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Poll: Tune Of The Month For November, 2013


Jim Besser

Tune of the Month for November, 2013  

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October’s Xotis Romanes produced some truly stellar recordings and a lot of discussion. It was a deceptively tricky tune - easy to get the basic melody, not so easy to actually make it sound good. A resounding well done to those who learned and recorded the tune.

In response to several suggestions, I’m offering a couple of really easy tunes in the November poll, as well as a few that are a little more challenging. Be sure to vote, and then to participate. We have some great players making TOTM recordings, but this isn't a competition; it's a chance for all of us to learn, to get feedback on our playing and to have fun. Don't be shy!

 

Remember: if you click on the poll to see the results before you have voted, the system records this as a "null" vote, and you can't vote later. That accounts for the discrepancy between the "X members have voted" and the totals for the tune choices.

 

One more thing: on Nov. 1 look for a new TOTM feature - the Theme of the Month, a second opportunity to record and share a tune.

 

Haste to the Wedding: Could this be the most common Irish jig at beginners’ sessions? I know it was about 20 years ago. But “common” doesn’t equal “boring”; you can really drive this tune. Watch it here (sorry about the bad feedback) , here and here.

Bonus points for anybody who digs up and record the Morris dance version of this tune.

Graemsay Jig: I just stumbled on this cool jig the other day, while wandering through Spotify - on a CD by an English ceilidh band from the 80s. It’s a Shetland tune, written by a lighthouse keeper.

This is the only version I could find on YouTube - it's the second tune in the set.

You can learn a little more about this fine tune over at The Session. (Broken link fixed)

 

Mr. Moore’s Hornpipe: One of my favorite English hornpipes. I first heard it played for a Border Morris dance side, doing the beautiful dance “Lorenz’s Butterfly,” and I was really taken with our own Brian Peters’ version, although he’s playing it on melodeon.

Here’s Brian’s version.

And here’s the dance, if you’re interested:

Golden Slippers: One of these days an oldtime tune from the American repertoire will win the TOTM poll. Oldtime tunes can be great fun on concertina, with lots of room for making them your own.

This one’s dead simple, but simple doesn’t mean it’s not a lot of fun to play.I’ve played it at many a dance, and sometimes it really takes off.

Here’s a nice oldtimey version, with vocals. What do you think this guy is playing? No, it's not a concertina, but it gives a hint of what this tune would sound like played on one.

Edited by Jim Besser
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X:783

T:the Graemsay Jig

A:Orkney

M:6/8

Q:3/8-130

O:Scotland

R:Jig



K:D

[A3D3] BAF|A2B d2e|faa baf|e>fe edB|\

[A3D3] BAF|A2B d2e|faf e2d|d3-d2B:|

|:ABd B2A|ABd B2A|faa baf|e>fe edB|\

ABd B2A|ABd B2A|faf e2d|d3-d2:|


Mr Moore's Hornpipe is proving more difficult to find an abc of. I now have a pdf and I'll transcribe it then post that too.

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X:84

T:Mr Moore's Hornpipe

T:Lorenz's Butterfly - Boggart's Breakfast

C:

N:

Q:1/4=144

M:4/4

L:1/8

K:G

F2 G2 e2 G2 |FE DE FD B2 |F2 G2 e2 G2 |FE DE F2 z2 |

F2 G2 e2 G2 |FE DE FD B2 |F2 GA BG FG |AF D2 E2 z2 |

ed e2 ge c2 |e2 de fd B2 |f2 e2 ge c2 |e2 de f2 z2 |

f2 e2 ge c2 |e2 de fd B2- |B2 A2 cA F2 |AF D2 E2 z2 |]


X:85

T:Golden Slippers

% Nottingham Music Database

S:Trad, via EF

M:4/4

L:1/4

Q:1/4=160

K:D

P:A

d/2e/2|"D"ff f/2e/2d/2e/2|"D"ff "A7"fd/2e/2|"D"ff f/2e/2d/2e/2|

"A7"fe ec/2d/2|"A7"ee e/2d/2c/2d/2|"A7"ee ec/2d/2|"A7"eg fe|"D"ed d:|

P:B

c/2B/2|:"D"A3d|"D7"fe dA|"G"B3e|"Em"gf "E7"ed|"A7"cc c/2B/2c/2d/2| [1"A7"e2 A2\

|"D"d3/2c/2 "A7"de|"D"f2 "A7"a2:|

[2"A7"e2 g2|"D"f3/2g/2 "A7"fe|"D"d2 d||

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These are the three morris versions of Haste to the Wedding that I know of. If you want to be different try the Adderbury version but I think the Headington Quarry tune sounds nicest.

 

X:86
T:Haste to the Wedding (Rory O'More), Adderbury
Q:120
M:6/8
L:1/8
Q:3/8=105
A:Adderbury
P:A(AB)6
K:F
P:A
d|cAF AFF|AFF F2d|cAA AGF|EGG G2d|
cAF AGF|ABc d2c/B/|Acc cde|fFF F2 ||
P:B
f|fed dcA|BAG F2E|DEF FGA|Bdc c2F|
fed dcA|Bcd ddc|Acc cde|fFF F2 ||
X:87
T:Haste to the Wedding, Brackley
Q:120
M:6/8
L:1/8
Q:3/8=105
A:Brackley
P:A(AB)4A
K:G
P:A
D|D>ED D>cB|A>GA BGE|D>B,D B>cB|c>AA A2D |
D>ED D>cB|A>GA BGE|D>B,D B>dB|G>GG G2 ||
P:B
d|dBd dBd |ece ece|dBd dcB |ABA A2B/c/|
d3 B3 |A>GA BGE|D>B,D B>dB|G>GG G2 ||
X:88
T:Haste to the Wedding, Headington
Q:120
M:6/8
L:1/8
Q:3/8=105
A:Headington
P:A(AB)4
K:D
P:A
A/G/|F>GA Adf|ede fdB|A>BA AGF|G>Be eag|
faa adf|ede fdB|A>BA a2g|fdd d2 ||
P:B
| :D|f>df agf|geg bag|f>df agf|gfg efg|
a3 f3 |e>de fdB|A>BA a2g|fdd d2:|
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These are the three morris versions of Haste to the Wedding that I know of. If you want to be different try the Adderbury version but I think the Headington Quarry tune sounds nicest.

 

 

 

Thanks for those.

 

I played the Adderbury version for years - for a Sherborne dance. It always struck me as an outstanding Anglo tune, in terms of how it lays on the box.

 

The version of Mr. Moore's that the Boggart's play is slightly different than Brian Peters' version. Both are great.

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These are the three morris versions of Haste to the Wedding that I know of. If you want to be different try the Adderbury version....

 

T:Haste to the Wedding (Rory O'More), Adderbury

 

Unfortunately, the Adderbury tune is not Haste to the Wedding; it's Rory O'More. Very different tunes and, incidentally, with very different lyrics as songs.

 

I'll speculate that Adderbury may have danced the same dance to both tunes at some time in the past, but always called the dance after the Haste to the Wedding tune, even when using the Rory O'More tune. Nowadays, it seems, they only use the Rory O'More tune, yet still call the dance "Haste to the Wedding". However, Rory O'More isn't just another version of the Haste to the Wedding tune, and I don't think renditions of Rory O'More should count as Haste to the Wedding entries. (Of course, if HttW doesn't win the poll, I shouldn't worry. B))

 

Note: Edited to make it clearer that I am not and was not blaming Peter (tallship) for the confusion of names. He's to be thanked for providing the ABC notations of the tunes as he found them, as well as the many others he has provided (and I hope will continue to provide) over time.

Edited by JimLucas
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Golden Slippers: One of these days an oldtime tune from the American repertoire will win the TOTM poll. Oldtime tunes can be great fun on concertina, with lots of room for making them your own.

 

"Oldtime", eh? From my childhood I remember that as being the signature tune of the Philadelphia Mummer's Parade.

 

Here’s a nice oldtimey version, with vocals. What do you think this guy is playing? No, it's not a concertina, but it gives a hint of what this tune would sound like played on one.

 

Those lyrics talk about dressing up for a wedding, but the words I remember hearing were about the garb one wears in heaven, in particular, "Them golden slippers ah'm gwine to wear to walk them golden streets." I.e., that version was a spiritual.

 

Graemsay Jig: I just stumbled on this cool jig the other day, while wandering through Spotify - on a CD by an English ceilidh band from the 80s. It’s a Shetland tune, written by a lighthouse keeper.

 

...

You can learn a little more about this fine tune over at The Session.

 

 

I'm pretty sure I've heard The Boys of the Lough play this one, though I think with minor differences. Comments at the above The Session link are worth reading. They indicate, e.g., that both Dave Richardson and Aly Bain have/had direct connections to Graemsay or the composer, who is from Shetland, though Graemsay is one of the Orkney Islands.

Edited by JimLucas
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The Adderbury tune you've given is not Haste to the Wedding; it is Rory O'More. Very different tunes and, incidentally, with very different lyrics as songs.

 

I'll speculate that Adderbury may have danced the same dance to both tunes, calling the dance after the Haste to the Wedding tune even when using the Rory O'More tune. But that tune isn't just another version of Haste to the Wedding, and I don't think renditions of Rory O'More should count as Haste to the Wedding entries. (Of course, I HttW doesn't win the poll, I shouldn't worry. B))

 

As it happens I didn't 'give' the tune, I took it straight from the Morris Ring website.

 

Speculate all you want but I did point out that the 'Adderbury' tune wasn't to my liking but I fell short of saying that tune wasn't anything like Haste to the Wedding as I knew it. I, after all, don't claim to be the oracle . . . :rolleyes:

Edited by tallship
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In case Peter Dunk's three versions of Haste to the Wedding aren't enough here's the one common around here.

 

 

X:238
T:Haste to the Wedding
C:Traditional
R:Jig
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:D
B |: "D"AFG Agf | "G""Emin"ede fdB | "D"ABA AGF | "Emin"GFG "A"EFG |
"D"AFG Agf | "G""Emin"ede fdB | "D"AFA "A"faf |1 "D"dcd d2 B :|2"D"dcd d2 f/g/ ||
|: "D"afa afa | "G"bgb bag | "D"fga agf | "Emin"gfg "A"efg | "D""F#min"[f3a3] "Bmin"[d3f3] |
"Emin"ede "G"fdB | "D"AFA "A"faf |1 "D"dcd d2 f/g/ :|2 "D"dcd d2 |]
Sort of the Brackley version, but not quite...
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Oh! and Golden Slippers is not really traditional, having been written in 1879 by James Bland, a black man, for the then popular minstrel shows. I think it is a "walk around" tune, but am not sure. It is also the official song of the Philadelphia Mummers and their famous parade, and a tune most beginning hammered dulcimer players learn and most better players hate.... But the old version on youtube is just great.

Edited by cboody
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In case Peter Dunk's three versions of Haste to the Wedding aren't enough here's the one common around here.

 

X:238
T:Haste to the Wedding
C:Traditional
R:Jig
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:D
B |: "D"AFG Agf | "G""Emin"ede fdB | "D"ABA AGF | "Emin"GFG "A"EFG |
"D"AFG Agf | "G""Emin"ede fdB | "D"AFA "A"faf |1 "D"dcd d2 B :|2"D"dcd d2 f/g/ ||
|: "D"afa afa | "G"bgb bag | "D"fga agf | "Emin"gfg "A"efg | "D""F#min"[f3a3] "Bmin"[d3f3] |
"Emin"ede "G"fdB | "D"AFA "A"faf |1 "D"dcd d2 f/g/ :|2 "D"dcd d2 |]

 

That's almost exactly the version I'm used to from decades of playing with New England and Irish musicians.

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I played the Adderbury version for years - for a Sherborne dance. It always struck me as an outstanding Anglo tune, in terms of how it lays on the box.

Rory O'More is a nice tune, Jim, and I enjoy singing the Percy French song of that name (and to that tune), but it's not even close to being the same tune as Haste to the Wedding, and I think it's wrong to call it a "version" of the latter tune, even though Adderbury Morris does a dance of the latter name to the former tune.

 

(The Bampton dance Highland Mary is also sometimes danced to the tune of Jamaica Farewell. Similarly, that doesn't make the Jamaica Farewell tune a "version" of the Highland Mary tune. Nor is the tune to the Shepherd's Hey set dance in the Fieldtown tradition a "version" of the Shepherd's Hey tune used for Morris jigs in several traditions and versions of which can be found in sources as diverse as French folk and The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.)

 

Feel free to tell me I'm wrong, but I thought the purpose of the Tune of the Month was so that folks could learn something by comparing performances of different versions and renditions of a single tune, not different tunes sharing a single name. It's not "Tune Name of the Month".

 

What do others think?

 

FWIW, though it was a close race, I did vote for Haste to the Wedding, a tune that I think is simple yet has its own unique personality and offers a wide range of possibilities for both variation and arrangement.

 

 

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I played the Adderbury version for years - for a Sherborne dance. It always struck me as an outstanding Anglo tune, in terms of how it lays on the box.

Rory O'More is a nice tune, Jim, and I enjoy singing the Percy French song of that name (and to that tune), but it's not even close to being the same tune as Haste to the Wedding, and I think it's wrong to call it a "version" of the latter tune, even though Adderbury Morris does a dance of the latter name to the former tune.

 

(The Bampton dance Highland Mary is also sometimes danced to the tune of Jamaica Farewell. Similarly, that doesn't make the Jamaica Farewell tune a "version" of the Highland Mary tune. Nor is the tune to the Shepherd's Hey set dance in the Fieldtown tradition a "version" of the Shepherd's Hey tune used for Morris jigs in several traditions and versions of which can be found in sources as diverse as French folk and The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.)

 

Feel free to tell me I'm wrong, but I thought the purpose of the Tune of the Month was so that folks could learn something by comparing performances of different versions and renditions of a single tune, not different tunes sharing a single name. It's not "Tune Name of the Month".

 

What do others think?

 

FWIW, though it was a close race, I did vote for Haste to the Wedding, a tune that I think is simple yet has its own unique personality and offers a wide range of possibilities for both variation and arrangement.

 

 

 

 

Yes, you're right about the function of the TOTM. My comment about the "alternate" version was meant as a casual aside, not to divert attention to a debate over tune names.

 

Guess I'll need to be more circumspect about what I say.

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Oh! and Golden Slippers is not really traditional, having been written in 1879 by James Bland...

 

I dunno. In spite of its other identities, I think that by now it's also become thoroughly traditional... and not just among hammered dulcimer players. ;)

 

Same with plenty of other well-known tunes and songs. Angelina Baker (aka Angeline the Baker) and Boatman Dance come to mind, not to forget all those O'Carolan tunes. :)

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The tune that intrigues me more than any other this month is Mr. Moore's Hornpipe, here's another sensitive rendition btw. This is a great tune, said to be English trad and yet it is apparently undocumented as far as I can tell other than that Brian Peters makes a reference to it being from the Thomas Watts of Derbyshire manuscript which I've so far been unable to find online.

 

Tune tracing can be very frustrating at times!

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In case Peter Dunk's three versions of Haste to the Wedding aren't enough here's the one common around here.

 

X:238
T:Haste to the Wedding
C:Traditional
R:Jig
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:D
B |: "D"AFG Agf | "G""Emin"ede fdB | "D"ABA AGF | "Emin"GFG "A"EFG |
"D"AFG Agf | "G""Emin"ede fdB | "D"AFA "A"faf |1 "D"dcd d2 B :|2"D"dcd d2 f/g/ ||
|: "D"afa afa | "G"bgb bag | "D"fga agf | "Emin"gfg "A"efg | "D""F#min"[f3a3] "Bmin"[d3f3] |
"Emin"ede "G"fdB | "D"AFA "A"faf |1 "D"dcd d2 f/g/ :|2 "D"dcd d2 |]

 

That's almost exactly the version I'm used to from decades of playing with New England and Irish musicians.

 

I think that is where I picked it up...

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Oh! and Golden Slippers is not really traditional, having been written in 1879 by James Bland...

 

I dunno. In spite of its other identities, I think that by now it's also become thoroughly traditional... and not just among hammered dulcimer players. ;)

 

Same with plenty of other well-known tunes and songs. Angelina Baker (aka Angeline the Baker) and Boatman Dance come to mind, not to forget all those O'Carolan tunes. :)

 

No disagreement here. I just want James Bland to get the credit.

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