Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
As part of my ongoing attempt to learn the viola da gamba, I arranged the following pieces to practice double stops and chords.
00:00 The Standard of Ireland: I have not been able to find any lyrics to this song.
01:25 The Pretty Maid Milking Her Cow: a song about love at first sight.
03:43 The Little Heathy Hill: apparently an instrumental.
05:23 The Little Girl of My Heart: a song about a man who keeps putting off his engagement to a woman who wants to marry him.
07:16 The Dawning of the Day: there seem to be several tunes by this name, one of which describes a chance meeting at dawn between a man and a woman. He proposes to her and she rebuffs him.
09:18 Bandon Bridge: the title refers to a bridge over the river Bandon in County Cork, but I haven't been able to find any lyrics to it.
10:40 The Sunny Bank: there is a Christmas carol by this name, but it is in 6/8 time rather than 3/4.
13:01 Castle Donovan: a 16th-century tower house in County Cork. I have not found any lyrics to this song.
15:28 General Monroe's Lamentation: Henry Monroe led an uprising in County Down against the British in 1798. After an initial success, he was defeated, arrested, and executed. The lyrics celebrating him are placed in the mouth of one of his soldiers.
17:47 The Parting Glass: a farewell song with the recurring line "Good night and joy be to you all."
As part of my ongoing attempt to learn the viola da gamba, I arranged the following pieces to practice double stops and chords.
00:00 The Standard of Ireland: I have not been able to find any lyrics to this song.
01:25 The Pretty Maid Milking Her Cow: a song about love at first sight.
03:43 The Little Heathy Hill: apparently an instrumental.
05:23 The Little Girl of My Heart: a song about a man who keeps putting off his engagement to a woman who wants to marry him.
07:16 The Dawning of the Day: there seem to be several tunes by this name, one of which describes a chance meeting at dawn between a man and a woman. He proposes to her and she rebuffs him.
09:18 Bandon Bridge: the title refers to a bridge over the river Bandon in County Cork, but I haven't been able to find any lyrics to it.
10:40 The Sunny Bank: there is a Christmas carol by this name, but it is in 6/8 time rather than 3/4.
13:01 Castle Donovan: a 16th-century tower house in County Cork. I have not found any lyrics to this song.
15:28 General Monroe's Lamentation: Henry Monroe led an uprising in County Down against the British in 1798. After an initial success, he was defeated, arrested, and executed. The lyrics celebrating him are placed in the mouth of one of his soldiers.
17:47 The Parting Glass: a farewell song with the recurring line "Good night and joy be to you all."
