There are 5 recordings of this tune.
Da Fields O’ Foula has been added to 3 tune sets.
Da Fields O’ Foula has been added to 25 tunebooks.
Traditional 6/8 tune from Foula, Shetland perversely used (with other 6/8 tunes) for dancing “The Foula Reel”.
Hi. Thanks for the tune, Fifer. I’m the one who requested it. This is a good tune in its own rightm, but I’ve heard a tune by the same name played as a reel (4/4 or 2/2). It’s played this way by a band called Tarras on a 2 disc set called The Folk Collection, and also on their own album called Rising. www.bn.com has a sound byte of it here:
http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?userid=2USWM3K21I&ean=714822707824
It’s on disc 2, track 7. Check it out.
It’s a great tune and I’d rather not have to transcribe it note for note!
Thanks for your help!
My pleasure grymater, but you returned the favour with the reel on the Tarras track. Hadn’t heard that before - great tune. Think I’ll try to learn it and then figure out what’s going on. A lot of the old Shetland tunes have been lost, together with the variations played between the islands. Only other tune I knew associated with ‘The Foula Reel’ was another 6/8 called ‘Da Shaalds (ie reefs) O’ Foula’. That one best played with AEAE fiddle string tuning.
Other tracks on CD took me back to many student nights in Edinburgh pubs - but that’s another story.
According to Alison Lesley, who teachs traditional music and dance in Shetland, the Foula Reel is usually danced to Da Shaalds o’ Foula. I believer that Alison is a Mainlander (ie from the biggest island).I wonder what they do on Foula itself
Have we got any genuine Shetlanders on the list who can confirm when each of these two great tunes are used?
Noel Jackson
Angels of the North
Submitted on June 17th 2005 by domnull.
https://thesession.org/tunes/4606
“Da Brig Jig”
Submitted on August 29th 2003 by dafydd.
https://thesession.org/tunes/2203
Key signature: A Major
Submitted on November 14th 2007 by ceolachan.
https://thesession.org/tunes/7968