Sliabh na mBan (Mountain of the Women)

 Sliabh na mBan  (aka the Mountain of the Women)

This is my all-time favorite air from Matt Cranitch’s The Irish Fiddle Book.  A CD can be purchased separately with 20 or more of the tunes from this tune collection. It is probably the "best book" available for teaching fiddlers how to bow phrases in Irish tunes so that they sound more athentically Irish. In listening to Matt Cranitch play this air on the CD, I noticed that measures 3, 7, 11, & 15 marked by an asterisk * were played more as 2/4 rather than as 3/4. I’ve notated it using two sections although it’s not printed that way in Matt’s  book. It’s in AA’BA’ form. In the 2nd section certain notes are held longer though no fermatas appear in the printed version in measures 4, 8, 12 & 16 (or 20, 24, 28, & 32). The air is performed  rubato (meaning “using rhythmic flexibility within a phrase or measure”). I hope that Matt won't begrudge me notating his version of the air. And...if you ever have the chance to be in a workshop he's teaching, "take it". It's tricky at first to use his bowing of this air but, believe me, it'll be worth your while to try it his way. Persevere!!

 

M: 3/4 varies as it’s an air

L:1/8

K:G

 

u(3(DEF)|G4 c-A|B3-{cB}A (GB/2d/2)|"*"vg2(a{ba}g|f)/2d-B/2 c2B-c|!                                                                                                                                   

d3-e (d{ed}c)|B-GB3-d|"*"(c2{dc}B2)|A4 u(3(DEF)|!

vG4 (c{dc}A)|(B3{cB}A)(GB/2d/2)|"*"g2(a{ba}g|f)/2d-B/2 uc2B-c|!

ud3-e (d{ed}c)|B-G(c3{dc}A)|"*"G2-F2|vG4B-c||!

vd4(ef|g)B-c3d|v(f3{gf}e) d-A|{Bd}-B4D2|!

G4B-d|g-Bc3d|"*"u(f2{gf}e2)|d4u(3(DEF)|!

vG4(c{dc}A)|B3-{cB}A (GB/2d/2)|"*"g2(a{ba}g|f)/2d-B/2 {cd}c2B-c|!

ud3-e (d{ed}c)|B-G(c3{dc}A)|"*"G2-F2|G4||!

 

Tune: 
T: Sliabh na mBan (The Mountain of the Women) M: 3/4 L:1/8 S: Matt Cranitch's THE IRISH FIDDLE BOOK u(3(DEF)|G4 c-A|B3-{cB}A (GB/2d/2)|"*"g2(a{ba}g|f)/2d-B/2 uc2B-c|! ud3-e (d{ed}c)| B-GB3-d|"*"(c2{dc}B2)|A4 u(3(DEF)|! vG4 (c{dc}A)|(B3{cB}A) (GB/2d/2)|"*"g2(a{ba}g|f)/2d-B/2 uc2B-c|! ud3-e (d{ed}c)|B-G(c3{dc}A)|"*"G2-F2|vG4B-c||! vd4(ef|g)B-c3d|v(f3{gf}e) (dA)| {Bd}B4D2|! vG4B-d|g-Bc3d|"*"u(f2{gf}e2)|d4(3(DEF)|! vG4(c{dc}A)|B3-{cB}A (GB/2d/2)|*g2(a{ba}g|f)/2d-B/2 c2B-c|! ud3-e (d{ed}c)|B-G(c3{dc}A)|*G2-{AG}F2|vG4||!