Saint Anne's Reel or The Skylark

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Wed Nov 07, 2001 10:30 am

Hi Peter,

I thought I'd better start a new thread because I'm getting away from the original question. This is one of my favourite tunes, so I'd like to get it straight in my own mind, I'm sure your information better, you being in Clare (one of my favourite counties)and all.

I have copies of tunes named "The Skylark" (from Padraig Carroll's excellent "The Irish Mandolin", written and played on the CD) and "St Anne's Reel" , #31 in the John Walsh's Session Tunes I got off the net, and in O'Neill's 1001 Dance Tunes. St Anne's is also played on "Bringing it all back Home" and it's a reel belter (grin). These are all virtually identical, certainly following the same pattern; the differences I had put down to the individual's variations.

I had all this down to the "Different names for the same tune/different tunes by the same name" (or more catchily DNST/DTSN) problem we are familiar with in traditional Irish Music.

The tune I'm thinking of goes:
(Key D - first 2 bars plus 2 quaver intro)
d'e' f#'e'd'f#'e'd'c#b Af#adaf#a

sorry about the notation, I'm not used to this - the ' indicates the upper ocatave, all notes quavers except "A" which is a crotchet.

So, I know this tune by two different names, but I'm prepared to be corrected and told I've got muddled somewhere. Is there another Skylark out there? Or did Padraig Carroll lead me astray with his names (BTW, he calls The Home Ruler by the name Pat Galvin's Favourite)

cheers, Martin

p.s. I had some books from Amazon delivered today; The hefty Fintan Vallely "Irish Traditional Music", Barry Foy "Field Guide to Irish Session Music", and Ciaran Carson "Last Night's Fun". I'm pretty sure I learnt about these through C&F so thanks to whoever it was who suggested them!

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Martin Milner on 2001-11-07 12:27 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Martin Milner on 2001-11-08 04:15 ]</font>

StevieJ · Post by **StevieJ** » Wed Nov 07, 2001 2:46 pm

The tune I'm thinking of goes:
d'e' f#'e'd'f#'e'd'c#b Af#adaf#a

This is St. Anne's reel. BTW it seems you've got your crotchets and quavers the wrong way round.

A search on that most handy site, <a href="http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/music/abc/F ... html">JC's abc tune finder</a>, reveals that there are a few tunes floating around called the Skylark. (Not to mention a fine old jazz standard.)

If you're talking reels, <a href="http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/cgi/abc/get ... if">here's a setting courtesy of JC's tune finder of the tune most people will think of when you say Skylark</a>.

S

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Thu Nov 08, 2001 2:01 am

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Thu Nov 08, 2001 3:36 am

Thanks Stevie & Peter for clearing this up for me - I've now had a chance to check my "100 Essential Irish Session Tunes" and both tunes appear under the names you've given. They've even got their crotchets & quavers right (grin)!

I would take the name in my Mandolin tutor as a printer's error (there's a glaring one in the Waltons Banjo tutor of the same series), except that Padraig Carroll names the tune before playing it on the CD. So does he know St Anne's by a different name?

Neither tune appears in O'Neill's 1001, suggesting they were not in common use in Ireland or Chicago up to 1907, so your source for St Anne's in very interesting.

I haven't learnt the Skylark, only St Anne's, but a quick run through suggests they might sound good together. I must get practising!

Many thanks guys!

cheers, Martin

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Thu Nov 08, 2001 5:01 am

Bear in mind that O'Neill got a lot of tunes but there were also a lot of tunes he didn't get. Him including tunes or not including is not a neccessary indicator of the popularity of the tune. I seem to remember an early 78 rpm recording of it but have not yet been able to check it.