McKay, Elegy for MacCrimmon

Conall McKay, Elegy for MacCrimmon

for solo guitar

This piece is based on the old piping lament and Gaelic folk song Cumha Mhic Criomain, also known as Tuireadh Mhic Criomain. 

The beautiful original melody is quoted in various forms and interspersed with new, but related, material. I have incorporated drone and guitar effects, a section in an energetic rhythm (perhaps suggestive of a battle scene), as well as moments of serenity.

I am very fond of Cumha Mhic Criomain, having sung it as a child with my mother and brother, when we lived for a time on the Isle of Skye. The song has a connection to the island: it relates to the loss of the famous Skye piper Dòmhnall Bàn Mac Criomain in 1746. Authorship of the original words is uncertain but perhaps they are by the piper’s sister or by Tormod Mac Leòid (1782-1862)

Conall McKay,  July 2024

• Product: Self-Print (PDF) or Print on Demand
• Pages: 16 pages
• Level: Intermediate 
• Order number: BE-241013
  
• ISMN 979-0-706842-04-2