A “planxty” (which, many players choose to interpret as a slow air, because they translate so beautifully), is actually a word that denotes a harp tune of a “sportive and lively character.” It is not an Irish word, however, and many scholars speculate it actually is an appropriated Latin word (“plangere” which means to strike and/or beat). O‘Carolan was a harpist, and it is possible the word planxty is an indication of not only it being a harp tune, but also an indicator the style: Ireland also had wire-strung harps, and the method of playing them by striking the strings (versus plucking, as you would the gentle, gut-strung ones) gave a particular “ringing” sound.
Enjoy! 🙂
