Learning Manx songs made easy

Learning Manx songs made easy

Tue, 09 Jun 2020

Learning the traditional songs of the Isle of Man has never been easier thanks to a new release of 47 free audio tracks online.

Materials to learn sixteen Manx Gaelic songs have been released online by Culture Vannin, with sheet music, pronunciation guides, demonstrations and piano accompaniment now all freely available on the Culture Vannin website.

Singers can learn each song with the help of Annie Kissack who pronounces the Manx Gaelic lyrics and demonstrates how to perform it. In addition, there are piano accompaniments to sing along to at home. These piano accompaniments were arranged by Dr Fenella Bazin RBV for her Manx folk songbook Ree ny Marrey (published by Culture Vannin) and they are performed by Manx Music Development Officer for Culture Vannin, Dr Chloe Woolley.

Chloe said; “I often have enquiries from teachers who need assistance with pronouncing the Manx Gaelic songs, so a few years ago, Annie Kissack very kindly recorded some audio guides for the schools. We selected 16 songs from Ree ny Marrey, which is a lovely book of songs with simple piano accompaniments. The songs are suitable for singers of all ages though, and so we’re pleased to now share these resources with an even wider audience.”

Titles include a range of popular and lesser known songs; Ushag Veg Ruy, Birlinn Ghorree Chrovan, Cur dty Vainney, Manannan Song and Shiaull Ersooyl.

Access all the resources here:

https://www.culturevannin.im/audio_collection_635456.html
https://www.manxmusic.com/learn.html
https://culturevannin.bandcamp.com/album/ree-ny-marrey-manx-song-instructions
https://soundcloud.com/culture-vannin/sets/ree-ny-marrey

The Ree ny Marrey songbook is available from good bookshops, including the Bridge Bookshop in Ramsey and Port Erin.