Kenny's flute recordings

[Conical bore]

O'Connell's Farewell To Dublin is a brilliant tune. I've been working on it for a while after hearing the John Skelton version. Never heard it in a session. I would never match the speed of the Crotty clip above, but luckily (for me at my skill level) it sounds nice as a "slow reel" the way Skelton plays it.

[Nanohedron]

O'Connell's Farewell To Dublin is a brilliant tune. I've been working on it for a while after hearing the John Skelton version.

It reminds me a lot of the six-part hornpipe Johnny Cope.

[Conical bore]

It reminds me a lot of the six-part hornpipe Johnny Cope.

I'm not familiar with that tune, but looking in my MP3 home music library, I found three versions of Johnny Cope by Dennis Doody, Noel Hill, and Sean Keane. And yes, the A part does sound very similar!

After the A part, all three versions I have depart from the version here (the Crotty and Skelton tunes). So maybe a common precursor tune that split in different directions? Or maybe there's a version out there of Johnny Cope that's more similar than the examples I have.

[Nanohedron]

It reminds me a lot of the six-part hornpipe Johnny Cope.

I'm not familiar with that tune, but looking in my MP3 home music library, I found three versions of Johnny Cope by Dennis Doody, Noel Hill, and Sean Keane. And yes, the A part does sound very similar!

To me, at least, the key changes of the B parts of both recall each other, too, in Skelton's and Noel Hill's versions. The overall key changes of the hornpipe's melody echoes what's going on in the reel. This is only in a very rough and general way, mind you; I'm not suggesting any overtly close similarities of melody beyond what you might catch in passing. I couldn't find sources for Doody and Keane to compare by.

Bear in mind there's Johnny Cope the song (there are at least 2 that I'm aware of, and they're very different from each other), and Johnny Cope the hornpipe, which is drawn from the following 3-part version of the song (here performed by Planxty, and the 6-part hornpipe dutifully follows): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfuyY0Ur8-M

Those are the tunes I refer to, and I got to know the hornpipe well on flute. A great tune in its own right, but not many around my area play it, which I think is a shame. One of my favorite versions is by Mick O'Brien on whistle in his May Morning Dew album, but TBH, I find myself having to ignore the piano accompaniment that goes with it. It's well done indeed, but too snazzy for my more stick-in-the-mud tastes, is all.

[NicoMoreno]

..and Johnny Cope the hornpipe, which is drawn from the following 3-part version of the song...

Actually, Planxty put the song to the hornpipe melody. The origins of the six part hornpipe (and it's debateable if it was meant to be a hornpipe) are somewhat obscure, but see here for an attempt to trace them:
https://rushymountain.com/2017/10/06/johnny-cope/

Also (tongue in cheek here), I'm a bit upset you've found similarities in this reel - I don't want to have to update the article!

[Mr.Gumby]

FWIW, it also brings to mind some older versions of Down the Broom in places : A2BG A Bd|efgf edBA|G3 A GEDE| GABG AGEG| A2 BG A2 Bd|e3 d eaaf|g2 fg edef|gedB BA A|| (=the old Broom, from Joe Bane) vs AcBG A2 (3Bcd | eaaf gedB | G2 GA GEDE | GABG AGEG |AcBG A2 (3Bcd | eaaf gedA | (3Bcd ef gfed |1gedB A3 G :|2 gedB A3 B |(O'Connell's .., Kenny's notation on thesession.org). That was my first association anyway.

[Nanohedron]

Actually, Planxty put the song to the hornpipe melody.

Oh, dear. My trusted "authorities" had it backward, then. So much for scholarship.

The origins of the six part hornpipe (and it's debateable if it was meant to be a hornpipe) are somewhat obscure, but see here for an attempt to trace them:
https://rushymountain.com/2017/10/06/johnny-cope/

Excellent. Thank you!

Also (tongue in cheek here), I'm a bit upset you've found similarities in this reel - I don't want to have to update the article!

After all these years, I wonder how I've been able to remain unaware of your website. Good reading, Nicolas, and good work.

[NicoMoreno]

Actually, it's Patrick Cavanagh's website, not mine - I just contributed one nerdy article

[Nanohedron]

Well, sooner or later I'm bound to get something right.

[kenny]

Mick Gavin - one of my favourite flute players ever, [ and who deserves to be better known ] - playing at the flute / whistle tutors' recital, Willie Clancy Week 1981.

https://youtu.be/H7xWHHdXkVw

[kenny]

3 reels by John Doonan on piccolo - Aberdeen Folk Club 1972 : https://youtu.be/lVNnJNjP18w

[kenny]

Never heard better : https://youtu.be/wTOozuiM0Cs

[kenny]

Roger Sherlock : "Fred Finn's / The Sailor On The Rock / The Old Pensioner"
https://youtu.be/jnC-U1O3MXQ

[kenny]

This is how you do it : https://youtu.be/49OUB9Q8tdU

[kenny]

PS - with respect to the above clip, the first reel is "Over The Bog Road". The second I'm sure was recorded by the Lewis family from Galway as "The Mountain Dew", but I'm also fairly sure I've heard it somewhere else with a different name. Anyone any ideas ?