New book : The compositions of Tommy Whelan

Irish Flute
1

It is Willie Clancy week and new CDs, books and what have you are being launched like there’s no tomorrow.

Seán Moloney has just launched a book of 19 compositions and one ‘special’ setting (of the Sailor on the rock) by the East Galway flute player Tommy Whelan.

Whelan was one of the fluteplayers in the Old Ballinakil Band

The tunes are meticulously transcribed, perhaps using slightly unusual ways to reflect some ornamentation. Some history, photos etc included as well as a CD of old recordings of various Ballinakil players, including Eddie Moloney, Kevin Moloney, Tommy Coen, Seán Moloney.

The collection is available in ‘very’ limited numbers in print but will be available online shortly.

So there you have it.

2

It’s always a challenge trying to capture Irish fluteplaying (or indeed a trad performance on any trad instrument) on the white page.

I will say that it is possible to transcribe an Irish flute performance of, say, a reel in such a way that a “classical” fluteplayer who has never heard Irish music can, at sight, play from the music and produce a fairly “Irish” sounding rendition. As far as I know, no book has been published with such. These transcriptions are odd-looking and require an experienced trained sightreader such as an orchestral flutist to play everything that’s present on the page.