Tune Histories

By Susan Wilzer

 

General:  Here are some notes about the tunes.  Most of the notations indicate the source of the information on the Internet.  Most of the information is well-established and I just tried to find a concise summary statement.  In some cases I have given an indication of the source (WIKI for Wikipedia) or a link.  My own comments are followed by (SGW).  Tune Backgrounds can be useful in introducing your tunes if you ever play for others formally or informally.  Having the words to a song can help with playing to find the most appropriate phrasing or “feel” of the tune.

 

Major sources of Irish tunes for harp include the playing of Turlough O’Carolan and the music collections of Edward Bunting.  In older music, the Playford collections of English Country Dance tunes is a valuable resource.  A brief description of these resources is given here and can be applied to all the tunes labeled O’Carolan,  Bunting or Playford as appropriate.