Na Píobairí Uilleann

Chairman, NPU

An Píobaire

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Available from the Irish Traditional Music Archive email queries sales@itma.ie / website purchase www.itma.ie THE PUBLICATION OF Tunes of the Munster Pipers Volume Two brings to completion another of the too-many projects that Breandán Breathnach hoped to complete in his lifetime: the publication of the music collection of Reverend James Goodman. Goodman’s manuscript collection contains over 2000 tunes some of which were copied from print, some copied from other manuscripts, and a large portion which were transcribed by James Goodman, piper, flute player and singer. These two volumes Tunes of the Munster Pipers, which together contain more than 1000 melodies, offer something for almost every taste. On one level they are great tune books, a resource for musicians looking to expand their repertoire, searching for ‘new’ tunes to explore or interesting old settings of well-known tunes. On another level they offer a critical edition of nineteenth-century music manuscripts which provide a resource for scholarly research as well as a model or template for students or indeed anyone involved in music editing. Begun by Hugh Shields after Breathnach’s death in the 1980s, the first volume was published in 1998 to popular and critical acclaim. Unfortunately, ill health and his eventual passing prevented him from completing the second volume. The task has been completed by Lisa Shields, piper, concertina player and wife of Hugh, who had been involved from the beginning and who was familiar with his work and methodology. These publications set a standard in many ways. Hugh Shields brought his deep scholarly experience to bear on this work. The various areas of expertise of Hugh (particularly in his knowledge of song) and Lisa (through her knowledge as a player) have no doubt complemented each other throughout the project. The volumes are much enhanced by the careful music engraving carried out by piper and piping analyst Jackie Small. The acknowledgements in both volumes

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2014-02-14T00:00:00

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