Seamus Sands

These audio clips were recorded by Seamus Sands for his albums Across Bridges, 2015 and A Deep Pool, 2018 and are presented here with his kind permission. The explanatory notes are taken from the album notes and written by Seamus himself.

Reel - The Blackbird

The first is my interpretation of a lovely Co. Down reel that is included in Nigel Boullier’s Handed Down book on Co. Down fiddle playing. Nigel learned the tune from fiddler Jackie Donnan and I feel the lovely melody suits being played slowly.

The Blackbird (Reel)Seamus Sands

00:00 / 01:47

Reel - Sleeping Maggie

Drowsy Maggie is perhaps one of the most commonly played session tunes, but this unusual 4-part version, titled Sleeping Maggie, comes from an undated manuscript of Co. Down fiddle player James Ward, who died in 1944. According to Nigel Boullier, Jimmy Ward was known for adding parts to tunes and it is possible that this version was his own creation. I like the fact that the unexpected third part at first doesn’t seem to fit but after a while it does seem to blend and give energy to the tune.

Sleeping Maggie (Reel)Seamus Sands

00:00 / 01:19

Figure Dance - Bessy Black

A six-part dance tune, also known as Betty Black, once common in Down and Armagh but no longer widely played. Not the typical rhythm of session tunes and I sometimes think the tune has a baroque feel to it, especially when played at a lower pitch, and I play it on a fiddle tuned down two tones. This version comes from my flute-player friend Dermot Rafferty and was recorded by his uncle, Hugh Savage, in 1952.

Bessy Black (Figure Dance)Seamus Sands

00:00 / 02:22

Reel - The Silvery Bar

The Silvery Bar is one of my own compositions and I play these tunes on the fiddle I made and for this last tune I’ve no excuses …..my fiddle, my tune, my playing!

The Silvery Bar (Reel)Seamus Sands

00:00 / 01:23

Reels - The Carrickmannon Lasses / The Wind that Shakes the Barley

I learned the first reel from Co Down fiddler Nigel Boullier during an enjoyable visit to share a few tunes. He collected it from fiddler Jackie Donnan who had learned it from fiddler Willie Savage. Carrickmannon is in Co. Down. The well-known Wind That Shakes the Barley is one of the first I learned from Co. Armagh fiddler Jimmy Burns and was a real favourite of the older players and ceili bands in the area. This is my interpretation of a quite ornate version in the Donnellan collection.

The Carrickmannon Lasses / The Wind that Shakes the Barley (Reels)Seamus Sands

00:00 / 02:45

Barndance - Jimmy Doyle's

Co. Down fiddle players Nigel and Dianna Boullier gave me the first barn dance after a very enjoyable day at their home exchanging stories and tunes. Nigel got the tune from his friend Jim Moore with whom he played weekly for over eight years. Jim in turn learned the tune from another Co. Down fiddle player, Jimmy Doyle, and Nigel includes it in his book Handed Down with some history regarding the player. There is a distinctive G-sharp note at the end of the second part that gives the tune something special and perhaps unexpected.

Jimmy Doyle's BarndanceSeamus Sands

00:00 / 01:27

Flings - Jimmy Ward's / Craigbuy House

On Across Bridges I included tunes from Co. Down fiddler Jimmy Ward (d.1944). I’ve enjoyed playing tunes from this player that were made available through Nigel Boullier’s work and this is another of his tunes that appeals to me. My source for the second tune is John Macpherson Mulhollan's A selection of Irish and Scots tunes collection (Edinburgh). The title may be an alternative spelling of Craigboy, a townland in Donaghadee, Co. Down. It appears next to The Donaghadee Hunt, which I also play on this recording.

Jimmy Ward's / Craigbuy House (Flings)Seamus Sands

00:00 / 02:31

Jig - The Donaghadee Hunt

The Mulhollan collection (Edinburgh) was my source for the second jig.

The Donaghadee HuntSeamus Sands

00:00 / 01:06

Figure Dance - The Sweets of May

The Sweets of May is a 3-part dance tune most associated with Co. Armagh. This Co. Down version appears in Handed Down and came from the playing of Jackie Donnan who learned it in the 1950s from Willie McCloy. Unlike other versions, it doesn’t have the first part repeated.

Figure Dance - The Sweets of MaySeamus Sands

00:00 / 02:14

Reel - The Grain of Tea

The Grain of Tea is another tune I sourced from Handed Down. In my earlier solo recording, I played an unusual version of The Cup of Tea….. here’s another tea-themed tune!

The Grain of TeaSeamus Sands

00:00 / 01:26

Mazurka - Rockin' the Cradle

I’m delighted to be joined by my three fiddle-playing daughters, representing a sixth generation of fiddlers, for these mazurkas. The last tune is one I first heard at a session in Drumnaquoile, Co. Down quite a few years ago. This last tune is included in Handed Down.

Mazurka - Rockin' the CradleSeamus Sands

00:00 / 01:20

Air / Hornpipe - The Besom / The Man from Newry

The Besom is a simple, but catchy, song and the first that my great-grandfather Sands taught his seven fiddle-player sons, including my grandfather. It was played and sung to me by Colum Sands who has words that start “As I was going to Newry …..” . The song with a similar chorus has links to Tyneside in the late 1700s and to Scotland. A version of the same tune appears in Levey’s 1858 Dance Music of Ireland as The Besom. The besom is a broom made of heather. The Man from Newry appears in O’Neill’s but isn’t a tune I ever heard when growing up in Newry!

The Besom / The Man from NewrySeamus Sands

00:00 / 02:40

Set Dance - The Old Lodge Road / Rodney's Glory

I grew up in Newry, a town bridging both counties Down and Armagh and many of the first tunes I learned there were set dances, which were played at a relaxed pace. The Old Lodge Road is one such tune that has remained with me from that time and it reminds me of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann sessions in the old Newry library in the mid ‘70s, with my father at my side to encourage, and the older players patiently sharing. A lot of the tunes were set dances, barn dances, marches, mazurkas and airs, many with a strong Scottish influence. Some of the local players that inspired at those sessions were Willie McSherry, Bertie Trodden, Paddy Rafferty, and Sean O’Driscoll. Rodney’s Glory is also one of my favourites and there is something that keeps bringing me back to both these tunes.

The Old Lodge Road / Rodney's GlorySeamus Sands

00:00 / 04:12