"Once upon a time there was a land where no one was in a hurry. People there liked to listen to slow music. Sometimes they listened to music so slow it did not seem to have any beat at all. It took many years to learn to play slow music. Students did not mind because they had all the time in the world. And so they threw themselves into perfecting their art, knowing that their efforts would be rewarded by the King and they would have a worthy livelihood. Armies invaded
and conquered this land. The king was defeated. With no one to support the musicians, slow music died. Factories opened and people got very busy and soon forgot all about slow music. Today that land is called “the Land of Dreams.”
When I listen to this music, I see two young girls with an old Indian man under a tent. One is playing the harp, the other is singing. The man is gazing at them both with total and utter amazement. A butterfly comes and lands on the girl playing the harp. There is cold water still on their feet from the waterfall and the adjoining lake. They are at peace with themselves for they do not know of televisions or radios. All they know is how to be young and to be free. This old man has taught them everything they know. He lies back and closes his eyes. This moment will last forever in their minds and in their eyes."

Nóirín Ní Thuama,
Scoil Mhuire,
Ballincollig,
Co. Cork

Some say that land is called Ancient Ireland. The Masters of music there were the Harp players and the singers. They called their slow music Sean Nos,
which meant “The Old Way.” You can still hear echoes of their music in “Trad” (Traditional Irish music—Jigs, reels and hornpipes). Something of their melodic patterns remains in this dance music. Some say that land was called India. The Masters were the Sitar players and the singers. The ragas of North India had a part called Alap which was played without a beat. A tune began with the sitar or other lead instrument playing without a fixed rhythm. Only after an hour or so
did the Tabla (drum) join in while the tune continued in a fixed rhythm. Almost nothing remains of this musical system today. Melody and Rhythm, Sitar and Tabla, all gone; a lost art. Recorded in Cork and Kolkata (Calcutta), this
CD is a tribute to the musicians of olden times and their music. Fine musicians from both traditions present their music in a way which, hopefully, is attractive to people today. We made an effort to remain true to both traditions. No electrical or electronic musical instruments or samples were used. We did not use any rhythm instrument. A raga is a melodic pattern. A Western scale restricts the musician to certain notes. A raga is a scale, with further restrictions. A note within the scale might be restricted depending on the note you just played and if your intended note is higher or lower on the scale. So one learns a pattern for ascending and for descending. A “main note” is to be played more frequently than other notes in that scale. Then there is the “secondary note.” Sometimes one particular note is to be used very sparingly. The musician learns all the restrictions
and within this framework is free to improvise. In olden times, learning, playing and listening to a particular raga was restricted to the particular time of day it was felt that raga suited. If you wanted to learn the Midnight raga Dharbari you had to
show up at the teachers place at midnight.

THE SONGS

1 Lark in the clear Air 10:16
The melody is a slow air collected by Lady
Ferguson in the West of Ireland. Words by
Samuel Ferguson (circa1850). (You can hear the
words on track 10). Theme and variation played
here on Sitar. Improvisation is in the Alap of the
late night raga Rageshri. The Alap is the freerhythm
part of a Raga and speeds up towards the
end, its rhythm remaining random.
Rageshri
D, N , S, G, M, D, N, S, N, D, M, G, M, R, S.

2 Moving On 5.51
In the tradition of the slow air, this original
composition by Edel Sullivan is performed by her
here on viola. The improvisation on sitar and
sarod is set in two ragas, Kafi and Hemavati.
Kafi
S, R, G, M, P, D, N, S, N ,D, P, M, G, R, S
Hemavati
N, S, G, M’ P, D, N ,S, N, D, P, M’, G, R, S

3 She Moves through the Fair 4. 35
The Melody was adapted by Herbert Hughes
from a traditional Irish Air. The words have been
attributed to Padraic Collum.

4 I’ll Walk beside you 12.29
by Edward Lockton & Alan Murray. This semi
classical song was popular with Irish tenors
and sopranos. Improvisation here in the late
night, pentatonic, raga Durga.
Durga
S, R, M, P, D,

5 Rights of Man 4.36
A hornpipe played here as a slow air. The sitar
plays the melody in the midnight raga Dharbari-
Kanada. Vocal improvisation is in Dharbari-
Kanada and Sindhu-Bhairavi.
Dharbari-Kanada
S, R, G, M, P, D, N, S, N, D, P, M,G, M, R, S.
Sindhu-Bhairavi is an early morning raga. It is a
semi-classical raga. All the flat notes may be
played straight also. It was often played to end a
performance, especially an all-night concert.
Sindhu-Bhairavi
S, R, G, M, P, D, N, S

6 Klanti Amar 3.27
A song in Bengali by the Nobel prize winning
poet Rabindranath Tagore. The University he set
up near Kolkata, called Shanti Niketan is one of
the few places where North Indian Classical
music is still taught.
This weariness, forgive me, my lord!
If ever, I fall behind in my journey.
My heart trembles in a strange fear
Forgive me that agony, forgive me my lord!
This impoverishment, forgive me, my lord!
If ever, I look behind;
In the heat of the day, in the blaze of the sun,
Your garland withers on the worship tray;
Forgive me that dullness, forgive me my lord!

7 Raglan Road 12.03
The Melody is an old Irish Air Fainne Gael an Lae
(The Dawning of the Day). Theme and variations
here on sitar using the Alap of the pentatonic
morning raga Bhupali.
Bhupali
S, R, G, P, D

8 Dure Kothai 2.45
A song by Rabindranath Tagore.
Away, somewhere far, far away
My mind moves around.
In endless tunes of the flute that makes the air
tearful
Along that way, my destitute heart
Yearns to travel to an unknown land.

9 Eamonn an Cnoic 4.39
A slow air. (trad)

10 Lark in the Clear Air (vocal) 5.54
Vocal and instrumental interpretation of the
song. Rag Rageshri.
D, N, S, G, M, D, N, S, N, D, M, G, M, R, S.