I’ve been trying to figure out for a couple of days what “slow air” means. Can anyone give some help?
In the Irish tradition, anyway, an air (also: aire, slow air(e), fonn, fonn mhall) is normally the melody of a song, only just played on an instrument instead of sung with the words. If traditional playing is what you’re after, I’m of the firm opinion - if you want it - that it’s essential to be familiar with the song in question so as to play its air properly; that is, an air’s playing should refer to the cadence of its being sung.
It is never “aire” unless it’s careless misspelling or, more likely, coming from someone clueless. There is no such word as “aire”.
An “air” is as Nano described the melody to a song.
A “slow air” is the melody to a Sean Nós irish song. Or in other words it’s a particular style of air that adheres to that style (and/or tradition) of singing.
Here’s my take on an attempt at an answer based on what I have come to understand over the years. I don’t vouch for it being “correct” and I’m sure a debate will ensue. Nano and NicoMoreno posted while I was writing this, so pardon any redundancy…
A slow air is a tune that is not a dance tune and which is played quite slowly and often with significant metrical liberty and possibly with virtuosic ornamentation and variation. Most older slow airs are in origin song tunes - the words to which may or may not be extant and in use in the song tradition. Any slowish song tune may be taken and interpreted instrumentally as a slow air. This is true in the Irish tradition in particular, but similar statements can be made for other traditions. In more recent times there have been quite a lot of specifically composed slow airs. In Scotland that may be a longer standing phenomenon (laments, root airs for pibroch, etc.), but I’m not well versed in the Scottish tradition. Medium paced non-dance tunes like O’Carolan’s compositions are not slow airs. Confusion can arise in reading older sources in that the word “air” used to be more synonymous with “tune” than it is in modern usage - so don’t assume that any tune you see labelled “air” is to be interpreted as a “slow air” played with great freedom and approximating to the “haunting” solo low whistle with big reverb and synth chordal drones with accompanying sea crashing on rocks film or whatever cliche… That said, it is possible to take (and people have taken) just about any kind of tune and turned it into a slow air just as they transform jigs into reels and so forth. The Blackbird is an example of a traditional tune that exists as a slow air, a hornpipe, a set dance and so on.
Oh, and a plea to those who do so, don’t stick an extraneous “e” on the end of “air” - even if you are doing an olde worlde touristy exploitationy shoppe/faire Celtic twilight… (yuck, vomit…I’ll stop now!)
Not every song, however. It’s an instrumental version of a song sung in sean nos style.
That orthodox definiton with regard to Sean Nos is a little too narrow, IMO, to reflect the modern situation, though I daresay it accounts for the majority of the traditional repertory of old slow airs. What about tunes that are indubitably played in an instrumental slow air style that have never been songs, like Tommy Peoples’ An Feochan for example? I don’t see what else you can usefully call them and that is de facto how they are invariably described.
A well-split hair. I suppose we could amend the definition to add ‘…or instrumental melodies played in a style evocative of sean nos singing’.
~~
The scots piping repertoire also has it’s own version of slow air, which is somewhat different but not specacularly so.
Just a note to all that I didn’t endorse the “E” in “aire”. It’s just that you’re gonna see it spelled that way from time to time, and I seem to recall the occasional person wondering if there was a difference in THAT. There is. Archaick spellynge.
There are also airs for which the words have been lost either in full or only fragments survive, or that may never had words to begin with. The Lament for/The Death of Staker Wallace is one such where the words to the ballad have been mostly lost.
Fair enough Nano, I didn’t mean to imply you were clueless. I figured you had put it in because it is used occasionally.
However, it is not archaic spelling. Air has never been spelled with an “e” on the end. It is wrong to spell it thus. So while indeed it may be seen spelled thus, it nevertheless means nothing, since it is not a real word.
I agree about the instrumental thing, by the way. It’s why I added that additional line. Does the Coolin have words?
Just to say I’d already written my rant about “aire” with an “e” before reading Nano’s and Nico’s posts as I was cross-posting - and I then edited in a preliminary bit…
Bit by bit folk are gradually repeating or supporting everything I wrote in my first post 
! (Airs with lost words, airs that never had words, pseudo archaic spelling, Scottish parallels…)
Yes, indeed. We have:
- An Chúilfhionn (As Gaeilge)
"An bhfaca tú an chúilfhionn 's í ag siúl ar na bóithre
Maidin gheal drúchta 's gan smúit ar a bróga?
Is iomaí ógánach súilghlass ag tnúth lena pósadh
Ach ní bhfaigheann siad mo rúnsa
…ar an gcuntas is dóigh leo.
An bhfaca tú mo spéirbhean lá breá is í ina haonar
A cúl dualach drisleanach go slinneán síos léi?
Mil ar an ógbhean is rós breá ina héadan
'S is dóigh le gach spreasán gur leannán leis féin í.
An bhfaca tú mo bhábán 's í taobh leis an toinn
Fáinní óir ar a méara sí ag réiteach a cinn?
'Sé dúirt an Paorach a bhí ina mhaor ar an loing
Go mb’fhearr leis aige féin í ná Éire gan roinn."
And:
- The Coolin (In English)
"Have you seen my fair-haired girl walking the roads
A bright dewy morning without a smudge on her shoes?
There is many a young man envious and longing to marry her
But they won’t get my treasure
…no matter what they think.
Have you seen my beautiful woman, a fine day and she is alone
Her hair curling and twining, hanging down about her shoulders?
Sweet young woman with the rosy blush on her brow
And every worthless man hopes she will be his lover.
Have you seen my maid beside the sea
Gold rings on her fingers she is making up her mind?
Mr. Power, who is the master of a ship, said
He would prefer to have her than the whole of Ireland."
i am NOT trying to start an argument… but since folks are doing the hair-splitting thing…
“aire” is a word. it is a proper noun. specifically, it is the name of a river of approximately 70 miles length in northern england. it winds its way through a valley named Airedale.
but, in keeping within the original topic… it is NOT a musical word. (not even sure it was an archaically spelled music related word.) (is “archaically” a word?)
just a little trivial clarification.
again, NOT trying to start a fight.
be well
jim
No, that’s wrong. The spellings aire and ayre are well-documented. Just to give citations from the Oxford English Dictionary:
1590: Your tongue’s sweet ayre, More tuneable than Larke to Shepherd’s ear.
1596: If … any ayre of music touch their ears.
1597: These and all other kinds of light musick … are by a general name called Ayres.
1604: With these instruments they made many kinds of Aires and Songs.
1656: Whilst Angels sing to thee their ayres divine.
It’s an archaic, Elizabethan spelling … exactly as Nano said.
cool stuff. thank you, MTGuru.
be well,
jim
How can you hang it in the petrified music museum if you can’t engrave a proper sign for it? And God forbid a note should change! Sheesh, I hate these academic nitpickings.
I’d think someone who lives in Raleigh would appreciate the nuances of Elizabethan spelling! 
I’m gonna step out fer some aire…
Going to go ride your hores, are you?
Yeah, we’ve been to the future, and we disapproved. 
Seriously, the ‘aire’ thing is both historical and modern-ignorant-affected. (Kind of like ‘old-tyme or old-timey music’). I see both sides on this one. Just blowing some smoke. 
denny, ya speeled “fer” rong… it’s fir, dang it