Is there a general consensus on which version of Cunla/Frieze Britches is the most common one? I’ve found a 5 part version and a 2 part version. Also, I’ve found a version with F#'s and C#'s and one that has Cnaturals (Dmix).
Is there a general consensus on which version of Cunla/Frieze Britches is the most common one? I’ve found a 5 part version and a 2 part version. Also, I’ve found a version with F#'s and C#'s and one that has Cnaturals (Dmix).
Does anyone play this tune? I’m wondering about the rolls on D…should they be crans?
I’m learning the tune from the dots, but will hopefuly get an ‘official’ version at my next whistle lesson.
Thanks! -brett
First of all : there is hardly anything like an ‘official version’, in the case of the Frieze britches the one usually encountered is the one recorded by Planxty. (Haven’t checked your links). Recorded versions of pipers Tommy Reck and Seamus Ennis are both different (Ennis getting lost and masterly finding his way back), some versions have extra parts, up to seven, Reck also had a single jig (two part) version of it. They are all fine and a matter of personal preference, if the people you play with leave out or add a part, adapt to it. The tune jumps around between modes I suppose so has both C sharp and naturals (and some shades in between), most of the long important ones are ‘naturals’
Ornamented Ds as per instrument and on a whistle you could go DED or D cran or whatever you prefer, the music gives you plenty of room to choose.
The Dance Music of Willie Clancy by the way has notations of a number of different versions, there are very close related tunes like : I buried my Wife and Danced on top of her in the same book.
First of all : there is hardly anything like an ‘official version’
Thanks for the info Peter! I know there’s no such thing as an official version. I was kind of kidding. My whistle teacher leads one of the main sessions here so his version is usually a good one to go with (that’s more/less what I meant by official). -brett
We just added Connla/Frieze Britches to our session in Berkeley. Sometimes we play Connla as an intro to Frieze Britches, and sometimes we play Frieze Britches just by itself.
The version of Connla (aka Cunla) we do is an AB construction, with four verses, in Irish Gaelic. The verse of Connla roughly corresponds, melody-wise, with the first two parts of Frieze Britches.
We recently played them all together by singing the four verses of Connla straight through (AB,AB,AB,AB), then launching without a break into vocally lilting the remaining three parts of the five-part Frieze Britches – structuring Frieze as AABB, as it is in McCullough (who pronounces it “Fries”, as in "You want fries with that?). Makes a nice combo. We’re probably going to add “I Buried My Wife and Danced on Top of Her” to that mix as well.
I was kind of kidding. My whistle teacher leads one of the main sessions here so his version is usually a good one to go with (that’s more/less what I meant by official). -brett