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mandobanjolibrarian - Posted - 09/01/2022: 16:02:30
This week’s Tune of the Week feels timely, as mention of clawhammer tunes in 3/4 and 6/8 time came up recently in one of the forum threads. This one is in 3/4 (waltz) time, and comes to us from the Celtic harper, composer, and singer Turlough O’Carolan (Ireland, 1670-1738). Among his hundreds of compositions, this one stands out to me for its simple, lilting melody that evokes the beauty of its inspiration: the twin mountains of Sheebeg (Si Bheagh) and Sheemore (Si Mohr), which legend held were inhabited two populations of fairies. Please note that there are numerous other spellings and Anglicizations for the title, but these two seem to be the most common. For other alternatives, see the Traditional Tune Archive entry.
A comprehensive book on the life and music of Turlough O’Carolan is this:
O’Sullivan, Donal. Carolan: The Life Times and Music of an Irish Harper. Cork, Ireland: Ossian Publications, 2001.
O’Sullivan repeats the claim I’ve seen in several other sources that “Sheebeg and Sheemore” was O’Carolan’s first composition, at the age of 21, though he had already been a traveling harper for several years by that time. The subject of two warring hosts of fairies, who occupied the two local hills of the song’s title, was suggested to him by one of his patrons in County Leitrim (O’Sullivan, 33 & 295). Standard notation and annotations from the Traditional Tune Archive are available here.
Janet Burton most likely has plenty to add on this tune, O’Carolan in general, and the tabs/performances I’ve linked in this installation of TOTW. She also very kindly shared audio with me of the dramatized tale of O’Carolan’s life, narrated by Mick Moloney, which appears on the recording “Young Turlough & His Harp,” available on CD, MP3, or streaming. This includes the story of O’Carolan’s family’s re-location, when he was 14, to the estate near the twin hills that are the subject of our tune. It also describes his affliction with total blindness at age 18 from a bout with smallpox, and his initiation to the world of music through an encounter with another blind harpist at the estate. A natural with the tune and harp, this became O’Carolan’s vocation, and he went on to compose and perform widely, traveling across Ireland for most of the rest of his life. Today, we have at least 210 of his surviving compositions, though unfortunately no copies of a larger collection – published by his son in 1747 or 1748 – can be found (O’Sullivan, 7).
The Session.org provides standard notation for 12 settings of this, tune as well as a listing of 108 recordings.
For the mandolin players out there, Nigel Gatherer’s site provides standard notation and tab as part of his larger Carolan Collection, and the standard notation can be used for your D and G tin whistles as well. Those of you who own Fiddler’s Fakebook by David Brody will also find standard notation with a half-dozen recommended recordings.
And speaking of recordings, Mary Z. Cox has a nice clawhammer rendition on her album "Vintage Banjo." For something lovely and a little different, John McCutcheon does a hammered dulcimer/acoustic guitar version on his "Wind that Shakes the Barley" album, paired with "Planxty George Brabazon" (Sheebeg starts around 2:19). And, of course, the band Planxty themself have a classic version on their album by the same name, which can also be heard here.
Numerous folks have posted recordings and videos in the BHO mp3 and video, so I’m providing links here to those versions:
Below is my own meager effort, based on Janet Burton’s excellent tab, which I’ve also included, as well as Jim Yates’ tab. I had wanted to devote more time to polishing my performance, but the beginning of the school year got the best of me, so I apologize for some pretty rough spots! I’m also including Janet’s recording from her BHO space.
Enjoy!
Edited by - mandobanjolibrarian on 09/03/2022 21:04:22
JanetB - Posted - 09/03/2022: 18:01:49
Turlough O'Carolan had a genius for composition. Sheebeg Sheemore remains my favorite. Reading the biographical information compiled by Donal O'Sullivan is interesting and revealing about the times and ways of life experienced in early 18th century Ireland. All of O'Carolan's extant music is notated there, too, and some of the anecdotes are amusing, letting us see O'Carolan as a real person who struggled, achieved, worked, married, traveled, and bonded with the many people who hosted and supported him in exchange for his entertainment.
I'm grateful to be included in your first presentation, mandobanjolibrarian, and hope you'll participate again. It's gratifying that you've worked on Sheebeg Sheemore with my tab. Here's one more video of the tune on my Mac Traynham banjo when it was brand new.
Don Borchelt - Posted - 09/04/2022: 06:49:48
This is a great choice for TOTW, and a great write up. I was going to suggest to the OP that he/she edit the post to include the names of the players, but then decided, s**t, I'm going to check them all out, I might as well do it myself. So here is the list of links again, with the names and playing style for each:
3F- Janet B: banjohangout.org/song/23404
Fiddle- BDCA (BOB Denton): banjohangout.org/song/23422
CH-David Brooks: banjohangout.org/song/763
Harp- Derek Bell-BDCA (BOB Denton): banjohangout.org/song/23421
3F-N Gray (Neil Gray): banjohangout.org/song/37383
CH-Jeremy Teitelbaum: banjohangout.org/song/40252
G- Steven Saylor: banjohangout.org/song/39870
CH-Janet B: banjohangout.org/song/31032
CH-Janet Burton: youtu.be/MzVMsxvfFa4
CH-Jeremy Teitelbaum: youtu.be/oR9uqRdZiNc
3F-Doberman Classics: youtu.be/RAK5lAu3qcs
3F-Neil Gray: youtu.be/aP30DoD7Yd8
3F-Raul Cabezali: youtu.be/b12ZVmbvCuI
CH-Ryan Spearman: youtu.be/E2BeBCubfDY
They are all great performances. There are three videos that do not feature banjo; Bob Denton is playing the fiddle, Derek Bell is playing the Harp, and Steven Saylor is playing the guitar. It's nice that they were included, because they provide a wonderful context. There are eleven banjo links, five are in three finger up picking style, and the rest are clawhammer. Janet does both, if I am hearing the first link correctly, and she plays both equally well! Neil Grey is picking a 3 finger arrangement from Ron Hughs, and Doberman Classics and Raul Cabezali are picking an arrangement from Tony Trishka.
Fifty plus years ago, when I first moved to Boston, when you went to a jam around here, as you went around the circle a wide variety of string music would be suggested. Old-time Appalachian, New England contradance, French Canadian, bluegrass, Mississippi Delta blues, ragtime, and even some Kingston Trio or Bob Dylan, now and again. So I use to play a lot of Irish music, including at least three O’Carolan tunes, Shebag Shemore, O'Carolan's Farewell to Music, and O’Carolan's Concerto. But today, it is a rare jam around here that doesn't focus on a single type of traditional string music, and I think it is our loss.
I made a recording of Shebag Shemore (Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór, to be more precise), about 25 years ago in three finger style, accompanied by my friend Brian Clancey on guitar. Here is a link:
The original post, and Janet's post above, provide a wonderful biography of O'Carolan. If you want to read more, I would suggest to chapter on the legendary harpist from Chief Francis O'Neill's definitive Irish Minstrels and Musicians, published in 1913.
Chapter 7: Turloch O'Carolan and His Times
Here's the whole book:
Irish Minstrels and Musicians
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