Scél Lem Dúib - Old Irish Song

Music & vocals by Farya Faraji. This is my first attempt at a historical reconstruction of Irish music as it would have sounded like in the Middle-Ages, namely in the 9th century. The poem is from that period, but its writer is unkown. I consulted A.Z Foreman’s excellent channel to perform the lyrics with reconstructed historical pronunciation. This is the video where he recites the poem: I opted to use a mostly pentatonic melody with passages of diatonicism. This is due to the fact that pentatonicism is the human universal, and is most likely the oldest form of melody type to still be found on the island before continental influence brought in diatonicism, something far more rare than pentatonicism and specifically linked to Greco-Roman music theory given the current available evidence. This mixture of pentatonic passages with diatonic ones remains a staple of Irish music to this day. No harmony is used as harmony is not believed to have existed there before the advent of Organum, which would form the basics of modern European harmony as we find in today’s Irish music. For the instruments, I used a harp and a flute. The harp is well attested in the Middle-Ages, and would grow to become a representative instrument of Irish music, often linked to the Irish within foreign perception. A flute also accompanies the melody. For information and sources on the aforementioned concepts, you can check out my Epic Talking playlist. Lyrics in Old Irish: Scél lem dúib: dordaid dam; snigid gaim: ro fáith sam: Gáeth ard úar; ísel grían; gair a rrith; ruirthech rían; Rorúad rath; ro cleth cruth; ro gab gnáth giugrann guth. Ro gab úacht etti én;aigre ré; é mo scél. English translation (an alternate one from that in the video as there are many different translations): Here’s my story; winter’s come; sad stag roars; summer’s gone; High cold wind; low cold sun; swelling seas; strongly run; Rust red fern; in disguise; speckled goose croaks and cries; Birds don’t sing songs of glory; Ice wrapped wings; That’s my story.