Friday 3 August 2012

Time, please...



I think it's time to wrap up the experiment, and say thanks to everyone for the encouraging comments, as well as the stimulating discussions...

This project originated a long time ago with my attempts to follow the transcriptions in David Lyth's excellent book on the bowing styles of the great Munster players recorded between the 1960s and 1980s, which can be ordered here. Following the transcriptions without the recordings was an exercise in futility for someone who stumbles through written notation as I do, so I started to look for the recordings from which the transcriptions were taken. I soon discovered that most of the recordings listed at the front of the volume were long out of print, and I began to beg, borrow and buy copies, copies of copies, copies of copies of copies, anything I could listen to in order to understand the complexity and grace in the bowing of these incredible fiddle players.

I think I only used one or two transcriptions to advance my understanding of the bowing of the Munster players, but listening to the recordings changed my life, and brought about previously unimagined growth in the way that I play. I began to think that it was a terrible shame that this incredible music was so difficult to locate and, being an inveterate collector, and obsessive organiser, I began to collate and publish the material, so that other people could enjoy the beauty and grace that I found in these old recordings.

Many people have found joy in these recordings, and I hope you've enjoyed the music at least half as much as I have. But there are legal changes occurring in the world that I was naive enough to believe would never take place. I had hoped that the potential for personal publication facilitated by the internet would have revolutionised the ways in which digital information was managed from a legal perspective; that institutions of ownership would evolve to embrace the possibilities opened up by the free movement of information on a global scale. I expected to encounter at least a little resistance to this project, and I have been surprised by the absolute lack of legal interest shown in my flagrant disregard for copyright law. But, things no longer look quite so simple, and I no longer wish to take the risk involved in publishing this material, so as of today, it will no longer be available to download.

I apologise for any disappointment...


I'll still be available at pashadragutreis@yahoo.co.uk if anyone has any questions, thoughts, or suggestions.

26 comments:

  1. Thank you for everything you posted - and all the time and effort that went into the posts.

    It's all so beautiful and has made me really happy.

    :)

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  2. A very sad day. I hope you'll at least keep making the occasional post pointing people towards useful sources or even simply your thoughts on the music. The recordings I've downloaded have made a huge difference to my playing, and at least one artist to whom I've spoken was thrilled to learn that his recording was available somewhere, since the record label wasn't going to re-issue it. Thank you for all you've done for so many.

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  3. This has been a wonderful blog and there are all too few like you out there in internet-land.

    Go well and peacefully and please do come back if times become easier.

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  4. Go raibh maith agat!

    Frank Dalton
    Coatesville Traditional Irish Music Series
    Coatesville PA

    www.CTIMS.info

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  5. That's a shame, but well done and many thanks.

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  6. Thank you so much for all the wonderful music! I'd generally get more excited to find old recordings posted here than most new CDs coming out these days. I'm very sorry to hear that you consider it too difficult to continue. All the best, Sara

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  7. You should leave the links up. No one cares, really. They - "TPTB" - are taking the rather obvious route of simply putting the filelockers out business. The targets in question of course are dudes bootlegging Finding Nemo and Lady Gaga, whoever that is. Scratchy trad's more than a bit not on the menu.

    Scottish trad: The Music Gatherer.

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  8. Thanks for providing so many brilliant - and otherwise unavailable - recordings.

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  9. Thanks for the memories, hope to have a tune with you sometime soon.
    Paddy Joyce.

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  10. Yes, thanks so much. Wish I had downloaded everything before you closed up shop, but I got things I've been looking for for years. May you always be gladsome in your music!

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  11. Thank you so much for all you've done for us. You opened up hidden corners of this music that many of us would never have heard otherwise. You will be missed!

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  12. Sad news! Thanks so much for the huge and generous effort. Some wonderful music I just could not get elsewhere. I'm thankful and appreciative.

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  13. Sorry to see the blog go but thank you for all your hard work and generosity over the past few years. It has been a wonderful resource.

    All the best,

    Alistair

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  14. Thank you for all of the time and effort you expended in writing such an informative blog and providing truly wonderful music. I am very sorry to see you leave. There is no other blog like this on the web. Go raibh mille maith agat.

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  15. From a Highland piper to an Irish fiddler, my most sincere thanx. Since I found out about this blog, some good two years ago [was it that long?], I've created a new category in my iTunes library, 'Sliabh Luachra'. Glad to say it's a very bulky category, thanx to you and to this blog.

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  16. Thanks for the great job you've done! The music I've found here was amazing and made me even bigger trad music lover than before.

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  17. I can say no more than echo the words of all of my (virtual) friends above in my praise for what this site offered to those that loved and cared for Irish Traditional Music. You have brought to all our attentions these precious albums, long out of print and almost forgotten, that were only known to those of a certain age. Few were available to buy but, by virtue of the fact you were able to restore these historical gems to their former glory, we minor mortals can only bow to your perspicacity. I have learnt so many tunes from these albums, I can only thank you from the bottom of my heart for putting them up for sharing in the first place. Hail and farewell, a chara. Go ndeiridh an bothar leat.

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  18. Thank you for what you did. It was hugely enriching.

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  19. I can't thank you enough for all your efforts. Through your site I have been introduced to, learned from, and come to treasure music from recordings I never knew existed. If there's such a thing as a sommelier of the music, it would be you. Again, thank you so much, and enjoy your retirement! Beannacht, Cathy.

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  20. Thanks so much for your efforts!

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  21. Well it was GREAT while it lasted. Thank you thank you. Interesting to hear you got started wanting the recordings that available transcriptions came from: I've been typesetting a couple books of transcriptions taken from available recordings. If you have transcriptions taken from this goldmine (or if anyone else does) I'd love to hear about it!

    www.youtube.com/user/noonehadthisone/videos

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  22. Thanks so much for the recordings you shared. I really appreciate your effort and I'm really sorry to see this blog go, particularly for the reasons you seem to be shutting down.

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  23. I hope that everyone will take the same pledge I have with respect to their use of out of print recordings and books that have been made available from the internet or through photocopying:

    If and when an item I have thus acquired is in fact re-issued by the copyright holder, I shall purchase a copy.

    I did this with the Bulmer and Sharpley collection several years ago. I worked from a photocopy for several years, then acquired the three volumes that were re-issued just as soon as they became available.

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