Cloie, Gheiney Veggey!
Play, Little Fellows!
From Traditional Manx Tunes
Chamber Ensemble score, with quantities of each part listed in the description. Available as digital (PDF) score, with physical copies available for purchase by completing a Printed Score Order.
You may only print/distribute the number of copies you purchase. Please contact me if you would like to request fewer copies than allowed.
£27.99
£34.99
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More information about the film can be found in the article on Culture Vannin's website here.
Instrumentation
1 Tin Whistle in D
1 Solo Violin
4 Violin I
4 Violin II
3 Viola
3 Violoncello
2 Double Bass
Duration
ca. 3 minutes
About the Work
I wrote 'Cloie, Gheiney Veggey!' (Play, Little Fellows!) for my friend and animator Lily-Joy Lancashire as part of her short, stop-motion animated film 'Yn Shenn Dooinney as ny Ferrishyn' (The Old Man and the Fairies). The film follows a traditional Manx folk story of an old man kept awake by fairies playing fiddles. The old man decides to dance for the fairies to entertain them, who then leave so that he can get to sleep.
I drew on two traditional Manx folk songs. The first, 'Arrane Ben Drogh Hraghtalagh' (The Smuggler's Lullaby) is the melody used for the first half of the music, representing the old man heading to bed after a long day. I took some liberties with the melody and harmonies to closely suit the film. The old man dancing for the fairies is greeted with another traditional song, 'Arrane ny Niee' (The Washing Song), the story being that the song was recorded from fairies singing to their babies in Lonan. This lively tune gets faster and faster, tripping over itself before exploding with a flash of light, as the first tune returns for the old man to fall asleep.
Culture Vannin commissioned the film as part of the Year of the Manx Language 2026. I hope that by drawing on these folk tunes, I have honoured the varied and beautiful melodies of the Isle of Man.
Performance Note
When performing this piece, it is important that all players, including the string orchestra, take on a character of folk music, particularly with the arrival of the second melody subject at figure [C]. As this tune becomes faster, it should take on a wild quality, verging on being out of control.
Where not marked 'div.', strings should play double-, triple-, and quadruple-stops. These should be articulated quite harshly to keep in the folkish character. The solo parts (Tin Whistle and Solo Violin) should feel free to embellish their parts with frequent ornamentation and portamenti to similarly convey the energetic dance within a folk-music style.
Bracketed notes in the Double Bass should be played only if a player doesn't have a C extension.