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Online Fiddle NewsletterThe
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O'Carolan's Receipt: How a Harp or Fiddle Tune Creates Unlimited ValueThe genius of Turloch O'Carolan flourished at the end of a long tradition of Irish bards and harpers. It was not a tradition that wrote down music. Like folk music, until recent times, the songs and tunes were memorized and transmitted directly, teacher to student, or performer to performer. In those days the culture of musical performance was largely in the control of the performers and the audiences. There were no massive marketing campaigns to tell anyone to pay attention to Turloch O'Carolan. Corporate control and big money had not seized this aspect of culture in the mid 18th century. The closest comparison today is in the independent music that is locally produced and promulgated through local concerts and the internet. It's the web that is creating new opportunities for artists. Publishing possibilities abound even for the smallest budget. In O'Carolan's day, music publishing was new. He did not personally write down his compositions, being blind. No doubt he had assistance. He was in a position to verify the accuracy of the writer of music notation when the piece was played as written. Today we have many of his tunes to choose from. They are unique and have a unifying character, his personal imprint as a composer. They have respect and appreciation, especially from Irish music fans, just as they did in his day. His best known piece is Sheebeg Sheemore, which is in 43 Fiddle Tunes in Tab. In second place could by Planxty Fanny Powers, but that's a guess. Several other tunes are in The Fiddlers' Fake Book, in standard music notation. Every one of these tunes has a beguiling, magnetic quality. They still command attention as they enchant the listener today, just as they did 250 years ago. Write a Tune, Pay a Bill Of particular interest in this essay is O'Carolan’s Receipt for Drinking. It's one of the Money Tunes, my big musical project this year. For the story, it appears that the renown harpist spent some time at an inn playing and entertaining the customers of that establishment. His lodging and meals were provided by the inn keeper for free. His cash flow came from tips. But, his beverages were provided by fans or kept on the tab. At the end of his stay he settled his bar tab with the inn keeper by composing a new tune as exchange. This is a tune we still have and enjoy today. The hidden value and power of art is illustrated by this story. We can see how the exchange between the inn keeper and O'Carolan was completely satisfactory. The musician did what he would like to do anyway, and was compensated on the spot by the dismissal of a debt. The innkeeper got recognition from the famous harpist, a celebrity endorsement, a fine piece of music, the good will of O'Carolan’s fans. But, this transaction, complete and balanced as it was, has a further implication. Many people have enjoyed that piece of music given to the inn keeper. And we have not been asked to pay anyone anything. This is a unique value of art as a good. Its value persists and often even grows through time. The satisfaction and enjoyment that Turloch O'Carolan got from downing pints of lager every night, for however many weeks it may have been, is ephemeral, insubstantial. His fair exchange for this is practically without limit in value, by comparison. Is it any surprise that the merchant princes wish to control and monopolize art and music. The leverage is enormous. Giving Up Lack Consciousness There are marketing consultants who caution against bartering art products. I have heard this advice more than once. The idea is that barter lowers the perceived monetary value of the product. It engenders, in the artist, a lack consciousness, "This is the only way I can get something for my art." That’s the argument. There is an error or fallacy here, in my opinion. The diminishment of value, in the perception of these marketing experts, is based on value created by fame and money. Art can have fame value and money value, just as anything can. And it also has that value which is unique to art. Sometimes it's called esthetic value, just to call it something, to identify it and differentiate it from other values. Art has esthetic value that can move people in their hearts, and continue to do so over a long period of time. That is the potential leverage of art. It is an icon of conscious communication that continues emitting its unique signal, almost indefinitely. This signal cannot be reduced to words. Can I express the same consciousness in words that is expressed by the performance of Carolan’s Receipt? Can any number of well chosen words, crafted and assembled by a master writer do that? I think not. Music, the Universal Art Of all the art products and kinds of art that we have, music is the one that communicates best beyond its cultural context. In a given culture, a particular music may be associated with a special dance on a special occasion. And yet, when we hear that music from our point of view, our understanding responds to the vibrations and rhythmic relationships of the music, just as the natives of that culture respond. We don’t have the cultural association, but we do have the musical response. For example, when we hear the national anthem of any country, we may be stirred by the uplifting inspiration, by the sentimental melody, by the martial character. Even without understanding the words, we get a glimpse of the patriotic nature conveyed. It may be martial, as in the French, devotional, as in the English, or sentimental, as in the German. That's the universal power of music that reaches out and grabs the listener. That's the clue from the O'Carolan tunes. His music embodies and conveys more than his particular genius. It encodes a lost tradition of bardic wisdom. Hearing it, perceiving it, and letting it transport us to that state of consciousness, allows us to expand beyond our limited personal experience into a larger realm of deep human experience and ancient knowledge.
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