From time to time I’ve heard folks refer to the “classic sets” of tunes that seem to be inextricably linked, either because they work so well together and/or they were recorded together back in the day and people continue to link them as sets. Examples I’ve heard referred to as John McKenna’s “Colonel Rogers”/“The Happy Days of Youth” or “The Tarbolton Set”.
So, what are some of the other “classic” flute sets? Not necessarily your favo(u)rite tunes or sets, but the ones that “everybody knows go together”?
This is typical of polkas sets, Knocknaboul Polkas or Church street polkas among others. Coleman sets are very popular too, Bonnie kate/jenny chicken´s, The shaskeen/The bag of spuds, Lord Mcdonald/Ballinasloe Fair … etc.
Don´t forget the Copperplate set (The New copperplate/The Old Copperplate).
A classical set in our session is “The boy´s set” (The boy in the hilltop/The boy in the Gap/The boy in the boat).
Wandering Minstrel/Fasten the Leg in her (which happens to be the B side of Coleman’s Tarbolton 78 rpm) and George White’s Favpurite/Sligo Maid, Cooley’s/Wise Maid, Tulla reel/Skylark/Roaring Mary are among the universal classics but there are loads of others that perhaps depend a bit on a particular circle or environment Morning Star/Steampacket/Miss McLeod may be one pipers will have (Patsy Touhey’s 78) as is Curragh Races/Bean an Tí (Tommy Reck, and his version of the Woman of the House there, to distinguish from the other version that will come up in The Bank of Ireland/Woman of the House that is a classic of it’s own) Séamus Ennis Silver Spear into the Dublin Reel is another piping classic. Clancy’s Old Bush/Ravelled Hank of Yarn from the 78 rpm.
There are sets that are particularly fine for dancing, for the third figure of the (Caledonian) setThe ‘Castle set’ is a ceiliband one a lot of people will know : Drag her around the road/Shepherds Daughter/Cloon (the latter in D). Another Ceiliband clasic around here would be Connemara Stockings/Westmeath Hunt (Dublin Reel in G)/Tear the Callico, the Kilfenora set. Jackie Daly had us play the Bothyband’s Salamanca/Banshee/Sailor’s Bonnet often enough. Lucy Campbell/Boys of Ballisodare for the first figure is another one that doesn’t need explaining. Everybody around here will go into Cronin’s from the Plains of Boyle and it works fine too for the last (hornpipe)figure of the set.
As I probably said here before, having your ‘classics’ is a good way of feeling up common ground when playing with people you haven’t played with before
[add] there are so many, it’s hard to think of them, one I didn’t include I realise now, despite actually hearing it last night, is another Coleman one: Lord McDonald/Balinasloe Fair which brings to mind other classic Colemans like Bonnie Kate/Jenny’s chickens
In Shetland fiddling, ‘Da Auld Five’… Jack Broke da Prison Door, Donald Blue, Sleep Soond in da Mornin, Lasses Trust in Providence and Da Bonnie Isle o Whalsay. They make great flute tunes too.
Classic Sliabh Luachra : Galtee Rangers/Glentaun/Doon. The Banks of the Ilen set as well (Can’t think of the name of the second one, The New Postoffice(?), DEFE D2 dB cAAG EFG).
And another classic Cooley one: Queen of the Fair/ Carraroe
