Key signature: Eminor
Submitted on November 9th 2008 by Fliúiteadóir.
This tune has been added to 47 tunebooks.
Also known as The Fisherman's Song For Attracting The Seals, Maol Donaidh, Maol Donnaich, Maol Donnaidh, Music Of The Seals.
Recordings of a tune by this name:
X: 1
T: A Fisherman's Song For Attracting Seals
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Emin
Bdd dBA|dBA dBA|Bdd dBA |e2d e3 :|
|:g2f g2a|e2d e3|g2f g2a|e2d e3|aee gdd|
edd dBA|Bdd dBA| dBA dBA | Bdd dBA|e2 d e3 :|
According to Ossian's sleeve notes from Seal Song ( which has a great cover painting of an enormous mountain-sized seal towering out of the ocean) this was genuinely a song used for the purpose its name suggests.
Interesting it's also on The Fire Aflame ( Molloy, O'Flynn, Keane) - http://www.thesession.org/recordings/display/75 - as a backdrop to Brian Keenan's reading of Seamus Heaney's poetry in track 7.
# Posted on November 9th 2008 by Fliúiteadóir
Alternative setting
Thanks for posting this tune. It is a great tune and interesting in its bar count. I was taught this by Iain MacDonald of Glenuig (ex-Ossian) with a slightly different setting:
X: 1
T: A Fisherman's Song For Attracting Seals
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Emin
|: B2 d dBA | dBA dBA | B2 d dBA | e2d e3 :|
|: g2f g2a | e2d e3 | g2f g2a | e2d e3 |
aee gee | edd dBA | B2 d dBA | dBA dBA | B2 d dBA| | e2 d e3 :||
# Posted on November 9th 2008 by No Cause For Alarm
Key
Oops... never even noticed the key signature.
This is not in Em
It is awkward to work out the true key but I would guess G Lydian - as in the root is G and it is on a D scale.
# Posted on November 9th 2008 by No Cause For Alarm
The Fisherman's Song For Attracting the Seals
Probably first published in The Patrick McDonald Collection of Highland Vocal Airs... (1784), this tune is in the 'North Highland Airs' section, and is given both the Gaelic title ("Maol dònaidh") and the English ("The fisherman's Song for Attractiong the Seals").
X: 1
T: The Fisherman's Song for Attracting the Seals
T: Maol dònaidh
S: Patrick McDonald's Coll, 1874
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: G
Bdd dBA | dBA dBA | Bdd dBA | e2d e3 :|
g2f g2a | e2d e3 | g2f g2a | e2d e3 |
a2e g2d | e2d BAG | Bdd dBA | dBA dBA | Bdd dBA| | e2d e3 :|
# Posted on November 9th 2008 by nigelg
Matt Molloy...
http://www.thesession.org/recordings/display/45
It's also the opening theme for Track 9 here.
# Posted on November 9th 2008 by Kenny
As far as I can remember,Ossian said on the sleeve notes that the fishermen used to hang a basket of herring over the side just in case the song didn't work.
# Posted on November 13th 2008 by dafydd
This tune is also on the disk "Shadows on stone" by Matt
Molloy. A lovely version.
As for the tonality, I would certainly not call it "G lydian" as
there is not C#. This is actually nearly pentatonic,
and as often with ancient tunes of this kind, of
uncertain tonality
(and better not to try to put tonality concepts on it).
# Posted on November 13th 2008 by DavidFromToulouse
Also appears in Allan MacDonald's Moidart Collection as "Maol Donaidh"
# Posted on November 13th 2008 by crunluath
G Lydian
There may not be a C# in the tune itself but there is no C nat either. I would suggest that there is an 'implied C#' in it. Certainly the main chords would be G, A and D.
The point I was making is it is not in E minor but rather G. It is also not simply in G major. C chords do not work in it and neither do A minor chords, both of which could be considered fairly prominant in G major!
I stick by my claims of G lydian. For avoidance of doubt the scale would be:
G A B C# D E F# G
Chords:
Gmaj, AMaj, Bm, C#dim, D, Em, F#m, G
Of course, not all chords would be used!
# Posted on November 18th 2008 by No Cause For Alarm
Harmonize it...
however it suits your ear. To me, it's not harmonically composed, so any harmonies would be our later-day addition. I probably wouldn't use "standard" chords at all. But, if I did, I can hear it being done well in either G or Emin, with either C sharps or C nats. These are stylistic choices. For example, one could simply harmonize the first four measures of the B part as alternating G and C major chords... the first half of the fifth bar of the B part could be done with an A major chord... I can hear the opening phrase of the A part with a nice E minor seventh chord... I can hear drones and parallel fifths... etc. Any of these can sound good or bad depending upon execution and the preferences of the listener.
# Posted on November 18th 2008 by muspc
Ossian did a fantastic version of this tune and it is of course Scottish. Since the Irish and Scots are musical cousins and there are a good many scottish songs of scottish origin as well as irish (and sometimes both) on this site shouldn't this be aknowledged on the homepage? instead of just referring to it all as just irish?
anyone agree?
# Posted on October 15th 2009 by jscot