back prev next Irish harp terms from Bunting
from Edward Bunting, Ancient Music of Ireland (Dublin 1840)
Irish glaslúth spoken by Gráinne Yeats Scottish Gaelic glas-luath spoken by Tony Dilworth Click the play button to hear it spoken. help This figure is the first in a series of four right hand (bass) chords given on page 27. All are arpeggiated downwards and this is pointed out in the text. Each is given in two alternative positions on the harp but using the same intervals and fingerings. Simon Chadwick 2008 Glasluth - Quick locking The English here is an erroneous translation, because it understands glas as 'lock' and luth as 'quick': a genuine Irish compound would have the elements in the reverse order. In fact the word is probably another compound of lúth like those in nos Barrluth, Barrluth beal an-airde, Casluth and Barrluth fosgailte, where that word denotes a 'variation' or 'movement' of some kind, and here evidently 'a chord'. The meaning of the first element, glas, is not immediately obvious, but glas, 'a lock' is a possibility (see Scottish Gaelic Studies XIX [1999], p.184). Colm Ó Baoill 2002
Click the play button to hear it spoken. help
This figure is the first in a series of four right hand (bass) chords given on page 27. All are arpeggiated downwards and this is pointed out in the text. Each is given in two alternative positions on the harp but using the same intervals and fingerings.
Simon Chadwick 2008
Glasluth - Quick locking
The English here is an erroneous translation, because it understands glas as 'lock' and luth as 'quick': a genuine Irish compound would have the elements in the reverse order. In fact the word is probably another compound of lúth like those in nos Barrluth, Barrluth beal an-airde, Casluth and Barrluth fosgailte, where that word denotes a 'variation' or 'movement' of some kind, and here evidently 'a chord'. The meaning of the first element, glas, is not immediately obvious, but glas, 'a lock' is a possibility (see Scottish Gaelic Studies XIX [1999], p.184).
Colm Ó Baoill 2002
