This might fit better in the ITM forum but I couldn’t decide since it’s mostly about whistle music.
Occasionally when listening to a player a story will be offered that sets the tone for the tune about to be played. Sometimes it will be a personal anecdote (Micho Russell) but often it will be a suggested origin for the tune. I’ve heard a story, for instance, about the origin of An Roisin Dubh being composed about the daughter of Hugh the Red on the Scottish battlefield.
Don’t know if any of it is true but to get to the point finally, does anyone know of a website or have any information about the origin of any of these wonderful tunes we all play?
I think the stories about the tunes, their origins, how a player learned the tune and from whom is one of the great parts of the music. That holds for folk music in general, IME. Some players are better at sharing and telling the stories than others though. One player I admire in this regard for his knowledge of the tunes and how they get from one player to another is Paddy O’Brien, the box player. The man has so many tunes and he has a tid-bit to share about each and every one. And of course Frank Harte is greatly missed. Thanks, Michael.
I lived in Mt.Kisco NY('55-68) so I was interested in the tune Maids of Mt. Kisco. I had opportunity to ask musician and music historian Mick Moloney of Green Fields of America (who recorded the tune)about it. He told me who composed it, although I forget that bit. He said that in the early 20th century, many young women in Mt.Kisco worked in New York City 30 miles south as maids to wealthy family, hence the name. Works for me.
About two years ago, a large Maple limb blew down from a tree at my parent’s house. My Dad planted that tree around 1956, and it has grown considerably in the years since then. I saved part of the limb and am currently making a whistle from it-- It will be literally Made of Mt. Kisco
finally, does anyone know of a website or have any information about the origin of any of these wonderful tunes we all play?