J David Hester, PhD
30 January 2015
These tunes are finger execises, also known as preludes. A prelude represents warm up pieces to prepare the instrument, the performer and the audiences for the more formal and heavier piece(s) to follow. There are very few of them extant in our collection.
Introductory Material, MacKay Book (Deuchainn Ghleus)
PS 50 A Prelude: Hioemto Hinem 8-pitch, Free Lyrical
PS 127 A Prelude: Hihorodo hioenoem 8-pitch, Free Lyrical
PS 146 A Prelude, or Lament for Dunyvaig Castle 7-pitched, Interlaced
There should be for the student a copy of Joseph MacDonald’s examples of tuning preludes, to illustrate what the term meant inn the middle of the 18th century. It is much more detailed than Angus MacKay’s example.
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