Bonnie Kate reel

This tune is often played as a warm-up tune in one of my sessions, and follows on from Harper’s Frolic (recently submitted).
The tune is transcribed from a recent session tape, and the “variations” section is what was actually played by the lead concertina. The preceding section is the “bare bones” of the tune, in which I have stripped out the ornamentation.
Although this tune is called “Bonnie Kate” it is not the same as the Bonnie Kate elsewhere on this database.
Trevor

Any idea how this tune got to your session? It sounds Scottish in origin (as is the other Bonnie Kate).

David, I don’t know, but I’ll have a word with our well-travelled concertina player who apparently has a vast repertoire covering several fields, including Scottish, when I next see him on 8 Feb - this particular session meets fortnightly.
Trevor

The Harpers Frolic sounds distinctly English. But trans-national sets are not unheard of.

This “Bonnie Kate” became popular with English musicians after it appeared on an LP by the New Victory Band in the early 1980s. Fidicen’s variations sound very close to the way I play it today and probably come from the same source. “Harper’s Frolic”, which also became very popular with English dance bands, was on the same LP and I’m fairly certain it was coupled with “Bonnie Kate” . Perhaps my favourite from the LP was the 48 bar schottische “The Mountain Belle” which I’ve never seen in print and would love to see posted, if only to find out how far I’ve altered it over the years.
Colin Turner

See my comment today about Harper’s Frolic, under that tune.
Trevor

Colin, I have today submitted for you The Mountain Belle.
Trevor

I believe this tune was in the same collection as Harper’s Frolic from Ashover in Derbyshire from the latter half of the 18th Cent.

One of those very clever single-octave tunes that gives the impression its range is a lot greater.

the second version seems much closer to how we play it around here (Oxford):

X:1
T:Bonny Kate
M:4/4
L:1/4
Q:1/4=220
K:G
d e f | \
g>f g>f | g d d B | c/d/ e d>c | B G G A |
B G G A/B/ | c A A2 | B/c/ d c B |1 A :|2 A2 A2 ||
|: B G G A/B/ | c A d B | e c c e | f>e d e/f/ |
g> f g f/e/ | d e/f/ g B | c/d/ e d c |1 B G G A :|2 B ||

i don’t know if i’d call it ornamentation; i hardly recognised the tune without it! it’s invariably played after Bonny Breast Knot, which doesn’t seem to be on the site yet…

Bonny Breast Knot: https://thesession.org/tunes/9910

Bampton Folk Festival 2012 (Devon, England)

Musicians en masse playing “Bonny Kate” (“Bonnie Kate”) at a mammoth session in Blackberries Bar.

http://youtu.be/MvCaQ3fSFYo

play video

Setting as played at the Golden Guinea pub session, Bristol (UK).