JIG

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Michael w6
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JIG

Post by Michael w6 »

I found on YT a post for a jig titled, "Sport" with an accent mark above the "o". This makes me suspect it is not referring to an athletic event. Is this a Gaelic word?
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Re: JIG

Post by Nanohedron »

Michael w6 wrote:This makes me suspect it is not referring to an athletic event. Is this a Gaelic word?
The Irish word spórt is a direct borrowing of the English word "sport" (a contraction of "disport", ultimately from Latin), but the Irish word carries the original meaning of pastime/diversion/play, and this gives us a hint that the word was adopted at a time when that meaning held. In today's English, the popular and overridingly specific meaning of athletic activity is a comparatively recent one, with the original meanings taking something of a back seat.

Not being an Irish speaker myself, this set me to wondering: What word does the Irish language use for physical games? Did a bit of looking, and best as I can tell, there's not just one, but a few, and it depends on the context. I left it at that.

Great tune, BTW. But it can pose a challenge for the backup player not up to its twists and turns. :)
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an seanduine
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Re: JIG

Post by an seanduine »

Spórt is a marvelous jig. S-p-o-fada-r-t. Shows up on TunePal as Sport as well. A wonderfully quirky melody, hence its Gaeilge name. Spórt in the sense of fun, unusual, a biological variation (heh), in other words, for the Craic. :D

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Snap! Cross posted to nano´s post.
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Re: JIG

Post by Nanohedron »

an seanduine wrote:Snap! Cross posted to nano´s post.
Well, input's a good thing for breadth's sake. I might have missed something. :)
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an seanduine
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Re: JIG

Post by an seanduine »

In the interest of breadth, I have heard this tune in seisiún paired with another excellent, and a bit quirky, jig: Tommy People´s The Keys to the Convent.

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Re: JIG

Post by Mr.Gumby »

This is what Peadar O'Riada has to say about it:
I had this idea to assemble 4 cd recordings or collections of music that I would publish and that each one would represent a stage in a boy’s growing into manhood. I also had the idea of associating them with one of the four elements. So the first collection was published under the title “Amidst these Hills” and I recorded it in Tadhg Ó Céilleachair’s “Sulán Studios” locally. I spent three very pleasurable days doing so and during that time found myself babysitting my sisters young boys and their cousins. Things went very well and I soon ran out of materiel. Tadhg was behind the glass and buttons and asked, “that fine, what’s next?” I could not admit not having anything else, with the studio meter ticking so I said, “Leave the tape running” and the tune Spórt came to me. I began to teach the first part to the kids as I waited for the second and third parts to ‘hatch’. The result was a jig called “Spórt” which has done the rounds quite a bit since. When it came to the second album I wanted to include a similar jig that would represent the boys as older kids or young teenagers. At that age I used to spend a lot of time with my friends roaming the mountains with mongrel dogs hunting rabbits and hares. We were never very successful but did a lot of running about and grew to know our mountains and valleys and like all other natives, grew to love our ‘savage shores’. The second tune was
born thus thinking of Spórt and thinking of the same boys but now instead of being five to eight or nine years of age, they were now ten to fourteen and I was looking down at them as they roamed free on the mountain tops. Fiach is the Irish for “Hunt”. I have the third collection ready for a few years but can’t seem to find the time to publish it. It is the Fire album and will represent the “blianta na buille” or “years of the rage” - the mid teens and the jig in that collection is called “Esmeralda” for reasons which will be apparent on hearing it. I am grateful to all those people who have thought enough of “Spórt” to record it on their own albums and who have acknowledged its source.
See here for the pdf and the accompanying tune, Fiach.
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kenny
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Re: JIG

Post by kenny »

"There's fast music and there's lively music. People don't always know the difference"
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Re: JIG

Post by Mr.Gumby »

Tommy People´s The Keys to the Convent.
Mind your apostrophes now. :D (sorry, was reading this yesterday)

Seriously though, I hadn't heard that name so had to look it up. Not in the Peoples' book but I know the one on thesession.org and always knew it as 'King of the pipers', named for Turlough McSweeney. I like 'Key to the Convent' as a name for a tune.
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Re: JIG

Post by An Draighean »

Nanohedron wrote:
Michael w6 wrote:This makes me suspect it is not referring to an athletic event. Is this a Gaelic word?
The Irish word spórt is a direct borrowing of the English word "sport" (a contraction of "disport", ultimately from Latin), but the Irish word carries the original meaning of pastime/diversion/play, and this gives us a hint that the word was adopted at a time when that meaning held.
As also in the tune "Neil Spóirtiúil"? :) Is she sporting (nudge nudge, wink wink, nowhatimean)?

Another good/great reel BTW.
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Re: JIG

Post by Mr.Gumby »

'Around the world for sport' :D
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Re: JIG

Post by Nanohedron »

An Draighean wrote:As also in the tune "Neil Spóirtiúil"? :) Is she sporting (nudge nudge, wink wink, nowhatimean)?
I must confess it never occurred to me to take it any other way...
Mr.Gumby wrote:'Around the world for sport' :D
And sure enough, that's another example: "for sport" = for fun, for the hell of it, for entertainment, for craic. I doubt the title had trials of athletic prowess particularly in mind.
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an seanduine
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Re: JIG

Post by an seanduine »

Sorry, Mr. G. :o :o Mr. Peoples would not be pleased.

Yes, King of the Pipers. But I like Tommy's name for it as well.

Can't find a decent rendition of Fiach on whistle or flute. The Whistler, of course, has a good whistle turn on Spórt.

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Re: JIG

Post by Mr.Gumby »

Can't find a decent rendition of Fiach on whistle or flute.
3Triur sa Draighean, track 10, Spórt/Fiach, fiddle, concertina and Clarke whistle

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Re: JIG

Post by Nanohedron »

an seanduine wrote:Can't find a decent rendition of Fiach on whistle or flute.
There's always this impressionistic setting by Peadar Ó Riada himself, played by whistles, if you care to tackle it by ear. Pure Ó Riada, the tune's surrounded by ambient noises - the approaching chopper's an ominous intro to such a lighthearted tune, there are the sounds of children playing, a dog barking, and a magical gamelan-like xylophone backup; at the end, the tune fades out to the threatening sound of the chopper's return. Very theatrical, and a touch disorienting, but maybe you could wade through that.

Alternatively, here's a PDF of the dots from Ó Riada's own website:

http://www.peadaroriada.ie/scores/triur ... %20PDF.pdf

EDIT: I see that the PDF comes from the same link that Mr.Gumby offered. Ah, well. There it is on a platter, all for you.

Had another listen to the recording, and I have to say that pulling the tune out of it would be pretty difficult for me, because the xylophone makes it all sound like a disjointed, rootless 2/4 march rather than a 6/8 jig, and it makes me go, "Whaaa...?". In this case, I would have to go for the dots to learn it. But I do like Ó Riada's treatment of it all the same, even though it makes my head spin. :)

- Just had another listen, and this time I could hear it in triple time. I don't know if the topsy-turvy effect was by design or a quirk of my brain, but now I would be able to learn it by ear. Well, maybe. I'm still not fully assured of my bearings. :wink:
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Re: JIG

Post by pancelticpiper »

Mr.Gumby wrote: sorry, was reading this yesterday...
I think we Americans are to blame. My theory is that it all started with Levi's.
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