I just got a request to play at a funeral home for a memorial service for any family who had lost a loved one during the year. They requested “solemn Christmas, Irish and classical music.”
I’ve got Silent Night, What Child is This, excerpts from “Jupiter”, excerpts from the Chaminade Concerto, Londonderry Air (I know, but they specifically asked for it and I like it, 'mkay?).
Any suggestions for solemn Irish tunes? I don’t play many airs and I don’t know the names of any gorgeous ones that would be appropriate.
Cape Clear (air)
Leaving Glasgow (air)
Dobbin’s Flowery Vale (air)
She Sailed from Dublin (air)
Pretty Maid Milking a Cow (air)
The Dear Irish Boy (air)
The Crested Hens (Breton dance, but they probably won’t know)
The Butterfly (slip jig)
Played slowly, jigs like The Trip to Athlone or Slieve Russell can be nice, too (and can have a more hopeful cast if you go into something gently major like Lark on the Strand after), as can reels like The Pigeon on the Gate or The Killarney Boys of Pleasure.
A nice medly that I play a lot at funerals on the highland bagpipes and the flute (indoors) is the song “To The Colors”. followed by Amazing Grace, and then, for military, followed by Taps. I have the score for “To The Colors” in a word document in my computer but I do not know how to put it into this document. I tried to paste it, as I sometimes do text, but it does not work. You can find in on a Boy Scout page at http://www.usscouts.org/mb/bugle_calls.html As with bugle calls it only has three notes, E, C, and G so it is easy to play. In the US army it is played when taking down the flag in the evening.
Excellent suggestion. This song is actually contains many death-related
metaphors. The “low road” in the song was the singer’s death and the
“high road” was the earthly path back to Scotland that his love would
have to use. He says “I’ll be in Scotland 'afore ye” because his spirit
will have instantly traveled to his version of Heaven (Loch Lomond,
where he met his love).
Also, I’ve tune the song sung very slowly with different words (i.e., the
song “Red is the Rose”), and the tune is very beautiful at this speed.
Oh, wow, we picked that as the processional for my mom’s funeral. I thought my heart would burst with the feeling of hope (brought on by that song) overlying such profound grief.
BTW, “Garry Owen” can be nice slow, too, especially if the person was in the army.
Yes, it’s interesting how different Red is the Rose sounds;
it’s very lovely, as you say, and has an entirely different
feeling to it. Lends itself less to pipes.
My grandfather, Bruce McIntosh had 13 children of whom my mother, Carolene, was the third. My grandmother was no worse for the ware, she could out work any of them. She said once, “I da na ken (know in Scots) why I had so many babies”. They are all gone now but 3, I piped my Aunt Helen to the grave last week. You are right, Jim. The surviving three all want me to pipe Lock Lohmon when the go. I told them to pay me in advance, I did na get a penny, they know I’ll pipe anyhow.
I have played the Irish flute at memorial services on several occasions, including for my father and my mother. I have played the Shaker tune “Tis a Gift to be Simple”, among others.