The Fisherman’s Island reel

An Ed Reavy tune, it is characteristically full of twists and turns, but with a nice flow to it.

I’ve been on the lookout for this the last couple of months.

A co-sessioneer plays this tune in front of Golden Keyboard.I think they make a great set.

He used to refer to it as “Reavy’s” and only last week I got to know the above name of it.

There exists a great “ancient” LP recording with these two tunes together.

Halldor
Oslo, Norway

The ‘great ancient LP’ Halldor mentions is Noel Hill and Tony Linnane,
by Noel Hill and Tony Linnane

… as well by D

Flight of the Termite??
Where did that come from? Are you sure somebody didn’t just make crappy liner notes that crossed this tune with the next one in the set or something, because - in my oh-so-unknowledgeable opinion - that’s just crazy talk.
I mean, yes, I’ve heard it called “Fisherman’s Island” and “Fisherman’s Harvest” and there’s not much similarity between an island and a harvest, but there’s even less between a Fisherman and a Termite. Well, okay, no need to get existential…

Maybe, after a previously unknown and thoroughly hypothetical event in which a colony of bugs had eaten his home, Ed Reavy just got blistering drunk in mourning, and decided to rename this tune. Unlikely.

By Tommy Peoples on “The Iron Man” album. A wonderful version.

Tommy People’s version on “The Iron Man” is nice indeed.

In a comment above, Concertinette seems to be rather bugged (pardon the pun) that somebody added “Flight of the Termite” to the list of alternative titles for this tune. Let me explain. On their first album, Deanta called the entire first set “Flight of the Termite,” but in their liner notes they call this tune “Ed Reavy’s.” Why they chose to call the set “Flight of the Termite” I don’t know, but at least they did give credit to Ed Reavy for writing this great tune.

I play this tune followed by Hunter’s House, another great Reavy composition.

On “Dance of the Celts” collection it is listed as Fisherman’s Island (in “The Flight of the Termite” set) though Reavy is mentioned in the notes. Their version goes more like this.

X:1
T:The Fisherman’s Island
M:4/4
L:1/8
R: reel
K:D
|:D2FA d3A|BAGB AFFF|GEED EFGA|Bded cAA2|
|f2df edce|d2cd BAGF|EFGA Bded|cAGE EDD2:|
|:fddA AFFD|DFAd f2ef|geee gfec|dfed cAGE|
|DFFA Adcd|Bddg fedB|Adfa gfec|dBAG FDD2:|

Combined with “Katie’s Reel” (not the one mentioned in TheSessions. Look in comments) and Sean Dorris’.

http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_406_2_haley_dylan_richardson/

Reavy believes that fishermen long to have their own island so they can live surrounded by the sea they love. This reel celebrates their quest for that elusive island home and it is one of Ed’s most popular compositions.

Source:- ‘The Collected Compositions of Ed Reavy’ by Joseph M. Reavy

What a fantastic tune. This setting was recorded by The Hamefarers dance band from Shetland in 1983, with the great Willie Hunter on fiddle.

This lovely tune makes a fantastic set, followed by Maudabawn Chapel, wich is an Ed Reavy tune too.

https://thesession.org/tunes/302

https://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_364_5_mary_and_josie_nugent

As heard at sessions here in Austin.

I like playing a little D arpeggio at the start of this lovely tune.

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

play video

My take

Second Tune
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NguF3XOCJg

play video

Hi

About the “termite” discussion above, I just want to point that the eponym suite in Deanta’s album (first apperance of this name I guess) is en early (but not the first) recording of Steeve Cooney’s didgeridoo in irish traditional music. According to me, the name given to the suite then (and the tune) is clearly related!