I read in An Piobarie (the journal of Na Piboari Uilleann) about a fellow from I think Wicklow, who could whistle tunes. No, not with one of those metal tube things. With his lips. You know how to whistle, don’t you? You just put your lips together and blow.
The article - an account of a tionol (musical gathering) - said this fellow could whistle the High Level and tunes like that, with triplets and everything. Anyone know this person, or similar virtuoso? (Virtuasi?)
Does the great Lepetomane have a successor, also? That would be some Irish music, let me tell you!
I didn’t get my Piobaire yet, maybe I should renew the membership.
I have heard people whistle beautifully, in some cases people who never learned to play but who had the music inside them none the less.
I have some stuff on tape, there are a few tapes of sessions with Martin Rochford, Paddy Canny and Martin Doyle and others in different combinations, made by both Ronnie Wathen and Bill Ochs [recording together and separately] in Feakle during the mid seventies that have some lovely muscial whistling that took place in the late hours. I am not quite sure who is doing the whistling, I heard Rochford himself whistle very nicely when we were walking the fields round the back of his house but on the tape it may well be someone else who happened to be in the bar on the night.
Rochford was quite handy on the tin whistle too by the way.
Kevin, I posted an MP3 of one tune from one of the tapes mentioned above.
Thanks Peter, I’m at work and will play it when I get home. This was an older issue of An Piobarie, too, 1997 I think. Jimmy O’B-M and Joe Doyle were mentioned, and Sean MacKiernan. The whistler could whistle “like the old Butcher Boys,” it said.
Right, I thought yo uwere referring to the new Piobaire, some people were talking about it during the weekend and I didn’t get it, probably for letting the membership slip. They said it was the first time in years there was something interesting in it so I am sending off the renewal today.