Maggie Brown’s Favourite jig

From an old New England collection of fiddle music. Is this the Maggie of other tunes?

This piece has been represented as an O’Carolyn number. It’s True that the tune is a bit on the flouncy side, but I couldn’t believe that it fit him. In the Neil Gow collection I believe I caught the insinuation that Gow himself wrote it.

I am happy to know this tune but I rarely find occasion to play it.

Mark

This tune is more commonly known as Planxty Brown. I would give the Chieftains credit for re-popularizing it. It is often played more slowly with a light drive.

I don’t believe Gow wrote it. It sounds more Northumbrian than Scottish. Those 6th leaps are a dead giveaway.

This has been claimed by Nathaniel Gow who is Niel’s son and has been published in The Gow Collection of Scottish Dance Music. Mind you, Nathaniel Gow has a reputation for being one of the greatest plagiarists of all time.
There’s a good version of the this tune on an early Battlefield album.
Yes, it’s very Northumbrian sounding, Mark but aren’t you all honorary Scots from there, anyway? 🙂

SPeak, this tune is more commonly known here as Miss Margaret Brown’s favourite. Never heard of Planxty Brown. 🙂

Hmmm, well, okay I’ll let yuz have it then 🙂

O’Neill’s Music of Ireland (1850 melodies) Tune Number 692 (page 127)

Randy Miller & Jack Perron, 1983 / 2nd edition 2003

Page 50: “Maggie Brown’s Favourite”

https://www.fiddlecasebooks.com/
https://www.fiddlecasebooks.com/store/c2/Books.html

Second Edition: “Easier-to-read music typesetting, chords added, index by key, list of alternate titles, decorated with over two dozen Randy Miller wood engravings, including “A Time to Dance”.”

~ another Randy Miller publication:
“Irish Traditional Fiddle Music”

I found this tune in an old book belonging to my mother of Scottish tunes and ‘twas simply names “Maggie Brown’s Jig“

Mickey Dunne taught this at the 2007 San Francisco Piper’s tionol and we all had a great time with it. Good tune on the pipes.

Key signature: G Major
Submitted on April 3rd 2007 by Falkbeer.

“This is a very nice tune by Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738). It´s no real jig but that was the time that fit.”

# Posted on April 3rd 2007 by Falkbeer

X: 1
T: Planxty Brown
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Gmaj
|:g |
dBG GAB | E3 E2 c | AFD DEF | G3 G2 g |
dBG Bcd | E3 E2 c | AFD DEF | G3 G2 :|
|:g/a/ |
bgb afd | efg gfe | dBg dBG | AFD D2 g/a/ |
bgb afd | efg gfe | faf ge^c |d3 de=f |
ece dBd | cac BgB | Ace dBG | F2 F DEF |
GAB EFG | ABc def | gdB cAF | G3 G2 :|

i always new it as miss brown’s fancy, it is a modern set dance in irish dancing

Ah,it was THIS tune that i was told was also known as “Trip to Gorey”,not the Orange Rogue,my mistake.

Some ceili bands, such as Fodhla, have used this as another tune for this particular ceili band, in a set with the tune of the same name…

“Pléaráca na Banndan” / “Humours of Bandon”
Submitted on November 26th 2003 by Liam Hardiman.
https://thesession.org/tunes/2193

My guess is the Chieftains (probably Paddy Moloney I suspect) got it from Leo Rowsome perhaps. Leo did record it on his (1966?) Album Ri na bPiobairi.

I transcribed this version of the tune as recorded in a fiddle duet by Frank Quinn (1893-1964) of Greagh, Drumlish, Co. Longford and Joe Maguire in 1927. They entitled the tune “Cadden’s Fancy”.

In a comparison of settings, O’Neill’s version in ‘Dance Music of Ireland’ (1903) is identical to the version in the ‘Third Collection of Niel Gow’s Reels’ published in 1792. It’s likely that O’Neill changed Gow’s title “Miss Margrett Brown’s Favourite” to “Planxty Browne” and therefore his attribution of the tune to Turlough O’Carolan is disingenuous.

I’d like to have the chords above the staff in the sheet music.

Click on “Sheetmusic” under setting X:4 above.

Here are two slants on this tune, first as a Planxty & secondly as a jig, on Hammered Dulcimer, English Concertina, Mandolin & Tenor Banjo.

Cheers,
Dick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA1O_nIXc4I

play video

Interesting to note that YouTube claims there is copyright material used here, in the video I posted above, yet the two sources are: Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738) & Nathaniel Gow (1763–1831), so exactly how long does ye olde copyright actually last?

Cheers,
Dick

Nice playing Dick. I’ve contested these sorts of claims with Youtube and have had maybe a 50/50 success rate. but its worth a try.

Life and Times of an Irish Harper by Dónal O’Sullivan is the go to source for Carolan’s tunes. In that work there are ten unnamed tunes, this is good ol’ #180.

The second tune of Set Dances taken from Track 8 of “Life In The Slow Lane”
by Seamus Bugler, Paddy O’Donoghue, Pat Mullins and Pat Costello
https://thesession.org/recordings/3918
Both parts are nearly identical to those in existing settings - just not the same ones!

I’m intrigued as to what evidence, if any, there is that this tune was composed by Turlough O’Carolan.