This flute choir arrangement features two well-known Gaelic/Celtic tunes: SLANE and Taladh Chriosda. SLANE is an early 8th century hymn, composed in the Irish monastic tradition and opens the arrangement. Taladh Chriosda, an early 19th century Scottish hymn (The Christ Child’s Lullaby), originally included 29 sung verses with variations; this arrangement has two.

Original material includes Kirk’s Avon (avon is the Scottish word for river), na Trí Ríthe (Irish for The Three Kings) and Cèilidh (Céilí), the word for celebration or social gathering in both cultures.

SLANE is first presented in a homophonic setting, followed by Kirk’s Avon, set to flowing accompaniment, representing the river. Taladh Chriosda is first heard how it was sung or played on pipes, introducing the haunting, monophonic melody with drones. The flute easily replaces the human voice, imitating the pure tone quality heard in Celtic singing. For this reason, the direction of “no vibrato” is to be adhered to in this section only. This is followed by a variation with percussive effects, meant to imitate the percussion section found in a pipe band, employing extended flute techniques. *Flutists are to use the syllable “Ch,” as an articulation for the indicated pitch, in a beat-box style: smile, baring the teeth, which should be closed together, and forcefully whisper “cha” on indicated x noteheads to create this effect.

na Trí Ríthe is introduced while the lower voices continue the lullaby, which concludes in its simplest form. SLANE is paired with the melody of Kirk’s Avon, then repeats, using the original flowing accompaniment. The final section brings together both musical traditions for a celebration, or Cèilidh (Céilí). The two Celtic musical cultures and their tunes are purposely intertwined within the arrangement.

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