Ceol Rince Na hÉireann

 

The Ceol Rince na hÉireann series of books are regarded as one of the major collections of Irish traditional music and remain an important source of tunes for traditional musicians today.  All of the tunes contained within the five volumes of Ceol Rince na hÉireann were collected and transcribed by the great collector, scholar and authority on Irish traditional music, Breandán Breathnach and form a major part of the legacy which he left to his fellow musicians.  Breandán Breathnach, a piper himself, was a founder member of Na Piobairí Uilleann and was chairman of this organisation until his death in 1986.  He was also instrumental in the founding of the Irish Traditional Music Archive and his own extensive personal collection is now housed within the archive.

 

Many of the original recordings of the tunes found in the Ceol Rince na hÉireann collection can be accessed in the archive.  Ceol Rince na hÉireann Vol 1 was published in 1963 and contains 214 tunes which were mainly collected in the 1950’s from some of the greatest players of that era.  The book contains many beautiful settings of tunes which differ slightly from the versions played by traditional musicians today. Each volume of Ceol Rince na hÉireann contains extensive notes giving valuable information on the source of the tunes, the different titles by which the tune was known and the of other collections of music in which the tune was published.  The books can be purchased from the Irish Traditional Music Archive or Na Piobairí Uilleann.

 

The Recordings:

I started this project with the intention of providing an introduction to the Ceol Rince na hÉireann collection for the students on the Ceoltóir course.  As the project developed we decided that it could prove useful to other musicians and decided to publish the recordings here.  Ceol Rince na hÉireann Vol 1 was published in 1963 and contains 214 tunes which were mainly collected in the 1950’s from some of the greatest players of that era.  The book contains many beautiful settings of tunes which differ slightly from the versions played by traditional musicians today.  On these recordings each tune is played twice through at a moderate speed with some basic ornamentation.  As far as possible I try to stay true to the version in the book on the first time around ( if I ‘stray’ feel free to let me know!) and I add some additional ornamentation on the second time around.  We will be adding to the collection of recordings on a regular basis.  Please bear in mind that these are home recordings made with the sole intention of helping musicians to learn from the book .  We hope that you find them of benefit to your music. Le gach deá ghuí,

 

Paul Mc Grattan.