{"id":14129,"date":"2022-07-15T06:31:48","date_gmt":"2022-07-15T06:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.booksofall.com\/ja\/?post_type=product&p=14129"},"modified":"2022-07-15T06:31:49","modified_gmt":"2022-07-15T06:31:49","slug":"the-cat-that-ate-the-candle-and-the-ewe-with-the-crooked-horn","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/www.booksofall.com\/ja\/the-cat-that-ate-the-candle-and-the-ewe-with-the-crooked-horn\/","title":{"rendered":"The cat that ate the candle and the ewe with the crooked horn"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a nice journey through Europeana Sounds items related to\u00a0goats<\/a>\u00a0, let’s continue our series on animals and sounds with some fascinating resources held by the\u00a0Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In his insightful publication\u00a0A handbook of Irish music<\/em>\u00a0(Dublin, 1928)\u00a0Richard Henebry<\/a>\u00a0(1863\u20131916) draws a comparison between innate animal sounds and aspects of melodic structure in Irish traditional music. In particular, he refers to the descending nature of birdsong such as a warbler, a crowing cock or the lonesome howl of a dog, in what he describes as\u00a0\u2018the pleasing pain of sadness\u2019<\/em>\u00a0shared by animal and human alike.<\/p>\n

A cursory glance at the vast resources held by the ITMA is sufficient to uncover a wealth of animal-related tune and song titles. As a predominantly agrarian society until the mid-20th century, awareness of nature and the environment was crucial to survival. It is therefore not surprising that a large portion of music and song titles relate to various animals.<\/p>\n

Titles can be a simple case of ownership, for example\u00a0\u2018Casey\u2019s pig\u2019<\/em>, or\u00a0\u2018O\u2019Donnell\u2019s grey mare\u2019<\/em>. Others create interesting imagery such as:\u00a0\u2018The ewe with the crooked horn\u2019<\/em>;\u00a0\u2018<\/em>;\u00a0\u2018The geese in the bog\u2019<\/em>, or\u00a0\u2018The cat that kittled in Jamie\u2019s wig\u2019<\/em>\u00a0the latter having migrated to Ireland. In all aforementioned examples the tune title is a completely separate entity to the melody.<\/p>\n

Another more interesting layer is added when the tune title and melody are closely connected. In his CD\u00a0The quiet glen<\/em>\u00a0(Clare, 1998), the fiddler\u00a0Tommy Peoples<\/a>\u00a0includes two of his own compositions,\u00a0\u2018The mouse in the attic\u2019<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0\u2018The fat cat\u2019<\/em>. The melody of each tune reflects both the pattering feet of the mouse in the attic and the lazy\u00a0\u2018meeooww\u2019<\/em>\u00a0of a satisfied cat.<\/p>\n

The influence of birds and birdsong in traditional music is also evident throughout Ireland. The cuckoo, which appears in parts of rural areas for a short period in late spring and early summer, produces a C sharp \/ A in its distinctive song. Fiddlers from past generations welcomed this \u2018A\u2019 note as a tuning aid, albeit for a limited time of the year.\u00a0\u2018The morning thrush\u2019<\/em>, composed by James Ennis, father of renowned uilleann piper S\u00e9amus Ennis (1919\u20131982), is a particularly popular reel among pipers. One bird that has proved highly influential is the blackbird, and there are several examples of both the air, song and set dance at ITMA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"