Carolan's Concerto ~ Irish Folk Music (Violin Trio Version) | Katy Adelson

Here is a song called, "Carolan's Concerto," which was written by the blind Irish harper, Turlough O'Carolan. I have arranged it into a trio for three violins for this video. I think the sound of the piece has a lot of Baroque elements to it.

I believe the first performance of this song is said to have happened while Carolan was playing harp music for some listeners, and a discussion about a Vivaldi concerto came up. Carolan was able to play an excerpt of the concerto by ear. He then went on to play this song, originally referred to as "Mrs. Powers," but often now called, "Carolan's Concerto," or "O'Carolan's Concerto." Some say he composed this song on the spot after being inspired by the Vivaldi music, others say it was something he had prepared ahead of time. I think it does have some Vivaldi-like elements, but it also has a lot of Carolan-like elements to it, and it's sometimes played in Irish trad sessions. =)

Even though it is an Irish tune, I wouldn't say this song is frequently played in sessions. It's popular enough to where there will usually be a few people who play along with it. However, I've noticed some people seem to remember it as the "long classical-music-like song," and somewhat of sit out from playing it since there are so many notes to try to remember. It is quite neat to play though, and it can be really special when a group of people play the song very well together. With some practice, it can be a good tune to learn! There are much harder fiddle tunes that people play in session -- this one really just takes some practice to remember how it goes.

I went around in so many circles creating the harmonies for this song. I wanted to keep all three parts moving and interesting to play, but was having difficulties writing harmonies that could highlight instead of overpower the original melody. I think I got kind of close to my goal for this tune, and tried to only take more harmony liberties when the melody has more of a chord-sounding phrase. This is the last arrangement of my music book, and I think it is the most difficult piece in the book to put together. The three parts by themselves are at an intermediate level, but weaving them together is difficult since all three parts are moving.

If you are interested in purchasing my music book with this arrangement, it is available as print-on-demand from Amazon:
"15 Irish Fiddle Airs - Duets and Trios: Turlough O'Carolan - Easy to Intermediate"
https://www.amazon.com/15-Irish-Fiddle-Airs-Intermediate/dp/1798891123/

It is also available in other country Amazon stores that may print it closer to your home country to save a little on the shipping costs.

I also have a digital-downloadable PDF version of the book available in my web shop:
https://goldenaspenmusic.com/products/15-irish-fiddle-airs-duets-and-trios-turlough-ocarolan-easy-to-intermediate

I will not be selling physical copies from my web shop until the USA has a better handle on the virus situation going on right now. Colorado has been doing relatively well (knock on wood!), but I don't yet feel feel comfortable running to the post office every day again.

Thank you for watching, and I hope you stay safe and healthy! =)

~ Katy

This was filmed at CSU's Flower Trial Garden, in Fort Collins, Colorado.

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Hashtags:
#IrishMusic #Carolan #FolkMusic #Violin #Fiddle #KatyAdelson #Music

Software and equipment used:

Full list of all my basic violin equipment:
http://www.katyadelson.com/about/violin-equipment-and-recommendations/

Violin gear:
Violin: 1899 Ernst Kreusler “Copy of Antonius Stradivarius” violin from Germany
Bow: CodaBow Luma
Strings: Evah Pirazzi Violin Strings (with a ball E)
Rosin: Salchow Rosin
Shoulder Rest: Bonmusica Shoulder Rest

Software used (for Macintosh):
Garageband for attempted sound mixing
Final Cut Pro for video editing
PicMonkey.com for the ending cards

Plugins for sound effects (I have A LOT to learn in this department!):
East West plugins – Spaces

Camera:
Canon 70D + 18-135 mm kit lens
Sony RX100 V

Microphone for audio recording:
Blue Woodpecker