Carmel Gunning
Encyclopedia
Carmel Gunning is an Irish
composer
and musician
, from Sligo
, Ireland
. Gunning is one of Ireland's most accomplished tin whistle
players who is also known for her singing
and flute
playing. Gunning's rich stylised form of whistle playing and tradition stems from her homeland of Geevagh
in South County Sligo. This background and tradition aided Gunning's introduction to traditional Irish music which took place at an early age.
or whistling them to her.
In 1969 she sang in her first band, "Carmel and the Chrystals", and played at local dances in Keadue
, Geevagh
, Boyle
and surrounding areas. Playing in the band with Gunning was her brother, Tom Nangle Jnr., Tony Mullaney, Kevin Conlon and his brother. Gunning won the All-Ireland tin whistle
slow airs competition at the Fleadh Cheoil
in 1976 and senior Scór
title for "Music Instrument" section, which incorporates all musical instruments used in traditional Irish music including the fiddle
, uileann pipes accordion
and harp
as well as the tin whistle
.
Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s Gunning could be regularly found with P.J. Hernon, Mick Shannon, Joe O'Dowd and others at the famous sessions which took place at the Trades Club in Sligo Town.
style common of fiddle, flute and tin whistle player of the "South Sligo" tradition or style. Gunning's reputation in the wider world was expanded by the release of her first solo recording, The Lakes of Sligo, which features four unaccompanied songs as well as 14 tracks of virtuosic tin whistle playing.
One reviewer noted that "the music she plays is in a matured and confident manner" and singing is "rich voiced". and that "it was quite common for musicians to attempt to play tunes beyond their style and capabilities, not so with Carmel, who, although a master, still plays within a comfortable range with music that suits her style and personality. This talented lady is an accomplished singer and composer, as well as a dynamic musician"..
Another reviewer of her music noted that "no modern tin whistler can escape comparison to Mary Bergin
, and Carmel's playing does indeed remind some of the Dublin-born star. If anything, however, Gunning plays reels with a more insistent headlong drive. Her ornamentation is also more diverse, featuring many tongued triplets in imitation of the bowed embellishments popular among Sligo fiddlers".
.
Gunning has played Irish music around the world playing concerts from Norway
to Australia
and from America
to Japan
. In 2006, Gunning lead the St. Patrick's Day parade and played a number of concert in Perth, Australia
and in March 2007 she undertook a tour of Massachusetts
, USA where she played a various venues giving masterclasses to experienced student and playing concerts.
, Europe
and the United States
.
She has also worked hard to pass on the Sligo musical tradition to younger players and recently celebrated her 25th anniversary as a music teacher. Alumni of her Carmel Gunning School of Music include flute
and whistle masters Liam Kelly of the group Dervish
, Olivia McTiernan and June Ní Chormaic, Kyle Moynagh, Aisling McPhillips, Loretto Clarke, Edel Giblin, Patricia Burns, Caroline Burns, Orlaith MacAuliffe among others.
"Corran Hill", released in 2008. This is Carmel Gunnings 5th solo CD. It is a mixture of contemporary and Irish music and song.
Track list:
Carmel is accompanied on her CD by Brendan Emmett and Paul Gurney. Special Guest: Orlaith MacAuliife, London.
She also brought out another book – a book of songs entitled "The Maid of Sweet Gurteen" which was published by Coleman Heritage Centtre in 2007 while she worked there.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, from Sligo
Sligo
Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is sometimes referred to as a city, and sometimes as a town, and is the second largest urban area in Connacht...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Gunning is one of Ireland's most accomplished tin whistle
Tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
players who is also known for her singing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
and flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
playing. Gunning's rich stylised form of whistle playing and tradition stems from her homeland of Geevagh
Geevagh
Geevagh is a village in the south-east corner of County Sligo, Ireland, on the R284 regional road. The name, meaning "the windy ", accurately describes the characteristic climatic feature of the village and its surrounding countryside...
in South County Sligo. This background and tradition aided Gunning's introduction to traditional Irish music which took place at an early age.
Musical beginnings
Gunning was introduced to traditional Irish music as a child when her father, Tom Nangle, would teach her old tunes by liltingLilting
Lilting is a form of traditional singing common in the Gaelic speaking areas of Ireland and Scotland. It goes under many names, and is sometimes referred to as "mouth music", diddling, jigging, chin music or cheek music), puirt a beul in Scottish Gaelic, Canterach, or portaireacht bhéil in Irish...
or whistling them to her.
In 1969 she sang in her first band, "Carmel and the Chrystals", and played at local dances in Keadue
Keadue
Keadue, officially Keadew , is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is on the R284 and R285 regional roads close to the borders of County Leitrim and County Sligo....
, Geevagh
Geevagh
Geevagh is a village in the south-east corner of County Sligo, Ireland, on the R284 regional road. The name, meaning "the windy ", accurately describes the characteristic climatic feature of the village and its surrounding countryside...
, Boyle
Boyle, County Roscommon
Boyle is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located at the foot of the Curlew Mountains near Lough Key in the north of the county. Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery, the Drumanone Dolmen and the popular fishing lakes of Lough Arrow and Lough Gara are also close by...
and surrounding areas. Playing in the band with Gunning was her brother, Tom Nangle Jnr., Tony Mullaney, Kevin Conlon and his brother. Gunning won the All-Ireland tin whistle
Tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
slow airs competition at the Fleadh Cheoil
Fleadh Cheoil
The Fleadh Cheoil is an Irish music competition run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann or more commonly known as "Comhaltas" ....
in 1976 and senior Scór
Scór
Scór is a division of the Gaelic Athletic Association charged with promotion of cultural activities, and the name of a series of annual competitions in such activities.Rule 4 of the GAA's official guide reads:...
title for "Music Instrument" section, which incorporates all musical instruments used in traditional Irish music including the fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, uileann pipes accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
and harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
as well as the tin whistle
Tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
.
Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s Gunning could be regularly found with P.J. Hernon, Mick Shannon, Joe O'Dowd and others at the famous sessions which took place at the Trades Club in Sligo Town.
Musical style
Gunning is noted for her fast-paced tin whistleTin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
style common of fiddle, flute and tin whistle player of the "South Sligo" tradition or style. Gunning's reputation in the wider world was expanded by the release of her first solo recording, The Lakes of Sligo, which features four unaccompanied songs as well as 14 tracks of virtuosic tin whistle playing.
One reviewer noted that "the music she plays is in a matured and confident manner" and singing is "rich voiced". and that "it was quite common for musicians to attempt to play tunes beyond their style and capabilities, not so with Carmel, who, although a master, still plays within a comfortable range with music that suits her style and personality. This talented lady is an accomplished singer and composer, as well as a dynamic musician"..
Another reviewer of her music noted that "no modern tin whistler can escape comparison to Mary Bergin
Mary Bergin
Mary Bergin is an Irish folk musician who is widely acknowledged as one of the great masters of the tin whistle. She plays in both the Irish Traditional and Baroque styles.- Biography :...
, and Carmel's playing does indeed remind some of the Dublin-born star. If anything, however, Gunning plays reels with a more insistent headlong drive. Her ornamentation is also more diverse, featuring many tongued triplets in imitation of the bowed embellishments popular among Sligo fiddlers".
Teaching and instructing
Gunning has instructed BA music students at the University of LimerickUniversity of Limerick
The University of Limerick is a university in Ireland near the city of Limerick on the island's west coast. It was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and became a university by statute in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989...
.
Gunning has played Irish music around the world playing concerts from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and from America
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. In 2006, Gunning lead the St. Patrick's Day parade and played a number of concert in Perth, Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and in March 2007 she undertook a tour of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, USA where she played a various venues giving masterclasses to experienced student and playing concerts.
Carmel Gunning International Summer School
In addition, Carmel is the organiser and director of music for the Carmel Gunning International Summer School Festival of Irish Music Song and Dance, which is held annually in August in Sligo Town. Gunning founded the festival in the 1990s and it attracts pupils from across Ireland, BritainUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
She has also worked hard to pass on the Sligo musical tradition to younger players and recently celebrated her 25th anniversary as a music teacher. Alumni of her Carmel Gunning School of Music include flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
and whistle masters Liam Kelly of the group Dervish
Dervish (band)
Dervish are a traditional Irish music group from County Sligo, Ireland. They were formed in 1989 by Liam Kelly, Shane Mitchell, Martin McGinley, Brian McDonagh and Michael Holmes. The band was originally formed to record an album of local music which was later released as “The Boys of Sligo”. They...
, Olivia McTiernan and June Ní Chormaic, Kyle Moynagh, Aisling McPhillips, Loretto Clarke, Edel Giblin, Patricia Burns, Caroline Burns, Orlaith MacAuliffe among others.
Albums
- The Lakes of Sligo (1995)
- Around St.James's Well (1995)
- Carmel Sings Country (2002)
- The Sligo Maid (2004)
- Lament For The Birds Jack Harte Featured Appearance (2005)
- The Sound of Coleman Country Various Artists Featured Appearance (2006)
- Corran Hill (2008)
Albums and Tracklists
| Information |
|---|
The Lakes of Sligo
|
| Around St.James's Well
Uilleann pipes The uilleann pipes or //; ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland, their current name, earlier known in English as "union pipes", is a part translation of the Irish-language term píobaí uilleann , from their method of inflation.The bag of the uilleann pipes is inflated by means of a... ), Vincent Harrison (fiddle Fiddle The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music... ), Mark Kelly (guitar Guitar The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... ) and Eric Doyle and Ronald Flanagan on bodhran.
|
Carmel Sings Country
|
| The Sligo Maid
Piano The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... and Junior Davey on Bodhran Bodhrán The bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side... .
|
Lament For The Birds
|
| The Sound of Coleman Country
Peter Horan Peter Horan is an Irish flute and fiddle player who is known for having developed a unique style influenced by the local irish fiddling tradition. He was called "one of the country's best known flute and fiddle players" when he died.For nearly 30 years performed as a duet with the famous fiddler... , John Dwyer John Dwyer John Dwyer may refer to:*John Dwyer *John Dwyer , 19th-century baseball player*John Dwyer , American*John Dwyer , Australian*John M. Dwyer, set decorator*John Dwyer... , Collette Gaffney, Colm O'Donnell, Verona Ryan, Kevin Henry, Junior Davey, Hazel Shannon and Declan Folan
|
"Corran Hill", released in 2008. This is Carmel Gunnings 5th solo CD. It is a mixture of contemporary and Irish music and song.
Track list:
- Song: Erin Gra Mo Chroi.
- Song: An Greasai Brog.
- Flings: Were You at the Fair
- Song: Donal Og.
- Song: Around St. James's Well.
- Slow Air:An Chulfhionn.
- Song: Katie Daly.
- Reels:The Moving Cloud/The Old Bush.
- Song: The Exile Far Away.
- Reels Jean's Reel/Colonel Frazer's.
- Song: The Geevagh Prisoners.
- Jigs: Roger Sherlock's/Corran Hill (own composition)
Carmel is accompanied on her CD by Brendan Emmett and Paul Gurney. Special Guest: Orlaith MacAuliife, London.
Books
| Information |
|---|
The Mountain Top
|
Podcasts
You can hear an interview with Carmel recorded in May 2010 at http://www.podcasts.ie/featured-musicians/carmel-gunning/See also
- Celtic musicCeltic musicCeltic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
- Irish Recorded Music AssociationIrish Recorded Music AssociationIrish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:...
- Irish topics
- Irish traditional music sessionIrish traditional music sessionIrish traditional music sessions are mostly informal gatherings at which people play Irish traditional music. The Irish language word for "session" is seisiún...
External links
- Dervish The hard-touring Sligo based contemporary Irish music collective.
- Celtic Grooves
- The Irish Traditional Music Tune Index A searchable database of traditional dance tunes which identifies sources for tunes on commercial recordings and in tune books.
- TheSession.org
- The Irish Music Review