The Complete Carolan Songs and Airs arranged by Caitriona Rowsome Book and CDs

For lever or pedal harp.

This is the definitive harp book on Turlough Carolan. Starting from Donal O'Sullivan's 1958 classic study of Carolan and his music, Irish harper Caitriona Rowsome has expanded on the information and made it even more relevant for harp players.

Whereas O'Sullivan's book includes the melody line for all 226 tunes written by or attributed to Carolan, Caitriona's book includes 2-handed harp arrangements of each of the tunes. Most of the arrangements are for beginning to advanced beginning harp players, so they are accessible for everyone! She's even included the lyrics where applicable. An added bonus is a set of 4 CDs of Caitriona performing all 226 songs and airs. The arrangements are in the keys of 1 flat through 3 sharps, with no fingerings, and are suitable for piano as well as harp. Some of the pieces require lever changes, which are marked in the music.
This is an essential book for any Celtic harpist! 254 pages, paperbound, with 4 CDs.

Some of the subjects covered in the informative introduction include: Origin of airs and lyrics; Treatment of lyrics; Lyrics for patrons; Metric match; Historical English songs interpreting Carolan's verse; Musical influences; Use of ornamentation; The Carolan harp; Melody and accompaniment vs. harp and voice; How were Carolan's airs sung in the 18th century?; Irish harp festivals of the 18th century and style of playing; A brief biography and background; The character and the legacy; Bard "file" or "oirfideadh"; Settings of airs; Love, marriage and death; Authorship; and Conclusion.

Here's additional information from the back cover of the book.
This comprehensive collection gives a unique perspective to the music of the great Irish harper-composer, Turlough Carolan (1670-1738), Caitríona Rowsome has combined Carolan's surviving airs with sensitive and appropriate harp settings, metrically matching them with Carolan's surviving lyrics for the airs. Many of the airs are not commonly known as songs, and some include lyrics published here for the first time. For each of Carolan's Irish songs, an English interpretation is also provided. These are in the form of translations, paraphrases and, in some cases, English songs that give a context to -- and a broader understanding of -- Carolan's Irish verse.

The arrangements for the Irish harp of the 226 airs in this book vary from simple to complex and will suit a range of skill levels. Historical notes, detailing the intended recipients (much of Carolan's music was written in honour of patrons), are also provided, as well as an appendix and notes on ornamentation. The collection includes recordings of all 226 songs and airs, performed by Caitríona Rowsome.

Caitríona Rowsome was born in Dublin into a family that spans five generations of Irish traditional musicians. She studied Irish harp at the DIT College of Music in Dublin and taught there after earning her teaching diploma in 1990. Rowsome has also adjudicated harp competitions in Granard and taught the Irish harp for a number of years in Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann. An honours graduate of DCU with a B.Sc. in Computer Applications, she is a writer for their distance education programme, Oscail, and also paints in oils, drawing inspiration from her native Irish landscape and culture.