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” is a word that Carolan prefixed to the
surname of a lively melody for one of his patrons.
Although its exact meaning is of some debate it appears
to some to be a form of salute. The most respected
Carolan authority, Donal O’Sullivan, suggested that
‘Planxty’ was based on the Latin plangere (in its
supine form, planxtum) on the model of the existing
Irish word planncaim, which means to strike (as ‘strike
the harp’). There have been several other thoughts
about the origins of Planxty. The academic and
concertina player Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin (1998) writes
that the word was derived from the Gaelic plearácha, or
praise pieces (see below). Seán Ó Riada proposed that
since many of Carolan’s songs begin with the Irish word
sláinte (health), perhaps Planxty was derived from it—a
corruption of sorts. Guitarist Paul de Grae believes it
is simply a nonsense word employed by Carolan in a
snippet of English verse in the otherwise Irish song
called “Planxty George Brabazon.” However, In a review
of several arguments, Donal O’Sullivan concludes that
each explanation for the derivation of the word planxty
has too many exceptions, and therefor there was no
useful definition that could be promulgated.
Regardless of its origin, O’Sullivan points out that
Carolan seldom actually used the word, and that it was
later publishers who applied the term to his tunes—for
example, his “John Drury” became known as “Planxty
Drury.” "It seems probable that the early editors used
the term 'Planxty' in the title only when they did not
know the name, or at any rate the full name, of the
subject of the tune, says O’Sullivan. The title planxty
appears twice in Neals' Collection of the Most
Celebrated Irish Tunes (Dublin 1724, spelled
"Planksty". Paul de Grae finds that John Lee published
a Carolan collection c. 1780, “possibly a revised
re-issue of another collection he published in 1748
(ten years after Carolan's death) of which no copy
survives; out of 68 tunes, only three are titled
"planxties" - "Plangsty Bourk", "Plangsty Connor" and
"Planksty by Carolan", the latter being a version of
the "Madam Cole" in the same book.”.
A contemporaneous Irish term used for a planxty-type
air was "Pléaráca" (spelled "Plea Rarkeh" in one title
of the Neal collections), meaning ‘merriment’. In
modern times, says de Grae, Brendan Breathnach used the
term "Pléaráca" as the Irish equivalent of “Humours,”
as in "The Humours of Drinagh" = " Pléaráca
Dhraighní".
Source: Ibiblio
(https://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/PLANXTY_PLYM.htm).
Although originally composed for Traditional Irish
Instruments, I created this interpretation of the
"Planxty Irwin" for Oboe & Celtic or Concert (Pedal)
Harp. |
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