Songs that Celebrate Our Natural World

An anthology of English, Irish,
and Scottish traditional music
selected and arranged by Dorothy Barth

To introduce Green, a draft of the Preface is reproduced below.

"The absorbing hours spent perusing, selecting, and arranging Celtic music has inspired numerous themes for my anthologies. Green, is my sixth volume of duo arrangements and focuses on songs that celebrate our natural world. The many songs whose titles contain references to hills, valleys, rivers, mountains, groves, and flowers reflect the Celtic reverence for and delight in the beauty of their lands. Although many of these songs are hundreds of years old, their allure is especially relevant today as we struggle with environmental challenges that would have been unimaginable then.

As in previous collections, I drew the source tunes from O’Neill’s Music of Ireland, the Gow Collection of Scottish Dance Music, and Playford’s Dancing Master. I’ve kept the melodies true to their source, though as always I grant myself liberty to switch the tune between the two instruments, change octaves, and add embellishments on repeats--something that would also be done in spontaneous performance.

These arrangements were conceived for recorder and violin but may also be played on flute and violin or two violins. In this volume, the suggested recorder range is indicated, but the adaptable recorder player may experiment with different ranges. We prefer the soprano recorder (which sounds an octave higher than written) on reels, jigs, and hornpipes and the tenor recorder (or alto recorder depending on range) for slower, lyrical pieces. 

Below are some additional performance ideas:

• Repeat these songs as often as the spirit guides you. Most are fairly short and enjoy repetition, especially if you add or change embellishments on the repeats. 
• String together several tunes with similar keys to make a medley.
• If using two different instruments, consider swapping parts on the repeats if each part is within range.
  
• Let the tempo suggestions (slow, lively, etc). be a general guide to express this music. Where these suggestions are written, they were listed in the source material. However, there are many interpretations of any piece, and the freedom that folkloric music gives offers the instrumentalist an opportunity to be creative. For that reason, I've not inserted precise tempo markings.
  

May the music accompany your celebration of our Earth."

Green Table of Contents

Streams and Shores
Ben Lomond
Beside a Silvery Stream
The Banks of Banna
The Banks of Dunmore
The Banks of the Black Water 
The Banks of the Shannon
Down by the Riverside
On the Bank of Flowers
The Flowers of Erin's Green Shore
The Mourne Shore 
The Streams of Bunclody

Hills and Valleys
Bonny Highland Hills
The Fair Hills of Eire O!
The Flowers of the Valley
The Little Heathy Hill
The Mountain Top
The Mountains of Pomeroy
The Enchanted Valley
The Peace of the Valley 
The Rushy Mountain 

Caves and Rocks
Beside the White Rocks
The Brink of the White Rocks
The Caves of Cong

Sun and Moon
Glory of the Sun
The Rising of the Moon 

The arranger amidst the greenery of the Princess Resort,  San Diego 

purchase the sheet music