This tune was composed before 1728 by blind Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan (1670–1738). It was written as an air; waltzes did not yet exist. The tune and words of the song that went with it were dedicated to Frances, the daughter of O'Carolan's patrons David and Elizabeth Power of Coorheen in Loughrea, County Galway. She was long-lived and survived until 1793.
Sheebeg Sheemore (Sí Bheag Sí Mhór) - D MajorWaltz, Airi
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D
GA7
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A
D(Bm)
D(Bm)
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Bm
Bm
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A
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AD
GA
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DA
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Tune Information
Author: Turlough O'Carolan
Origin: Ireland
Although played as a waltz now, this was written as an air before waltzes even existed, by legendary blind Irish harpist Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738). It appears to be an adaptation and expansion of an older piece called An Chuaichín Mhaiseach (The Bonny Cuckoo). It was probably O'Carolan's first composition, while he lived at the house of his first patron Squire George Reynolds of Lough Scur at Letterfain in County Leitrim. Reynolds was himself a harper and poet, and he encouraged O'Carolan to work on his composition skills. The inspiration for the tune was a story told to O'Carolan by Reynolds about Sí Bheag and Sí Mhór, two faerie mounds located near Lough Scur. According to legend, these mounds were the site of a great faerie battle, resulting in the defeat of Finn McCool and his Fianna. The mounds were said to have been topped by ancient ruins, with fairy castles underneath where fallen heroes from the war were buried. These castles were part of the underground world into which the supernatural race Tuatha Dé (later called Aos Sí) retreated by treaty with the invading Milesians, who became the modern Irish people. The fairy mounds were likely ancient conical heaps of stones and earth called motes or raths, built in the Neolithic for ritual and/or burial purposes. Thus, the story may be a connection to events that occurred in prehistory. Squire Reynolds is supposed to have been much pleased by the composition, as have many people since.
This tune was written by Pete Jung in 1985. "I wrote this while playing the mandolin, on the way back home from a Brattleboro (VT) Dawn Dance, at about 7 A.M. I wrote it for a particular woman who has an enchanting but elusive quality — that was what I was trying to convey."