Those of us that have some familiarity with Irish set dances are probably aware of the “legal” version, set in the key of G with that little Fnat diversion in the second part. I’ve been practicing the other A mixolaneous setting, though, as found in O’Neill’s 1850 and recorded on the CDs “The Fire Aflame” with Matt Molloy and Sean Keane, and Cran’s (NOT Cranberry’s) “Lover’s Ghost”. I love its abstract angularity and especially prefer it as backed with the drones in D, rather than accompanied as an Am (more or less) tune.
Is anyone else aware of this setting, and do the set dance steps for the standard “Ace & Deuce” apply to this version, too?
That is the version Seamus Ennis used to play, he probably lifted it from O Neill’s with some slight modifications to correct the time signature in the book.
The liner notes on the Cran album are actually pretty informative on this one:
“An unusual and intricate version of the old set dance tune from the Munster solo stepdance tradition. It was collected by Captain Francis O’Neill, Chicago Chief of Police, from fellow policeman Sgt. Michael Hartnett who hailed from ‘the glens of West Cork,’ whose ‘mind was a storehouse of rare tunes’ and who was also a fine stepdancer.”
It’s a mighty tune, I agree that it has an appeal all its own. The Cran recording of it on Lover’s Ghost is outstanding. It would be a great little piece to develop for solo or small group performance.