above f# in the second octave.
Has anyone a good source, internet or book, for more of these types of tunes - specifically, I guess, tunes local to Donegal.
The album “Fiddlesticks” is a good collection of Donegal tunes.
Also, early Altan has a very Donegal flavor.
I’m a bit confused here.
I went to look this up on amazon and it describes Dossan of Heather as a book and then a CD. Is it a book, a CD or both?
Mike
It’s both.
Donegal has a wonderful fiddle tradition. It’s all a bit speeded up on Altan records, not that they aren’t worthwhile. For a start, check out recordings by Tommy Peoples for a recent example and John Doherty for a slightly older style. There isn’t really a single fiddle style—more just a cluster of tendencies—but I love the work of the great Donegal fiddlers.
Thanks for that Wombat - I’ve just put on Tommy Peoples ‘the High Part of the Road’ on Napster. Fantastic fiddle playing . Makes you want to change instrument.
The real question is:
Is your avatar the artwork done by Thom Yorke of Radiohead?
I think its the teeth that give it away if it is.
Steve Jones, the co-author of this book is here in this site. I’ve also just got a copy, and I can second what you’ve said about it.
~~
A lot of packie’s tunes were made (or remade) to be lilted, Steve says, so they have a smaller range.