Karen Ashbrook

1. Kimiad - The beautiful place of my childhood, my country. 

Beautiful Lower Brittany. To me, this song feels like the eternal lap of ocean waves against the coasts of the seven Celtic nations. I often use it for calming the mood in the room when I begin playing at the hospital. I first found the melody in a collection of international tunes, Whistle Around the World, by Larry McCullough, on Oak Publications. The full name is Kimiad ar soudart yaouank (Farewell of the young soldier). This 19th century song is an anti-war song, sung from the perspective of a young soldier dying on the battlefield, reminiscing over his home in Brittany. You can find several wonderful versions of the Breton harper, Alan Stivell, singing it on youtube. Here's a lovely one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yEZL3kZF2M 

2. Catherine Martin/Air de Carnac 

The first tune was composed by the famous Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738). The second tune comes from the French Celts in Brittany. Carnac is an area in Brittany famous for its Neolithic standing stones and beaches. 

3. Welsh Lullabies - Mi Gysgu Di 'Mban/ Tôn Garol 

The Welsh Lullabies were taught to me late one night at the Nonsuch Dulcimer Festival in Malvern, England, by the Welsh flute player, Andy McLauchlin. When I wrote to him in panic the night before my recording session that I had inadvertently changed time signatures on Suo Gân, he assured me that "Traditional tunes are fluid things which have cheerful disregard for niceties of time signature and geographical borders." My version of the first tune is a combination of Andy's and the group Plethyn's.

4. Suo Gân  

 This is a beautiful Welsh lullaby, usually sung in 4/4 time, but I came across a bagpipe version in 3/4 and was drawn to its flowing nature. It is often used in Celtic Christmas services and was also popularized in the 1987 Steven Spielberg movie, Empire of the Sun.

Here is a combination of my favorite translations from the Welsh: 

5. John O'Dwyer of the Glen  - Séan Ó Duibhir A' Ghelanna 

This is a beloved Irish air, dating back to the mid-17th century. For the morning dawn will wing us across the sea. 

6. Little Red Lark - Ushag Veg Ruy (A Part traditional Manx/ B Part ©2019, Karen Ashbrook) 

This tune shows up often in Manx repertoire, but I first learned it from Jo Morrison's book Beginning Harper's Tunebook, Triharpskel Productions, 2003. The book is a wonderful collection of beautiful Celtic airs. The protagonist is a bird that is having a wretched time trying to sleep, until she finally finds comfort sleeping between two leaves. 

From Suantraighe, A Collection of Celtic Lullabies: