The Fiddler's Contemt, The Kerry Star, The Goroum

[mad dawg]

I was listening to The Baltimore Consort's wonderful CD The Mad Buckgoat this morning while doing bills, and stopped when I heard my favorite set on the CD: The Fiddler's Contemt (not a typo), The Kerry Star, and The Goroum. Their liner notes indicate that the first is by harper Ruari Dall O'Cathain, and the later two are Irish traditional pieces pulled from P. Carew's MS.

I searched for these tunes at the session, JC's abc tunefinder, and sosyourmom's O'Niel's, as well as with several different googles, but all searches yielded no hits. I did learn that Stanford and Petrie referenced P. Carew's MS as the source of some tunes in their 1903/5 collection, but that is as close as I got to finding any reference at all to these tunes, or to P. Carew for that matter.

I emailed the Consort's primary contact for advice, but while awaiting a response, is anyone out there familiar with these tunes, or can you suggest where else to search?

thx,
jim

[Jim M.]

Here's some information I found at Fiddler's Companion that confirms the source as Stanford and Petrie. Not much help but there are some other apparent names for Kerry Star.

KERRY STAR. AKA and see "The Barrow Castle," "Belles of Tipperary" [2], "The Blea-berry Blossom," "Connacht Lasses," "The Connacht Star," "The Dandy Girl/Lass/Lasses," "The Four Courts of Dublin," "Green Fields to America," "Lamont's Reel," "Jackson's Welcome to Cork," "Johnny Shooting in the Glen," "Kerry Star," "Lamont's," "Mel Roddy's Tune" (northeast Kings County, PEI), "Miss Monaghan," "O'Connell in Clare," "Shannon's Shores," "Stormy Weather," "The White-haired Piper." Irish, Reel. D Major. Standard. AB. Source for notated version: "From P. Carew's MS" [Stanford/Petrie]. Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905; No. 899, pg. 227.

GOROUM, THE. Irish, Reel. G Major. Standard. AAB. Source for notated version: "From P. Carew's MS" [Stanford/Petrie]. Stanford/Petrie (Complete Collection), 1905; No. 898, pg. 227.

There is a tune called "Fiddler's Contest", and I'm wondering if the album notes misspelled that, or if "contemt" is some odd variation. Here's an ABC:

X:1
T:The fiddler's contest
C:anon.
O:Ireland
R:Hornpipe
Z:Transcribed by Frank Nordberg - http://www.musicaviva.com
F:http://www.musicaviva.com/abc/tunes/ireland/oneill-1001/oneill-1001-090
1.abc
M:C|
L:1/8
K:A
(cd)|edef ecAc|defg agaf|eagf ecAc|BABc B2(cd)|edef ecAc|defg agaf|eagf e
dcB|A2a2A2:|
|:(AF)|EAAB cAea|FBBc dBfB|defg agaf|edcB AEFG|EAAB cAec|BABc defg|agaf e
dcB|A2a2A2|]

[mad dawg]

Thanks Jim -- nice eSleuthing there!

[jc2]

If you can't find them at all, shoot me an mp3 of once through each and I'll transcribe them. I am always up for tunes you can't find anywhere. Just email me.

jc