Lark In The Clear Air waltz

A great tune which brings back memories of Ciarán MacMathúna’s early morning RTE radio programme. It was also played on a recording by fiddle (or should I say violin) player, Geraldine O’Grady some years ago with a slightly classical flavour to it !

In reading this notation I find it difficult to see it as the air it is. The 3/4 would make the uninitiated to play this too fast and as a waltz.
Some time ago I wrote this down from a recording by Noel Pepper on mouth organ. To do it justice I found it best to count it in six beats to the bar (6/4) with occassional bars of 3/4 and 5/4.
I’ve just asked my eldest daughter (music teacher and oboeist) to compare the twonotations and to say which conveys the slower tempo. She suggested 6/4.
I’ll put the abc in shortly for comparison.

It just might also help the Midi playback as well.

I am sure that you are right….. 6/4 with the occasional 3/4 and 5/4 bars does make more sense and when I first noted it down (without bars) it played OK. However, I thought that I ought to submit it with bars, so have effectively messed it up! Would be most grateful if someone better at ABC than me would sort it out and re-submit it! Thanks,

David Savage
(PS I guss that the MID would also sound better then too!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAkcalPr3nM There’s a great sense of clear air-ity, clarity or clairty, in this lovely version by the Chieftains.

play video

The tune here has nothing of an outer, life-like echo of a lark singing (on the wing in the light) but seems to externalise the inner resonance of that moment of serenity.

More lark tunes and reflections at:
https://thesession.org/tunes/62https://thesession.org/tunes/632/comments

A skylark rises I
breathe in the mist I
walk on the clouds

Shiki Masaoka

usually translated as:

Trampling on clouds,
inhaling the mist,
the skylark soars

—Shiki

I prefer the later… Thanks BB! 🙂

I’ve just added a setting of the tune transposed into D so it can be played on the Low D whistle. Re. the waltz vs 6/4 thing - I too an new to ABC, but so long you play at about 50-60 bpm it should play OK.

Played on Hammered Dulcimer, English Concertina, Fiddle & Whistle.

My photos of the Skylarks were taken here in north Antrim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2fxk72YeQ8

play video

Cheers,
Dick

Another song from The Celtic Fake Book. Words and music by Sir Samuel Ferguson.
Sir Samuel Ferguson was an Irish poet. His dates were 1810-1886. He was born in Belfast and died in Dublin.