Mr O'Connor (Carolan)

  1. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    This Irish air by Turlough O'Carolan is somewhat unusual in that it has two separate halves, one in 3/4 time and the other in 6/8 (jig) time. It is tune No. 113 in Donal O'Sullivan's collection of Carolan tunes. Not the same tune as either "John O'Connor" or "Charles O'Connor"!

    My recording of the 3/4 section for two mandolins and tenor guitar uses a harmony part from:

    http://www.kiwifolk.com/dfc/DSFO%20Violin.pdf

    1898 Giuseppe Vinaccia mandolin
    Mid-Missouri M-0W mandolin
    Vintage Viaten tenor guitar



    Martin
  2. David Hansen
    David Hansen
    Nicely done Martin, we must be on the same wavelength, I just posted a concertina version of this tune on my YouTube page,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5-vatyfgi8. It was tough to play on the concertina maybe I should have tried it on the mandolin, you make it sound pretty good.
  3. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Thanks, David. That concertina version sounds lovely -- well done!

    This is a somewhat unusual Carolan tune, and not one that is often heard. De Danann recorded it in 1989, and there is a Youtube recording of Alec Finn and Jackie Daly playing it several years earlier here (including both the 3/4 and the 6/8 sections). Interesting to note that we all play it quite fast, compared to most Carolan tunes. I think it needs to have some momentum to make it work.

    Martin
  4. dustyamps
    dustyamps
    Nice playing and recording, congratulations.
  5. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Both versions are so beautiful. Your different choice of instruments make it diverting to listen them in a row. Thanks, Martin and David.
  6. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Another re-recording, using the same arrangement from the Kiwifolk site but more effectively (I think) by playing the second violin part an octave lower on OM. The arranger has split the melody between the two violin parts, each alternating phrases in melody and harmony. That works better if the voices are more distinct than they were in my original recording.

    1898 Giuseppe Vinaccia mandolin
    Mid-Missouri M-111 octave mandolin
    Vintage Viaten tenor guitar



    Martin
  7. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Your new version with mandolin and octave sounds great, Martin. (I didn’t compare it with your former recording.)
  8. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Thanks, Frithjof. It's a really fun tune to play, and more lively than most Carolan tunes!

    Martin
  9. John W.
    John W.
    I enjoyed the playing of both versions…I was also curious about the collection of photos in the first vid…some of which seemed to be around the Welsh hills (Snowdonia?) and others the Lake District?
  10. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    I can't really remember where specifically I sourced these photos, but unless there is a specific reason otherwise my usual practice for Carolan tunes would have been to pick one region/county of Ireland and use photos from there. In this case, the photos look like they're from County Kerry [Edit: the lakes of Killarney, specifically -- that's Ross Castle on the opening slide].

    Martin
  11. John W.
    John W.
    Thanks, Martin….I was way off mark then!
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