Celtic MIDI Sets, Page 5

My Celtic MIDI Sets, Page 5 (Sets 101-125)

Set #101
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Mrs. O'Sullivan's	double jig
Calliope House	double jig	Dave Richardson
This set was inspired by Patrick Street, who featured this pair of tunes on one of their CD's. The second tune is one I've used in another set, but the arrangement I've used here is different! (I normally try very hard to avoid using the same tune twice in these MIDI sets.) The tune was composed by Dave Richardson, who also composed "MacArthur's Road" (which is in the next set). "Calliope House" is the name of a folk center in Pittsburgh.

Set #102
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Little John's Home	strathspey	Little Jack MacDonald
Glen Tilt Lodge	strathspey
Brisk Bob	strathspey
John Cheap the Chapman	reel	Nathaniel Gow
Peerie Weerie	reel
MacArthur's Road	reel	Dave Richardson
I'd call this a "Cape Breton Set," but the last tune really isn't a Cape Breton tune. But, since Natalie MacMaster played it on one of her CD's, I guess I'll let it slide. The first reel was composed by Nathaniel Gow (son of Niel Gow), a great Scottish musican and composer who lived from 1763 to 1831. The strathspey that precedes it in this set is a tune I heard on the first "Celtic Fiddle Festival" CD - it's an absolutely wonderful tune. (Not that I have any complaints about the other tunes in this set...)

Set #103
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Blackthorn Stick	double jig
The Frost Is All Over	double jig
Donnybrook Fair	double jig
I had A LOT of fun with this set. After some experimentation, I figured out how to add something a lot like a bodhran to this set. It may not be perfect, but I think it turned out really well since it was my first attempt. I really think it adds something to this set. (I just hope you actually LIKE that something.)

Set #104
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Breton tune
Untitled	an dro
Ton simple plin	dañs plin
Ton simple plin	dañs plin
I really don't know very much about these four Breton tunes, but I love the way they sound! The first tune is one I learned to play on the tin whistle about five years ago when I was in college. (It probably didn't sound great and it may have disturbed some of the people around me, but that's beside the point...)

Set #105
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
The Beauty of the North	slow strathspey
Sir George Clerk of Pennycuik	strathspey	Nathaniel Gow
Mor a' Cheannaich	strathspey
Cromartie Rant	strathspey	Tony Upton
This is a set of strathspeys which starts with a wonderful tune I heard on a CD called Ceol na Fidhle (Music of the Fiddle). The CD comes from a fiddle music series which was launched by Grampian Television in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1993. The second tune in the set was composed by Nathaniel Gow, and the third tune is actually the tune for a piece of Gaelic puirt a beul (mouth music). (You can find more info on this tune on my MIDI tunes page.) Finally, the set closes with a strathspey I composed a little over 2 1/2 years ago.

Set #106
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Maggie Brown's Favourite	double jig
Mist on the Mountain	double jig	Junior Crehan
Merrily Kiss the Quaker	double jig
The Old Favourite	double jig
The first tune in this set is a variation of "Planxty Browne," a tune composed by Turlough O'Carolan. The second tune - to which I've added some bodhran backing - was composed by Junior Crehan. The third tune is one of my favorites, and the fourth one seems familiar to me, but I'm not sure why...

Set #107
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Lady Madelina Sinclair	strathspey
The Piper o' Dundee	strathspey
The Drummer	reel
Pigeon on a Gate	reel
Captain McDuff	reel
I've started this set off with a couple of strathspeys. The second one is really just a strathspey version of the tune that follows it. "Pigeon on a Gate" is a great tune I found at Gladys' Celtic Corner (see my Links page). I really don't know anything about the last tune.

Set #108
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Silver Spear	reel
The Earl's Chair	reel
The Musical Priest	reel
This is a great set of Irish reels. Liz Carroll played them as a set on her CD called "Lost in the Loop," which is what inspired me to put them here.

Set #0
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Andy De Jarlis	double jig
Ingonish Jig	double jig
Mrs. McGhee	double jig	John Riddell
This is a great set of jigs which are popular in Cape Breton. Jerry Holland recorded these as a set in 1982, and Altan also recorded them as a set on one of their CD's (I can't remember which one!). The first tune is named for (and attributed to) a fiddler from Manitoba. The second tune is named after a Cape Breton town, and the final tune was composed by a blind Scottish fiddler named John Riddell in the 18th century.

Set #110
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
The Cuckoo's Nest	hornpipe
Hart's Hornpipe	hornpipe
This is a pair of Welsh hornpipes which I have arranged for the harp. I don't know if my arrangement even remotely resembles the Welsh style of harp playing, but I hope you like it whether it does or not!

Set #111
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
The Bonnie Lass o' Bon Accord	air/slow strathspey	J.S. Skinner
Avimore	strathspey	John Lowe
Ca' the Stirks Frae Out the Corn	strathspey
Miss Taylor	reel	William Marshall
Miss Ambercromby's Reel	reel	William Marshall
The Marquis of Tullybardine	reel	John Crerar
Again, a set of Scottish tunes. (Sorry...I just can't resist them. I hope you don't mind too much!) The first tune is an air/slow strathspey composed by James Scott Skinner. The second tune was composed by Joseph Lowe and was played in a set with the following tune by The Cast. The first reel was composed by William Marshall, as was the tune that follows it. The final tune in the set was composed by John Crerar.

Set #112
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Gaelic Air	slow air
Battle of the Ironclads	strathspey	Tony Upton
Belhelvie House	strathspey	William Marshall
Bridge of Banff	reel
Mr. MacDonald of Staffa	reel
Mrs. Duncan	reel	Nathaniel Gow
This is a set of Scottish (and Scottish-style) tunes which are all in minor keys. The first tune is a slow air (set here in A minor, then in G minor) which is played by Alasdair Fraser (with Paul Machlis) on "The Road North." The following tune is one of my latest compositions. It started out as a transposed version of "Megan's Favorite," and it eventually evolved into something new. It's named for the famous battle during the Civil War between the two ironclad ships, Monitor and Merrimac, which took place in Hampton Roads Harbor, not too far from where I live. (You can find out more about this battle by visiting the Battle of the Ironclads Official Records & Battle Description page.) The third tune (in C minor, a key I have hardly ever seen before, even though it appears twice in this set and once in the previous set!) is another one of William Marshall's compositions. I don't have any information on the two reels (in A minor and G minor) that follow. The set ends with a C minor tune by Nathaniel Gow which might be the best "finishing tune" I've put in any of my MIDI sets so far.

Set #113
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Me Zo Ganet E Kreiz Ar Mor	slow air
Untitled	Breton tune in 6/4
Untitled	Breton tune in 6/4
Zannabal	hanter dro
Untitled	hanter dro
A very interesting (I hope!) set of Breton tunes which is full of key and meter changes. The first tune is a slow air whose title means "I Was Born In the Middle of the Sea." The two tunes that follow are untitled tunes in 6/4. The final two tunes are "hanter dros." A hanter dro is a type of Breton dance tune in 3/4.

Set #114
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Lord Lovat's Lament	slow air
Memories of Father Angus MacDonnell	4/4 march
Farewell to Whisky	reel	Niel Gow
Lady Georgina Campbell	reel
Another set of Scottish tunes...I hope you're not tired of those by now, because I'm not! The first tune is one that was discussed in the FIDDLER group some time ago. The tune that follows it is one of my favorites - I particularly like the version played by The Cast. "Farewell to Whisky" is a popular tune composed by Niel Gow, and the final tune comes from the playing of Natalie MacMaster.

Set #115
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Cooley's Hornpipe	hornpipe
Eleanor Neary's	hornpipe
The Miller of Drohan	reel
Finally, I managed to put together another set of Irish tunes. I really don't know anything about the first tune, but I love the long roll in the second turn. The last two tunes were played as a set by De Danann, which gave me the idea of putting them in this set.

Set #116
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
The Hill on the Road	double jig
Contentment Is Wealth	double jig
Tell Her I Am	double jig
The Ship in Full Sail	double jig
Can you believe it? Two Irish sets in a row! I don't really have any background info on these tunes - they're just great to listen to, though.

Set #117
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Hammy Hamilton's #1	double jig
Egan's Jig	double jig	Tony Upton
Egan's Gone to Finland	polka	Tony Upton
Well, I guess this set qualifies as Irish too, since the first tune is Irish and the other two are "Irish-style" tunes (I guess!). Anyway, I really don't know much about the first tune, so let me go on and explain the titles of the other two tunes. "Egan's Jig" is really just a 6/8 version of the polka that follows it. I called that tune "Egan's Gone to Finland" because sometimes it reminds me of an Irish tune called "Egan's Polka," and sometimes it reminds me of a Finnish polka played by Kevin Burke on his album called "Up Close."

Set #118
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Dinner's Dangerous River Jacket	reel
Richard Dwyer's	reel
Spootiskerry	reel
The first two tunes in this set are (in my opinion) really great tunes that come from the playing of Wolfstone. The final tune is one of my favorites...although at this point I have more favorites than I can conveniently count!

Set #119
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Planxty Burke		Turlough O'Carolan
The Strayaway Child	double jig
The first tune in this set is one of many composed by Turlough O'Carolan. Carolan composed it for a member of the Burke family who lived near Castlebar in County Mayo. The tune that follows is a great tune that's also featured on my "Odds and Ends" page. This version, believe it or not, is different from the two versions on that page. (I just hope I haven't wasted all my brain power coming up with three different arrangements for the same tune!)

Set #120
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Miss Louisa Duff	reel	William Marshall
The Night We Had the Goats	reel
Bird's Nest	reel
Olive Branch	reel
I've started off this set with three slightly different versions of "Miss Louisa Duff," a reel composed by William Marshall. It's followed by a tune that comes from the playing of Natalie MacMaster and Richard Wood. The last two tunes in the set also come from the playing of Natalie MacMaster. The last one is one I've heard a few times, but I wasn't able to find the name of it until lately.

Set #121
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Blue Bonnets Over the Border	6/8 march or double jig
The Stool of Repentance	double jig	Niel Gow
The Rock and Wee Pickle Tow	double jig
Blue Bonnets Over the Border	6/8 march or double jig
This is a set of great Scottish tunes which are not terribly obscure like some of the other tunes I put in these sets. You'll probably notice that "Blue Bonnets Over the Border" is listed twice in this set - the set starts with one version of that tune and ends with two other versions just to make things interesting.

Set #122
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
The Fort at Kincora	hornpipe
The Golden Eagle	hornpipe
Sailor's Hornpipe	hornpipe
Here's a set which includes a couple of Irish tunes for a change! I don't really know anything about the first tune, but the second is one of my favorites. I especially love the high notes in the second turn. In this set, the tune is played first in G, then in A. Finally, the set ends with a well-known tune claimed to be of Scottish origin by the liner notes in one of the CD's in my ever-growing collection. I hope you enjoy the harmony on the second run-through - I did it by having a second fiddle play a different version of the tune along with the version that was played in the first run-through.

Set #123
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Untitled	gavotte
Untitled	bal plin
Untitled	kost ar c'hoat
I don't have any actual names for these Breton tunes, so instead of giving you the names I've given the types of tunes they are. The first and last tunes in this set are done in a typical kan ha diskan style (see my Breton music page for more information), with the melody going back and forth between fiddle, flute, and accordion. The middle tune originally had two sections - a 6/8 section containing 8 measures, and a 4/4 section containing 4 measures. I decided to put my composing skills to work and write 8 measures to add to the 4/4 section, and I hope you like the way it turned out as much as I do.

Set #124
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Donald MacLean's Farewell to Oban	4/4 pipe march
The Conundrum	4/4 pipe march
I decided it was about time to put together another set of pipe tunes, so here it is. The first tune starts off a great set of tunes played by the Tannahill Weavers on one of their CD's (You really ought to listen to that set if you ever get a chance - it's awesome!). The tune that follows it was played by Alasdair Fraser on "The Driven Bow," a great CD he did with Jody Stecher.

Set #125
Tune name	Type	Composer (if known)
Egan's	polka
An Gabhairín Buí	polka
Lackagh Cross	polka
Pádraig O'Keeffe's	polka
Just another set of Irish polkas - I've heard the first one a few times, and I know that the title of the second one in English is "The Yellow Goat," but that's all I know.