Now She’s Purring reel

I got this tune from Jackie Daly and S

|:~G3A Bdgd|~B2BG AE~E2|BGAF GABd|1 egfa gedB:|2 egfa g4||
|:~g3a bgaf|gaba gfed|~B3A GABd|egfa gfed:|
|~g3a bgaf|gbaf gfedBdAB GABd|egfa g4||

When I joined the workshop in Sligo last year, the organizer Carmel Gunning, who is a great whistle player, was going to give us a lesson. But unfortunately, she was too busy and just left us the music of the tunes. This is one of them. Basically the same.

If this is already on the database somewhere by a different name, I apologise. I can’t believe that it wouldn’t be because this is a fairly common tune, but I’ve done an advanced ABC search with no luck. This is my setting which is based on a session recording from Cambridge. Not to be confused with the other Concert Reel. I’d be interested to see what other names people have for this tune.

I’m sure Stockton’s Wing recorded this as “Callaghan’s” on their first - possibly second - LP. I’ve always called it that.

but of course they called it the “Concert”. They’re to blame ! It may have come from Frankie Gavin - he recorded the Am “Concert” reel followed by this tune on his Shanachie LP with Alec Finn. I seem to remember the written music included both reels named “Concert” and “Callaghan’s” . I’ll check on it. Is this getting too confusing ?

Written music? If you find that “Concert” is wrong I’d like to be able to call it something else and edit the name here. It’ll be a pity if it is Callaghan’s because I can think of a couple of others that go by that name. I played this tune to bb once and said it was the Concert and she laughed and said “no it’s not”. And I said “well what is it then?” and she said “I dunno, but it’s not that”! Maybe it’s just one of those tunes that a lot of people know but nobody knows it’s name…

T: Callaghan’s
S: “Play 50 Reels” - Armagh Pipers’ Club
Z: g.m.p.
L: 1/8
M: 4/4
R: reel
K: G
G3 A Bdgd|BABG AE E2|GBAF GABd|e2 af gedB|
G3 A Bdgd|BABG AE E2|GBAF GABd|egfa g4||
gfga b2 af|gaba gfed|(3Bcd AB GABd|e2 af gfed|
gfga b2 af|gaba gfed|(3Bcd AB GABd|e2 af gedB||

I’ve always called it “Callaghan’s”, and that is the version I use to play.

Thanks GM & Kenny. Looks like I’d better change the title…

I’ve just realised that this tune *is* on the database after all, posted by David.
https://thesession.org/tunes/156
It is posted under different titles completely and now I am really confused. Sorry Jeremy.

By the way Jeremy, if you want to shift all the comments to David’s post that’d be great, and I’ll post my setting in the comments section.

NO! I think the A part of the tune I posted, as Denis Murphy’s, and that of the tune posted here are different enough to call them different tunes - if even if the B-parts are almost identical.

Dow, this tune is a valid submission and deserves its own comments.

See also another transcription which may or may not be the same tune:
https://thesession.org/tunes/1708

Oh well, okay. I’ve made a reference to this in the comments section of yours so that the two are linked. I have a feeling they might be different settings of the same tune because it’s only the 1st couple of bars that are different (off different recordings). That’s why I’ve never been able to find your version using an ABC search anywhere on the web. Anyway, it’s useful to be able to link them in my head. I like Slainte’s tune title!

Hi, Mark - if you’re still interested - here’s a story. In 1977 Frankie Gavin & Alec Finn recorded an LP on the “Shanachie” label. The last track was 2 reels, but only the 1st one was named - the “Concert” reel. It is in Amix, and therefore not the tune you posted. The second tune is your one, but it was only referred to as “Concert Reel - second tune”. When I spoke about “written music”, Shanachie were very good in providing comments about the artistes, their styles, and also often included sheet music for some of the tunes. The 2 “Concert Reels” were included , as I thought. This came out in the year before “Stockton’s Wing” were formed and did their first recording.
So I reckon they either got the tune, or it’s title , from the Frankie Gavin LP, and called it the“Concert Reel”.
I had the title as “Callaghan’s” from Bulmer & Sharpley’s “Music From Ireland” Vol.4, and I regard those books as a fairly reliable source for tune titles. (They got the reel from Mick O’Connor, the London banjo-player.). It might be interesting to know if your tune was ever recorded as “The Concert Reel” before 1977 when the Gavin/Finn LP came out. Out of the 22 recordings in the list which include “Concert” or “Callaghan’s”, I can guarantee that 12 of them are not the tune you posted - unfortunately there are 2 “Callaghan’s” hornpipes, as well as 2 “Callaghan’s” reels (that I know of ) ! It gets very complicated sometimes.
Cheers, Kenny.

I think that from what you and GM have said, Callaghan’s is a safer title to have this posted as, and Concert should probably be listed as an alternative title. Thanks for the info Kenny.

I seem to recall a version of this recorded by Seamus Creagh and Jackie Daly where it might have been called “Cleaning the Hen House”. Anybody got the recording and can check?

Looks like Cleaning The Hen House is a different tune in D, already posted by David:
https://thesession.org/tunes/152

The tune I know as the “Concert” Reel was posted by Gian Marco on Feb 28th.

If it isn’t “Cleaning the Hen House”, then it’s the tune before it. I am sure a version of this tune is there somewhere and it isn’t called “Callaghan’s” or “ The Concert” (which by the way is what I call this tune) -- for those interested in names.

LongNote, you’re right - the tune before “Cleaning The Hen House” is “Denis Murphy’s” (aka “Now She’s Purring”). Both tunes have been posted here by David at the 2 separate links above.

I really think that Denis Murphy’s and Callaghan’s are just different settings of the same tune because it’s only really the 1st bar that’s different, and Norbeck says that the first bar of “Concert/Callaghan’s” is often not played as a high G, so it goes |G3A B2GB| which makes it even more likely that it is this part of the tune that people tend to vary. Also this is probably why people online have not linked the 2 tunes before, because an ABC search is usually done using the first bar or so, so you’d only be able to find the particular setting you play.

However, David reckons that the 2 tunes are different enough to be posted as 2 separate tunes. I’m not so sure, but I don’t think it matters - both have worthwhile comments sections and contain hyperlinks to the other tune. I’m going to start calling this “Now She’s Purring”, because that was the title given to Slainte, and it’s the only title that can’t be confused with a million other tunes of the same name. Thanks everyone for clearing up the name confusion.
Dow

Just in case anyone wants Tim Collin’s version

T:Callaghan’s
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:G
(3Bc^c|:d>Bc>A G>Bd>B|A>DF>E D>FA>F|
G2 G>F G>Bd>B|A2 A>^G A>df>e|
d>Bc>A G>Bd>B|A>DF>E D>FA>F|
G2 g>f g>ec>A|G2 (3AGF G2:|
B>c|:d>g (3ggg d>g (3ggg|d>gg>f e>d^c>d|
e>Aa>f g>fe>d|^c>de>f g>ag>e|
d>Bc>A G>Bd>B|A>DF>E D>FA>F|
G2 g>f g>ec>A|G2 (3AGF G2:|

The Battlefield Band have also recorded this reel as ‘The Concert’, they followed it with ‘The Green Mountain’

up and down, up and down, up and … ;- )

I’m calling it this.

There’s a tale about how the tune got its name. ( I’m sure many of you heard it and may know it better than I can recall. I think I read it in Treoir.) So Denis Murphy was at a fleadh and just getting into the day’s playing, warming up with a few tunes to clear away the cobwebs. As he was getting into the swing of things he launched into this reel. Smiling to the fiddle and one of his companions he said:” Aaah, now she’s purring!”. As Denis had no other name for the tune, his companion suggested the name, which stuck. (Incidentally Breathnach collected this tune from Denis in 1966, who presumably gave it the name Callaghan’s at that time. Suggesting that the source was Pádraig Ó Keeffe and his uncle.)

Ok now I’m calling it this ^ since there are other “Callaghan’s.”

Here in Geantrai at 6’48 (first reel, announced by Brendan Begley as “Coleman’s Cross” which is a title more commonly attributed to a jig) https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/categories/irish-music-series/play/?pid=6167329978001&title=Geantra%C3%AD&series=Geantra%C3%AD&genre=Ceol&pcode=126409
Alternate link https://youtu.be/Y2gVB_rP8J8

play video