Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738) was a blind Celtic
harper, composer and singer in Ireland whose great fame
is due to his gift for melodic composition. Often
called “the last of the Irish Bards”, even though
there were traditional Irish harpers living as late as
1792. Carolan is considered a national treasure —
his compositions are still often played during a
session and are also highly regarded. Focusing on
Carolan’s works first will bring you high rewards as
a player. By the way, thou...(+)
Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738) was a blind Celtic
harper, composer and singer in Ireland whose great fame
is due to his gift for melodic composition. Often
called “the last of the Irish Bards”, even though
there were traditional Irish harpers living as late as
1792. Carolan is considered a national treasure —
his compositions are still often played during a
session and are also highly regarded. Focusing on
Carolan’s works first will bring you high rewards as
a player. By the way, though it is correct to say
“Turlough O’Carolan” when giving the full name,
when no first name is given one should simply refer to
him as “Carolan.”.
Although not a composer in the classical sense, Carolan
is considered by many to be Ireland's national
composer. Harpers in the old Irish tradition were still
living as late as 1792, and ten, including Arthur
O'Neill, Patrick Quin and Donnchadh Ó Hámsaigh,
attended the Belfast Harp Festival. Ó Hámsaigh did
play some of Carolan's music but disliked it for being
too modern. Some of Carolan's own compositions show
influences of the style of continental classical music,
whereas others such as Carolan's Farewell to Music
reflect a much older style of "Gaelic Harping".
"Planxty John O'Connor" is one of the more popular
compositions by blind Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan
(1670-1738). The air appears in Burk Thumoth's Twelve
English and Twelve Irish Airs (c. 1745-50, No. 42) and
in Bryson’s Curious Collection, both instances under
the corrupted title "Planks of Connaught" i.e. "Planxty
Connacht"), however, the earliest printing is in John
and William Neale's untitled publication of Carolan's
melodies, printed in Dublin around 1742, wherein it is
called simply "Jigg" (the 1742 date is now the
established date for this publication, not 1721, due to
dating of the watermarks on its paper-see Donal
O'Sullivan, p. 335, appendix to the 2001 edition). The
tune is included in the MacLean-Clephane Manuscript of
1816, compiled by young sisters Anna-Jane and Margaret
Maclean-Clephane of Mull, brought to light by modern
harper Keith Sanger. The version in this manuscript has
several (3) extra parts, of which one is a variant of
O'Sullivan's "Chorus" section (the last four bars are
different), and one which appears to be a fiddler's
variation (see p. 346, Appendix to the 2001 edition of
O'Sullivan's Carolan: The Life Times and Music of an
Irish Harper). According to Carolan biographer Donal
O’Sullivan, "John O'Connor" can also can be found on
page 27 of the John Lee edition of O'Carolan's tunes, c
1780, and as “Planxty Connor” it can be found in
Bunting's 2nd collection, O'Farrell's National Irish
Music, Murphy's Jigs and Airs, and Aird's Airs, v. 6. A
curiously-titled version appears as a country dance
tune in London publisher John Johnson's Choice
Collection of 200 Country Dances (1744, p. 62) under
the title "Bob in the Bed." It also appears under that
title in other period English publications and ballad
operas.
Although originally composed for Traditional Irish
Instruments, I created this interpretation of the
"Planxty John O'Connor" for String Quartet (2 Violins,
Viola & Cello).
SHEET MUSIC