A new recording of Amrae Coluimb Chille (Elegy for Colm Cille / Columba), one of the earliest poems in the Irish language, has been released as part of the Amra Project, run by Trinity Centre for the Book research associate, Ann Buckley.
The poem was probably composed in the early seventh century. A copy was added to the Trinity College manuscript of the Irish Liber Hymnorum (MS 1441, ff. 29v –34va) in the twelfth century.
The CD has been generously funded by Foras na Gaeilge ‘Colmcille 1500’. The accompanying booklet contains a detailed introduction in Irish and English, richly illustrated with images of musicians depicted on Irish and Scottish monuments. The recording may also be accessed via SoundCloud
The original Old Irish text was edited and translated into English by Dr Jacopo Bisagni, Galway University, with translations also in Nua-Ghaeilge / Modern Irish by Prof. Lillis Ó Laoire, Galway University, and Gàidlig / Scottish Gaelic by Dr Meg Batemen, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Isle of Skye.
The musical setting, by Hanna Marti, is sung to her own lyre accompaniment using a replica instrument. The melody is based on a medieval Latin lament, Planctus cigni (‘Lament of the Swan’), the oldest source of which is in a French manuscript of the ninth century. This is the first attempt at historical reconstruction of such vernacular material from medieval Ireland, in line with current international research in historically informed performance.
A brief introduction is available on YouTube.