Fifteen comments
Madame Bonaparte
This is a very basic setting of a set dance - commonly played in hornpipe time - but also played as a reel. It’s also commonly played in Amajor. Two cracking versions - among many - are Finbar Furey’s highly ornamented pipe version (a recording I want played at some point during my funeral!), essentially the "hornpipe in G" and John Doherty’s which follows "The Spirits Of Wine" and is the "reel in A" version.
Madam bonaprte -reel
brendan RIng has a snippet of this played as a reel on his MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/brendanring
Didn’t like
M. Bonaparte
Dow, I always play the hornpipe version and had never heard it any other way - so at least this is an example of the reel version - would you say this isn’t typical - as said I’ve no idea what it should sound like?
Chris
There’s a vid of Simon Thoumire playing it as a reel on YouTube too, so I don’t think it can be that uncommon to play it that way. I personally think it sounds horrible like that, but that’s just my personal taste.
yeh Aiden I know that version by Finbar Furey..makes the hair stand up on the back of the neck..
Finbar Furey’s Version
X: 1
T: Madam Bonaparte
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: hornpipe
K: Gmaj
|: d^c=c | B2 BA (3Bcd BG | c2 cB cdcA | GA (3Bcd gd (3gfe | d2 fe dcBA |
(3Bcd BG (3Bcd BG | cBcd eFFE | dB B2 BA A2 | AGGA G2 dc ||
|: B2 BA (3Bcd BG | c2 cB cdcA | GA (3Bcd gd (3gfe | d2 fe dcBA |
(3Bcd BG (3Bcd BG | cBcd ef (3gfe | (3gfe dB cAFA | G2 GA G2 BA ||
|: GA (3Bcd gd (3gfe | d2 fe dcBA | GA (3Bcd gd (3gfe | d2 fe dcBA |
(3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | (3Bcd ad (3Bcd ad | (3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | (3Bcd fd fd fd |
(3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | cBcd ef (3gfe | (3gfe dB cAFA | G2 GA G2 BA ||
(3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | (3Bcd ad (3Bcd ad | (3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | (3Bcd fd fd fd |
(3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | cBcd eFFE | dB B2 BA A2 | AGGA G2 dc ||
|: B2 BA BdBG | c2 cB cdcA | GA (3Bcd gd (3gfe | d2 fe dcBA |
B2 BA (3Bcd BG | cBcd egge | dB B2 BA A2 | AGGA G2 dc ||
B2 BA BdBG | c2 cB cdcA | B2 BA BdBG | A2 AG AcBA |
B2 BA BdBG | cBcd egge | dB B2 BA A2 | AGGA G2 dc ||
|: GA (3Bcd gd (3gfe | d2 fe dcBA | GA (3Bcd b2 (3gfe | d2 fe dcBA |
(3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | (3Bcd ad (3Bcd ad | (3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | (3Bcd Fd Fd Fd |
(3Bcd (3Bcd (3Bcd (3Bcd | cBcd egge | (3gfe dB cAFA | G2 GA G2 BA ||
GA (3Bcd gd (3gfe | d2 fe dcBA | GA (3Bcd gd (3gfe | d2 fe dcBA |
(3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | (3Bcd ad (3Bcd ad | (3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | (3Bcd fd fd fd |
(3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | cBcd egge | dB B2 BA A2 | AGGA G2 dc ||
|: BB Gd BB Gd | cc Ad cc Ad | BB Gd BB Gd | A3G AcBA |
BB Gd BB Gd | cBcd egge | dB B2 BA A2 | AGGA G2 dc ||
|: BB Gd BB Gd | cc Ad cc Ad | BB Gd BB Gd | A3G AcBA |
BB Gd BB Gd | cBcd egge | dB B2 BA A2 | AGGA G2 dc ||
B2 BA (3Bcd BG | c2 cB cdcA | GA (3Bcd gd (3gfe | d2 fe dcBA |
(3Bcd BG (3Bcd BG | cBcd egge | dB B2 BA A2 | AGGA G2 dc ||
B2 BA BdBG | c2 cB cdcA | B2 BA BdBG | A2 AG AcBA |
B2 BA BdBG | cBcd egge | dB B2 BA A2 | AGGA G2 dc ||
GA (3Bcd gd (3gfe | d2 fe dcBA | GA (3Bcd gd (3gfe | d2 fe dcBA |
(3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | (3Bcd ad (3Bcd ad | (3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | (3Bcd fd fd fd |
(3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | cBcd egge | dB B2 BA A2 | AGGA G2 dc ||
(3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | (3Bcd ad (3Bcd ad | (3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | (3Bcd fd fd fd |
(3Bcd gd (3Bcd gd | cBcd egge | dB B2 BA A2 | AGGA G2 dc ||
|: BB Gd BB Gd | cc Ad cc Ad | BB Gd BB Gd | A3G AcBA |
BB Gd BB Gd | cBcd egge | dB B2 BA A2 | AGGA G2 dc ||
|: BB Gd BB Gd | cc Ad cc Ad | BB Gd BB Gd | A3G AcBA |
BB Gd BB Gd | cBcd egge | dB B2 BA A2 | AGGA G2 dc ||
Madame Bonaparte
I love the version of this tune played by the Canadian group Leahy on the CD "Fire in the Kitchen". I find it to be a very haunting melody.
Madame Bonaparte - is there a “standard”
I’ve known a version of this tune for years, but several things have struck me. Firstly, there seem to be at least 2 different versions of the "B" music. One version locked into the Irish tradition and the other seemingly favoured by Northumbrian musicians - am I right? Secondly, is it played as a Hornpipe or a set dance - in terms of its structure? Are there any oracles out there that can confirm / dismiss my thoughts?
Re: Madame Bonaparte - is there a “standard”
All of the above.
https://thesession.org/tunes/2344
Re: Madame Bonaparte - is there a “standard”
think its a set dance
Re: Madame Bonaparte - is there a “standard”
https://thesession.org/recordings/display/653
Recommend the above version - track 4.
"The Chieftains" also do a fine version on the "Bonaparte’s Retreat" album, as I recall.
Re: Madame Bonaparte - is there a “standard”
PS - the Chieftains version, might be "standard", Finbar’s certainly isn’t - it’s a virtuoso showpiece.
Fantastic (addictive) version
Check out Millhouse Measures https://thesession.org/recordings/display/3937 with Conal O’Grada on flute. Their treatment of this tune is as addictive as candy corn at halloween. Just such tasty, pulsy music. They play a higher key than what’s here, but it’s not too hard to mentally transpose on whistle, once the melody has burned indelibly into your memory. What great stuff.
X:3
Pretty much the same version as posted by Aidan (X:1) above, except transcribed as dotted and with triplets notated in several places.