PS 135 – Lament for the Harp Tree

      Cumha Chraobh nan Teud

      Cumha Chrann nan Teud

Primary Sources

C2 McLeod’s Lament C2.51: 112
The Lament for the Tree of Hundreds R.2: 2r
D2 Cumhadh Chraobh na ‘n Cheud / a Lament for the Tree of Hundreds D2.37: 207
Dj Cumadh Chraobh na’n’ Cheud Dj.30: 36
KB Cumha Chraobh na’n Teud / The Lament for the Harp Tree KB.37: 85

Notes on Gaelic Titles

Cumha Chraobh nan Teud  The Lament for the Tree of Hundreds R; Cumhadh Chraobh na’n Cheud / a Lament for the Tree of Hundreds D2; Cumadh Chraobh na’n’ Cheud Dj; Cumha Chraobh na’n Teud / The Lament for the Harp Tree KB. Lament for the tree of strings. The form ‘…tree of hundreds’ noted by Donald MacDonald (D2) and his pupil Peter Reid (R) is consistent with MacDonald’s …Chraoibh nan cheud. A different emendation Cumha Chrann nan Teud, ‘Lament for the Harp Key (= key of the strings = tuning key)’ was proposed by W. Matheson, The Blind Harper, The Scottish Gaelic Texts Society, Edinburgh (1970), p. 157. Initial Ch for teud perhaps represents an English way of expressing Gaelic t before e.

Roderick Cannon (2009)

Archive Recording

1960 Pipe Major John D Burgess MBE

Other Material

Arrangement for Highland clarsach by Barnaby Brown in collaboration with Bill Taylor (2015)
William Donaldson’s Set Tunes Notes (2012)

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