Tune ID?

Trad Irish Music
1

Trying to ID a hornpipe from an old manuscript (circa 1870) from the Michigan/Ontario border. I’m not really sure what its provenance is. Does anyone recognize the tune?

X:1
M:4/4
L:1/8
R:Hornpipe
K:A
(3efg|aaec Acfe|dcBA GBEG|ABcd ecAc|Be^df eefg|
aaec ABfe|dcBA GBEG|Aaec gfdB|Aaec A2:|
|:dc|BcBG EGBG|Acec aecA|dcde fedc|Bced eefg|
aaec ffdB|eecA ddBG|Aaec fdBG|Aaec A2:|

Thanks!

2

It looks quite similar to “Whitehaven Hornpipe”. It’s at the Wooden Flute Database http://tunedb.woodenflute.com/tune_search_ABC_logic.html

3

Don’t think that’s it – the contours are very similiar on the first part, but the notes aren’t (except for the first phrase), and then the second part is completely different.

Thanks for trying, though! Did you learn the Whitehaven from the Wooden Flute database, or somewhere else?

4

I don’t play the Whitehaven. The only other tune I can come up with is the Bristol Hornpipe (on Fiddler’s Companion), but again the second part varies and has the feel of being written for Highland pipes.

Nigel Gatherer joined the board, maybe he has an idea.

5

Actually, comparing the two, I’d say Whitehaven and Bristol are the same hornpipe. The A parts are identical (though the FC has written it as dotted eighth - sixteenth rather than straight eighths) and the B parts are close enough. Interesting! :slight_smile:

6

Nigel Gatherer joined the board, maybe he has an idea.

You are kind to welcome me in this way, but perhaps you have too much faith in me. However, I happened to be looking at ‘Allan’s Irish Fiddler’ and found this;

X:1
T:Sand’s Hornpipe
S:Allan’s Irish Fiddler
L:1/8
M:4/4
K:G
(3def | g>gd>B G>ce>d | c>BA>G F>AD>F |
G>AB>c d>^cd>B | A>d^c>e d>ef>g ~
g>gd>B G>ce>d | c>BA>G F>AD>F |
G>Bd>g e>cA>F | G>AG>F G2 :expressionless:
c>B | A>BA>G F>DE>F | G>AB>c d>^cdB |
A>B^c>d e>dc>B | A>d^c>e d2 e>f |
(3gag d>B (3efe c>e | (3ded B>d c>AF>A |
G>Bd>g e>cA>F | G>AG>F G2 :|]

7

That is indeed it! “Dick Sand’s Hornpipe”. Turns out it’s in O’Neill’s as well!

Thank you so much! Guess this firmly establishes that people were playing at least a couple of Irish tunes in my hometown in Michigan 125 years ago. :slight_smile: (Right around the time Dick Sands’ Irish Jig, Clog, and Dance Book was published, perhaps a copy made its way to St. Clair County…)

8

No, it was placed correctly :wink: