What are your favourite Hornpipes

Subject: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 10:38 PM

I really enjoyed the recent threads on the favourite dance tunes, so, to continue; what are your favourite Hornpipes? A few of mine are:

The Sunshine Hornpipe (or Pansy Blossom - I think)
Golden Eagle
Tailor's Twist
Glenbay(?sp)

Jon

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Oversoul
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 10:54 PM

Fisher's Hornpipe...a longtime favorite of mine. The "big band" version by the Fuzzy Mountain Stringband really moves me, still.

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Rich(bodhránai gan ciall)
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 10:59 PM

The Peacock's Feather, Chief O'Neill's.
A friend of mine who also plays Eastern European music as well as Irish was challenged to try to make "Off to California" interesting. She came back with it in this weird modal sounding tune that I believe is in B minor. We've taken to calling it "Off to Czechoslavakia"
This should be a good thread.

Slán,
Rich

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Dave (the ancient mariner)
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 11:19 PM

Black Bear (pipes and drums) Yes its a Hornpipe not just a quick march, surprised? ... Yours, Aye. Dave

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Sorcha
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 11:34 PM

No contest here, Red Haired Boy/Gilderoy/Little BeggarMan. Always makes me want to dance, and mamma don't dance. Oh, also known around here as Old Soldier with a Wooden Leg..........

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Jeri
Date: 08 Oct 00 - 11:24 AM

We do Harvest Home, Boys of Bluehill, Off to California, Fisher's (all possibly on someone's "sick of hearing/playing" list.) Also Newcastle and a bunch I've never learned the names of or forgotten.

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: IanS
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 04:09 AM

Japanese Hornpipe , Sandy Bell's Hornpipe

I guess I like the weird ones.

Ian S

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Lady McMoo
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 04:31 AM

Flaherty's (in C), Proudlock's, Bantry Bay

mcmoo

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: mcpiper
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 05:07 AM

Rights of man. Played it at sessions fast, slow, however you like, but never get tired of it or bored with it.

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Peter Kasin
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 05:28 AM

Bobby Casey's, as recorded by Kevin Burke. It's a very lyrical and gentle tune, and different from the bumpy-dumpy-dump type.

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Helen
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 06:19 AM

King of the Fairies - play it fast, play it slow, play it with a lilt, belt it out - lovely.

Helen

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: bill\sables
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 08:44 AM

My latest favourite has to be "President Garfield" followed by Wonder, Showmans, Golden Eagle, Reedsdale, Marquis of Lorne, Chief O'Neills, Rickets and Fishers. Bill

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Ella who is Sooze
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 08:55 AM

off to california and statten island hornpipes

Ella

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 09:02 AM

Some good tunes mentioned, but the one that slays me is the Acrobat's Hornpipe. I posted the tune here some time back - in Bb and not an easy tune to play on the fiddle, but well worth the effort. Audiences love it. Good fun for guitar and bass too with ragtimey sort of chord structure. Regards, John

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 10:42 AM

The Wonder, the Belfast Hornpipe, the Acrobat, the Derry Hornpipe, the Sunshine Hornpipe, the Trumpeter and Chief O'Neill's Favorite.
All the best. Seamus

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: hesperis
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 10:56 AM

King of the Fairies is the only one I've heard aside from 'Alla Hornpipe' from Handel's Water Music. Love them both. (Does that count?)

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Auxiris
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 11:42 AM

The Supple Dancer and O'Connor's Fancy in particular and just about all hornpipes in general.

cheers,

Aux

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Barry T
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 03:58 PM

The Rambler's Hornpipe and Crossing the Minch (especially if it's played on the pipes).

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Pinetop Slim
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 04:00 PM

Popeye's theme song (College Hornpipe?) Ladies Triumph? Or is it Lady's Triumph? Ladies' Triumph? or the imperative Ladies, Triumph? (AKA Lord Moira's Hornpipe)

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: John Routledge
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 04:06 PM

Thank you Helen. As a novice Northumbrian Small Pipes player hornpipes that sound good played slowly are Wonderful. John

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Jon W.
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 04:11 PM

Dennis Murphy's Hornpipe. Can't play it but I have a couple of recordings of it.

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Manitas
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 04:14 PM

Aha! I know The Rambler as Old French. I can't remember where I originally heard it but it seems to be very French-Canadian/ North-East US.

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: The Shambles
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 04:28 PM

The Flowing Tide.

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Melani
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 04:59 PM

The Boys of Bluehill and Off to California.

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Long Firm Freddie
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 05:28 PM

Brits of a certain age will have a far away look in their eye when they hear the "Captain Pugwash" theme. Hear it now at: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/taylornm/Pugwash.htm

For some reason the site describes the tune as a shanty, but don't let that put you off.

Long Firm Freddie

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: GUEST,Dave
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 07:09 PM

Here are a couple of hornpipes on The WhistleWorkshop if anyone is interested.

Dave.

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Rich(bodhránai gan ciall)
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 10:34 PM

The Greencastle Hornpipe as played by both Slíabh Notes and Beginish.


The King of the Fairies is not a hornpipe but a set dance. (Does anybody feel another "What's your favourite __________?" thread coming on??


Sorry for nit-picking;-)

Slán,
Rich

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Marion
Date: 09 Oct 00 - 11:13 PM

Rich, I was going to say King of the Fairies until I came to your post. Actually I feel another "What's a _______?" question coming on.

What's a set dance?

I also like Rights of Man, Bonnie Charlie, and Galway Hornpipe.

Barry T. mentioned Crossing the Minch - didn't that also get into the Favourite Marches and Strathspeys thread? Or is there more than one?

Marion

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Rich(bodhránai gan ciall)
Date: 10 Oct 00 - 12:50 AM

Marion, A set dance is one of a number of tunes specifically written to go with a particular dance. Probably the most famous of which is the Blackbird. Often dotted like a hornpipe, but not fitting any particular structure. Some may have an 8 bar A part and a 12 bar B part or whatever to fit a particular dance. Actually, I first heard the distinction when I refed to "Seanbhean Bhoct" (Poor Old Woman) as a hornpipe, and somebody was real quick to point out the difference.

Sorry to be edgy tonight. I'm not feeling well, and probably should be thinking harder before I post.

Rich

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Barry T
Date: 10 Oct 00 - 01:02 AM

> Barry T. mentioned Crossing the Minch -
> didn't that also get into the Favourite
> Marches and Strathspeys thread? Or is there
> more than one?

It's definitely not the right time signature for a strathspey, but it may have been mentioned in the march thread. In the piping world it's possible to march to hornpipes. The Black Bear, mentioned earlier in the thread, is a classic example.

But Crossing the Minch is not a likely candidate as a march. It's a killer to play (well) on the pipes, and the tempo at which it's playable is much too slow for marching troops. I've heard it played only as a solo display tune... but it really rocks when played well!

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Rich(bodhránai gan ciall)
Date: 10 Oct 00 - 11:29 PM

I'm sorry for the rather curt posts last night. I've got a nasty cold and shouldn't be taking it out on other people.

Rich

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Marion
Date: 11 Oct 00 - 12:18 AM

Barry:

I looked at jc's and found these Crossings of the Minches. They are all versions of the tune you gave midi for, and it's clearly a hornpipe, so whoever mentioned it in the marches thread must have been confused or a very quick-fingered piper. Some of the versions have the dots/quavers written in and some leave them to be assumed; the most interesting one is the last on the list, which has the whole shebang in double stops, combining notes that can't be played in first position on the fiddle.

I've also read somewhere recently that another name for Crossing the Minch is McNab's Hornpipe, which I've read is a standard Cape Breton tune but I haven't found sheet for it... does this ring a bell?

Rich:

I didn't think your post was curt at all - nothing rude about correcting misinformation, we're all here to learn - and now you've apologized for it three times. You Canadian or something? :)

Thanks for the info on set dances. Are there inherent differences between tunes called hornpipes and tunes called set dances, or is it just a question of how they're used? (Kind of reminds me of the violin vs. fiddle question I hear all the time.) You mention that set dances might have odd structure, like 12 bar parts. I usually see tunes with an 8 bar A part and an 8 bar B part, but I fairly frequently see tunes with more than two parts, and parts that are 4 or 16 bars long... is this a clue that the tune is for a specific choreography rather than being a generic reel or jig or whatever?

Thanks, Marion

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Noreen
Date: 11 Oct 00 - 09:00 AM

'Rights of Man' gets my vote- because I love the tune but mainly because it's the only hornpipe I can play on my concertina. :0)

Marion, King of the Fairies is a set dance in hornpipe time. The main difference between a hornpipe and a set dance in this case is the speed at which it is played- the set dance being played a fair bit slower to accommodate the fancy footwork. It also has a non-standard number of bars, (8:16) which as you suggested, does tend to point to a specific function for a tune, such as a specific dance. Have you come across any such set dances in your dancing?

Set dances can have other time signatures, usually 6/8, such as St. Patrick's Day and The Humours of Bandon. I've just been looking up some set tunes because of this question, and realised for the first time that the '8 bar part A:16 bar part B' structure is very common in set dances- previously I thought they just went on a bit!

Tunes with more than two parts, though, can be standard jigs or reels etc., such as Banish Misfortune or The Bucks of Orranmore. What's next, Marion? *BG*

Hope you feel better soon, Rich! :0)

Noreen

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Rich(bodhránai gan ciall)
Date: 11 Oct 00 - 07:39 PM

Thanks Noreen.

Rich

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: radriano
Date: 12 Oct 00 - 12:07 PM

I'm glad to see hornpipes discussed. I gained a great respect for the hornpipe when my daughter started step-dance lessons. This year my daughter danced with her school (Kennelly Dancers) at a show at the Hollywood Bowl. I was not present there but she told me that the Irish band that played for them refused to play a hornpipe for the dancers. They claimed that they didn't do hornpipes! I forget who she said the band was.

My two favorite hornpipes are "Big Willie's Wedding" and "Fahy's Hornpipe." The first tune is an Ed Reavy composition and I would assume that the second was written by Fahy himself. Here they are in ABC notation:

X:1
T:Big Willie's Wedding
M:4/4
L:1/8
C:Ed Reavy
S:The Compositions of Ed Reavy
K:D
||: FE | DAFA DAFA | BGEd cAFA | fdAf gece | dfed (3cBA (3GFE |
DAFA DAFD | A,CEF GECE | DFAc Bdce | d2 {e}dc d2 :||: ed |
cdeg fdcd | fgaf bged | cBAB cdef | gbed (3cBA (3GFE |
DFAc BGEd | cAFA fdAf | gecA ^GAce | d2 {e}dc d2 :||


X:1
T:Fahey's Hornpipe
M:4/4
L:1/8
C:Fahey?
K:G
GBDG BAGF|EcEG ced2|(3Bcd gd (3Bcd Bd|cBAG (3fed (3cBA|
GBDG ~B3G|EcEG ced2|(3Bcd gd (3Bcd DF|AGGF ~G3z:|
|:d2gf gdBd|cdag f2ab|gd (3Bcd ecAG|FADA d3c|
(3Bcd Bd cBcA|Bdfa gfd2|(3Bcd gd (3Bcd DF|AGGF ~G3z:


Regards,
Radriano

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: zander (inactive)
Date: 12 Oct 00 - 03:46 PM

Two brilliant tunes, The Home Ruler and the Wonder, great Hornpipes

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Helen
Date: 12 Oct 00 - 07:46 PM

Rich,

If you hadn't apologised we would never have known you were nitpicking etc. Your posting reads as a simple statement, and I never would have known the difference between hornpipes and set dances without you pointing it out. So, thank you!

Helen

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Rich(bodhránai gan ciall)
Date: 12 Oct 00 - 11:39 PM

Wow! Then I'm not sorry after all! *bg*

If it's the tune I'm thinking of, I'd have to agree with the Home Ruler

Slán,
Rich

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 13 Oct 00 - 03:26 AM

I must look the Wonder up - don't know it (at least by name) and it seems to be very well liked.

As for Hornpipes being discussed, it remind me of a problem I have found with several Irish sessions. Jigs and reels are played (sometimes reels are played ad nausium) but the other types of tunes tend to be forgotton. Has anyone else experienced that?

Jon

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: The Shambles
Date: 13 Oct 00 - 09:34 AM

Yes.

Only way to change it, is to start more hornpipes, slip jigs and polkas etc.

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Helen
Date: 14 Oct 00 - 12:06 AM

Rich,

When I looked up King of the Fairies in a book, the one where I thought it was listed under "hornpipes" it is actually listed in the section entitled "Odds & Sods". There is no section on Set Dances in that book. *Now* I finally know why it isn't with the hornpipes, even though it sounds similar in timing etc.

Another valuable piece of Mudcat-generated info to file away in my over-full head. Thanks, again.

Helen

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: Rich(bodhránai gan ciall)
Date: 14 Oct 00 - 12:37 AM

Jon,
I agree about the lack of other tunes in sessions. I've especially come to like polkas and slides, and there are people who frown for some reason about playing Slíabh Luachra stuff at some sessions. (Ironicallly, a Kerry polka can be unwelcome at an Irish session while a Scottish strathspey might be accepted at the same session!)

One way to get around it is to play for céilís if the opportunity arises. You play whatever types of tunes the sets call for, and often there will be a hornpipe figure, a couple polka figures or whatever. And while a céilí does not have the same loose quality of a session, the playing for dancers is it's own reward.

Rich

Subject: RE: What are your favourite Hornpipes
From: GUEST,Barry Finn
Date: 14 Oct 00 - 07:27 AM

I like playing hornpipes (bodhran & bones) but there are 2 I love singing, Sailors Hornpipe & Off To California. Barry