The Eagle’s Whistle polka

Source: Michael Tubridy
Transcription: g.m.p.

Tune requested by Kath

MARCH, not polka.

Gian Marco, this tune is usually played as a 3/4 March which I know sounds like a contradiction unless you have 3 legs. There are several settings around but most often it is in my experience, encountered as a 3/4 March. There is one old setting from pre-1885 that was in 2/4. I don’t know if that proves that this was the authentic Marching version. There are a few other examples of 3/4/or 6/8 marches.
The punchline is that as an O’Donovan I have to point out that this is the O’Donovan Clan March so I have to be excused if the tune gets me a little fired up in sessions.
Cheers
Donough

I have to support Odono on this one. This is a very special, very beautiful old march tune that dates back at least 300 years.

I have nothing against it being recycled as a Polka, but it’s worth learning as the grand old clan march.

sigh!

I was at workshops with Cathal McConnell of Boys of the Lough and he taught this tune. He played it in 3/4 then 4/4. He had the class playing first time round the first part in 3/4 then the repeat in 4/4 and same with the second part. A wee bit of a challenge for the rhythm players.

I also know this tune learned from Peter Phelan, Dublin Piper
in his class many moons ago as a March and a quite lovely one at that.

Here’s a simple take on the tune in 3/4:

T: Eagle’s Whistle, The
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
R: march
K: Gmaj
|: ed |
B2 dB AG | B2 dB AG | B2 AA Bd | B2 AA GA |
B2 dB AG | B2 dB Ad | A2 GG Bd | A2 GG Bd |
g2 ed Bd | g2 ed BG | B2 AA Bd | B2 A2 (3Bcd |
gd ed (3Bcd | g2 ed BD | A2 G2 Bd | AG G2 :|

More information about this tune (and more titles) can be found at
https://thesession.org/tunes/4192 and https://thesession.org/tunes/9853

Does any-one out there know if there is a particular story - folktale or legend - attached to this tune? Such an evocative title is worthy of one.

I don’t know about any eagle’s whistle story but there are stories connected to this tune. See: https://thesession.org/tunes/9853/ (9/8 version) or https://thesession.org/tunes/4192 (3/4 version) for references to Seamus Ennis’s father story or the fairy origin of the tune on the Isle of Man.

http://youtu.be/wCECUeBB9UI

play video

This tune can be written in 3/4 or 9/8 not 2/4.

This tune CAN be written in 2/4 or 4/4 if you listen to the source recording (Michael Tubridy, The Eagle’s Whistle 1978). It may be more commonly heard as a 3/4 tune, but it exists in other forms as well.

I’ve edited my original post to 4/4 as this sounds better.

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

play video

Beautiful treatment here.

Anyone happen to know what tuning Caoimhín uses on his hardanger fiddle for this tune (from his album "Where the One-eyed Man Is King)? It doesn’t seem to be the standard "B E B F#" nor normal violin tuning of "G D A E."

As played by Jenna Moynihan on her album Woven.

Prefer the slower version, as in the video posted by Jason van Steenwyk above: they are playing in A which is the key I’ve most often heard it in. Sounds nice on Lowland pipes too.
3/4 marches (and even 9/8 and 5/4) : perfectly possible to march to them, albeit asymmetric: one pace per beat! (Or per dotted crotchet in the case of 9/8s).