Score of Cumha Roderick Cannon
This is a musical tribute to Roderick Cannon, my closest colleague and an inspiring mentor. I will miss his bubbling enthusiasm, sunny spirit and warm generosity sharing his latest discoveries and insights over the phone. It has been a privilege to exchange work-in-progress with him since 1997, debating pibroch’s darkest corners, sparking precious rays of light through our critical sparring. His unfailing courtesy, energy, productivity, resilience and good humour overcoming obstacles have been an uplifting example.
I composed this piece over the last three days in Sardinia while on a concert tour that prevented me from attending his funeral in Norwich. It responds to the notations that most interested him - aspects of pibroch playing that did not survive in oral transmission, particularly the ornaments in Joseph MacDonald’s treatise. My thoughts are with his family, particularly his wife Elizabeth and daughters Sarah and Martha.
Wonderful, and my condolences on the loss of your friend. I’ll need help on this, so please record and post when you’ve time.
I added the audio yesterday and updated the score today with a few revisions of a notational nature. The recording isn’t quite perfect - there are a couple of squeals on low A, I was nursing the F, and I was reading from the score. I’ll make another recording once I’m more at home with this piece.
Anyone who knows Roderick’s publications will have fun identifying what I’ve drawn from what. There are musical references to some of his favourite tunes, but above all, I was trying to capture his personal qualities in the composition - particularly his clarity and ability to see things from a much higher perspective.
Here is an article with more about Roderick and the ways in which this composition pays him tribute:
https://www.academia.edu/23089361/A_Musical_Tribute_to_Roderick_D._Cannon