Carmel Gunning
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Carmel Gunning is an Irish composer and musician, from
Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...
, Ireland. Gunning is one of Ireland's most accomplished
tin whistle The tin whistle, also known as the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, a class of instrument which also includes the recorder and Native American flute. A tin whistle player is called a whistl ...
players who is also known for her singing and
flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
playing and also plays guitar and button accordion. Gunning's rich stylised form of whistle playing and tradition stems from her homeland of
Geevagh Geevagh () is a village in the south-east corner of County Sligo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the R284 road, R284 Regional road (Ireland), regional road. The name, meaning "the windy (place)", describes a climatic feature of the village a ...
in South County Sligo. This background and tradition aided Gunning's introduction to traditional Irish music which took place at an early age.


Musical beginnings

Gunning was introduced to traditional Irish music as a child when her father, Tom Nangle, would teach her old tunes by lilting or whistling them to her. In 1969 she sang in her first band, ''"Carmel and the Chrystals"'', and played at local dances in
Keadue Keadue, officially Keadew (), is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is on the R284 and R285 regional roads close to the borders of County Leitrim and County Sligo. Keadue is the burial place of the great Irish harper, Turlough O'Ca ...
,
Geevagh Geevagh () is a village in the south-east corner of County Sligo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the R284 road, R284 Regional road (Ireland), regional road. The name, meaning "the windy (place)", describes a climatic feature of the village a ...
, Boyle and surrounding areas. Playing in the band with Gunning was her brother, Tom Nangle Jnr., Tony Mullaney, Kevin Conlon and his brother. Gunning won the
All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...
tin whistle The tin whistle, also known as the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, a class of instrument which also includes the recorder and Native American flute. A tin whistle player is called a whistl ...
slow airs competition at the
Fleadh Cheoil The Fleadh Cheoil (), or "music festival" in English, is an annual Ireland, Irish arts festival and competition run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Irish pronunciation: Help:IPA/Irish, koːl̪ˠt̪ˠəsˠ ˈcoːl̪ˠt̪ˠoːɾʲiː ˈeːɾ ...
in 1976 and senior Scór title for ''"Music Instrument"'' section, which incorporates all musical instruments used in traditional Irish music including the fiddle, uilleann pipes, accordion and harp as well as the
tin whistle The tin whistle, also known as the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, a class of instrument which also includes the recorder and Native American flute. A tin whistle player is called a whistl ...
. Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s Gunning could be frequently found with P. J. Hernon, Mick Shannon, Joe O'Dowd and others at the famous sessions which took place at the Trades Club in
Sligo Town Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...
.


Musical style

Gunning is noted for her fast-paced
tin whistle The tin whistle, also known as the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, a class of instrument which also includes the recorder and Native American flute. A tin whistle player is called a whistl ...
style common of fiddle, flute and tin whistle of the ''"South Sligo"'' tradition or style. Gunning's reputation in the wider world was expanded by the release of her first solo recording, ''The Lakes of Sligo'', which features four unaccompanied songs as well as 14 tracks of virtuosic tin whistle playing. A reviewer of her music noted that "no modern tin whistler can escape comparison to Mary Bergin, and Carmel's playing does indeed remind some of the Dublin-born star. If anything, however, Gunning plays reels with a more insistent headlong drive. Her ornamentation is also more diverse, featuring many tongued triplets in imitation of the bowed embellishments popular among Sligo fiddlers".


Teaching and instructing

Gunning has tutored MA and BA music students at the
University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...
. She recently celebrated her 45th anniversary as a music teacher in 2014 and has endeavoured to pass on the Sligo musical tradition to younger players. Among former pupils of the Carmel Gunning School of Music is
flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
and whistle master Liam Kelly of the group
Dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...
, Orlaith McAuliffe, London, Olivia McTernan and June McCormack among others. She has played Irish music around the world playing concerts from
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to Australia and from
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to Japan. In 2006, Gunning lead the St. Patrick's Day parade and played a number of concerts in
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, Australia and in March 2007 she undertook a tour of
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, USA where she played a various venues giving masterclasses to experienced student and playing concerts.Lansdowne Luncheon – St Patrick’s Day 2006 – Events
/ref> She is the organiser of Carmel Gunning School of Music,
Sligo Town Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...
. Gunning founded a summer school festival in the 1990s and it attracts pupils from across Ireland, the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States.


Discography


Albums

*''The Lakes of Sligo'' (1995) *''Around St. James's Well'' (1995) *''Carmel Sings Country'' (2002) *''The Sligo Maid'' (2004) *''Lament for the Birds'' Jack Harte Featured Appearance (2005) *''The Sound of Coleman Country'' Various Artists Featured Appearance (2006) *''Corran Hill'' Cathair Shligigh.(2019)


Albums and track lists

"Corran Hill", released in 2008. This is Carmel Gunnings 5th solo CD. It is a mixture of contemporary and Irish music and song. Track list: #Song: Erin Gra Mo Chroi. #Song: An Greasai Brog. #Flings: Were You at the Fair #Song: Donal Og. #Song: Around St. James's Well. #Slow Air:An Chulfhionn. #Song: Katie Daly. #Reels:The Moving Cloud/The Old Bush. #Song: The Exile Far Away. #Reels Jean's Reel/Colonel Frazer's. #Song: The Geevagh Prisoners. #Jigs: Roger Sherlock's/Corran Hill (own composition) Carmel is accompanied on her CD by Brendan Emmett and Paul Gurney. Special Guest: Orlaith McAuliffe, London.


Books


The book was launched at The Coleman Music Centre, Gurteen,
County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...
. It contains over sixty tunes popular in South Sligo and beyond with design and setting by Adrienne Lee. Shamrocks from Geevagh . This book of 40 songs was published by Carmel Gunning in 2019. The Sligo Maid – this book was published by Carmel Gunning in 2019 and consists of 64 of her compositions to mark her 50th year in the music industry.


Podcast

Interview with Carmel Gunning recorded in May 2010 at http://www.podcasts.ie/featured-musicians/carmel-gunning/


See also

*
Celtic music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celts (modern), Celtic people of Northwestern Europe (the modern Celtic nations). It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and ...
*
Irish Recorded Music Association The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) is a non-profit association set up in 1999 to promote certain interests of the music industry in Ireland. It is particularly active in addressing copyright issues, and it compiles the official music ...
*
Irish topics ''This page aims to list articles related to the island of Ireland. This list is not necessarily complete or up to date; if you see an article that should be here but is not (or one that should not be here but is), please update the page according ...
*
Irish traditional music session Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state *** Erse (disambiguati ...


References

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External links


Dervish
The Sligo-based contemporary Irish music collective.
The Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
A searchable database of traditional dance tunes which identifies sources for tunes on commercial recordings and in tune books.
TheSession.orgThe Irish Music Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunning, Carmel Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Irish women singers 21st-century Irish women singers Irish women flautists Irish folk singers Irish women songwriters Irish tin whistle players Living people Musicians from County Sligo 20th-century Irish flautists 21st-century Irish flautists People from Geevagh 20th-century Irish songwriters 21st-century Irish songwriters 1960s in Irish music 1970s in Irish music 1980s in Irish music 1990s in Irish music 2000s in Irish music 2010s in Irish music 2020s in Irish music