Can anyone identify this Irish reel?

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madjackoftheboneyard
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Can anyone identify this Irish reel?

Post by madjackoftheboneyard »

Hello there!

We've been playing this tune for quite a while now but are still unsure what it's actually called! We know it as Boneparte's Retreat but the melody for other versions of that song sound very different. Any help would be very much appreciated :)

http://youtu.be/Y90lBZT-tpo
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benhall.1
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Re: Can anyone identify this Irish feel?

Post by benhall.1 »

I know it as the tune for the song "The Hot Ashphelt" (which we always spelt just like that :) ).

I don't think of it as a reel, but maybe somewhere it's played as a reel, not sure.


Dunno whether that helps ...
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Re: Can anyone identify this Irish feel?

Post by Nanohedron »

I know it as The Peacock's Feather. It's a hornpipe, but you hear it played as if it were a reel now and again in the States, a practice I attribute to Old Time and Bluegrass influences. Normally, the A and B sections would be played twice each before going back for another turn.
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Re: Can anyone identify this Irish feel?

Post by benhall.1 »

Nanohedron wrote:I know it as The Peacock's Feather. It's a hornpipe, but you hear it played as if it were a reel now and again in the States, a practice I attribute to Old Time and Bluegrass influences.
Oh, is that one of the Peacocks Feathers tunes? Funny, I thought it was a hornpipe originally but couldn't quite place it ... apart from its use in that song.
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Re: Can anyone identify this Irish feel?

Post by Nanohedron »

benhall.1 wrote:
Nanohedron wrote:I know it as The Peacock's Feather. It's a hornpipe, but you hear it played as if it were a reel now and again in the States, a practice I attribute to Old Time and Bluegrass influences.
Oh, is that one of the Peacocks Feathers tunes?
I didn't know there were others.
benhall.1 wrote:Funny, I thought it was a hornpipe originally but couldn't quite place it ... apart from its use in that song.
And I have no knowledge of the song. I'll have to look it up. :)
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Re: Can anyone identify this Irish feel?

Post by benhall.1 »

Nanohedron wrote:
benhall.1 wrote:
Nanohedron wrote:I know it as The Peacock's Feather. It's a hornpipe, but you hear it played as if it were a reel now and again in the States, a practice I attribute to Old Time and Bluegrass influences.
Oh, is that one of the Peacocks Feathers tunes?
I didn't know there were others.
Here's one, although I know there are others. I'm just trying to think where I might find them ... Oh, and btw, I play the one linked to much more simply that the notation on the session.org. I think most people do nowadays, though maybe they're just following me out of politeness.
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Re: Can anyone identify this Irish feel?

Post by MTGuru »

madjackoftheboneyard wrote:We've been playing this tune for quite a while now but are still unsure what it's actually called! We know it as Boneparte's Retreat but the melody for other versions of that song sound very different.
It think your tune is usually called Bonaparte Crossing the Rocky Mountains in the American Old Time tradition, where it's played as a reel.

In the Irish tradition it's called the same, or Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine (or other names) and played more as a hornpipe, at about half the speed you're going in that video. :-) To my ear, it's also related to the tune Toomgrainey Castle.

There are a bunch of Napoleon and Bonaparte tunes, and the titles tend to be somewhat, er, mix-and-match. But I think you're safe with the Rockies on this one. HTH ...
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Re: Can anyone identify this Irish feel?

Post by benhall.1 »

Hmmm ... I've had another good think. I don't think that's the Peacock's Feather at all. Or, if it is, it's not one I've come across. I think, Nano, you may be thinking of this one but I'm certain it's not that. The tune those fellas are playing is the same tune as the song I mentioned, and that's different from that Peacock's Feather. I know it has a similar feel, but it's not the same tune.

[Cross-posted with Mr Guru Sir, and I think he's right. :) ]
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Re: Can anyone identify this Irish feel?

Post by Nanohedron »

benhall.1 wrote:Here's one, although I know there are others. I'm just trying to think where I might find them ... Oh, and btw, I play the one linked to much more simply that the notation on the session.org. I think most people do nowadays, though maybe they're just following me out of politeness.
Thanks, Ben. I know I've heard that one before, but not often. I think of that one as a barndance, but you know how nitpicky I can be about these things. :)

Right, okay. The B section to the song, the B section to the hornpipe I'm referring to, and the B section in the OP's link are all different from each other. So I suppose you could call it whatever you like.
benhall.1 wrote:Hmmm ... I've had another good think. I don't think that's the Peacock's Feather at all. Or, if it is, it's not one I've come across. I think, Nano, you may be thinking of this one but I'm certain it's not that. The tune those fellas are playing is the same tune as the song I mentioned, and that's different from that Peacock's Feather. I know it has a similar feel, but it's not the same tune.

[Cross-posted with Mr Guru Sir, and I think he's right. :) ]
Yes, that's the tune I mean.
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Re: Can anyone identify this Irish feel?

Post by MTGuru »

benhall.1 wrote:Oh, is that one of the Peacocks Feathers tunes?
No, I really don't think so. Nano's ID is for the birds. :-) There is a minor and a major Peacock hornpipe, which I play together as a set in that order (and you've now linked to both of them!). But Boney is a tune of a different feather.
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Re: Can anyone identify this Irish feel?

Post by benhall.1 »

MTGuru wrote:
benhall.1 wrote:Oh, is that one of the Peacocks Feathers tunes?
No, I really don't think so. Nano's ID is for the birds. :-) There is a minor and a major Peacock hornpipe, which I play together as a set in that order. But Boney is a tune of a different feather.
Yes. I agree. I always did. :)
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Re: Can anyone identify this Irish feel?

Post by Nanohedron »

MTGuru wrote:
benhall.1 wrote:Oh, is that one of the Peacocks Feathers tunes?
No, I really don't think so. Nano's ID is for the birds. :-)
Well, all I know is that we call it The Peacock's Feather hereabouts. We're very parochial here in Minneapolis. :wink:
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Re: Can anyone identify this Irish feel?

Post by benhall.1 »

Oh, and for Nano, there's another Peacock's Feather - and English form - in G in The Fiddler's Companion. I've seen and heard more in the past though ... I'll keep looking ...

http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/PEA_PER.htm
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Re: Can anyone identify this Irish feel?

Post by Nanohedron »

benhall.1 wrote:Oh, and for Nano, there's another Peacock's Feather - and English form - in G in The Fiddler's Companion. I've seen and heard more in the past though ... I'll keep looking ...

http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/PEA_PER.htm
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Re: Can anyone identify this Irish feel?

Post by Nanohedron »

MTGuru wrote:t think your tune is usually called Bonaparte Crossing the Rocky Mountains in the American Old Time tradition, where it's played as a reel.
Man, that Bonaparte feller got around. If there isn't a Bonaparte Crossing The Street, there should be. :)
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