Your recommendations please…
Looking for sets of reels, jigs and polkas to have as standards for our annual banjo/mandolin get together here in New Zealand.
What are your favourite sets that flow out of the fingers and sound great?
Handsome Young Maidens, Donegal Lass, Atholl Highlanders. Killer set.
That Dubliners track Kenny posted above of The Scholar-The Teetotaler-The High Reel is a fantastic combo (though I don’t know if there’s a banjo medley that doesn’t sound great when you end it with The High Reel).
Reels:
The Sligo Maid- The Mason’s Apron- The Longford Collector
-Another McKenna concoction that kills, probably my favorite recording of Sligo Maid:
https://www.itma.ie/digital-library/sound/sligo-maid-mckenna
Jigs:
10 Penny Bit- The Lilting Banshee
-nice and modal 1-2 punch, nice version here:
https://youtu.be/taMLzBVYaRc
A Mug of Brown Ale-Saddle The Pony-The Lark in the Morning
-Good Flow- classic jigs
https://youtu.be/wBvoXUbAHCg
Polkas:
Salmon Tails Up The Water-The Tulla Polka- The Rattlin Bog
-Salmon Tails is closely related to the Tulla Polka and a great preamble if you don’t mind the similarity- I forget if Tulla or Rattlin is called "The Siege of Ennis" on here.
https://youtu.be/zWgPiSKh7kU
I’d be interested to see what you end up using!
Geese in the bog and hag at the churn flow really well in to eachother. I’m not sure what you could start/finish it with. I’ve been doing Kitty Lie Over at the start and flattening the c# to a C throughout the entire tune and it sounds pretty good.
Fred Finn’s/The Duke of Leinster:
https://youtu.be/heGOr9J4gFM
Adrian McAuliffe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ant683yNb7s
triplet, lovely set with Angelina Carberry - by chance our local session has almost the same set, except we play
Fermoy Lasses/Sporting Pat/John Stenson’s absolutely cracking banjo tunes.
To the OP may I ask where and when the get together takes place? I may be visiting one day soon….
Another one here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zyAARv-2-M
Also, no vid for it though: The Congress/Down The Broom/Star of Munster
