Garech’s Wedding slip jig

This slip jig was composed by Paddy Moloney. It was played in D minor on track 10 of Cotton-Eyed Joe (The Chieftains 10), but I transcribed it in E minor to make it easier to finger on the D whistle. Play it using the same fingering on a C whistle to put it back in the original key.

Once upon a time, "Garech’s Wedding" was the opening theme for Fiona Ritchie’s NPR radio program, The Thistle & Shamrock. Great slip jig…I’m arranging it for harp.

I always assumed that Paddy M. played it on a C whistle. That’s the way I learned it. Does it actually work on a D whistle in D minor?

I’m just a bit confused here. I remembered this while enjoying JackB’s contribution "Larach Alastair". The confusion is that I’m sure I had another name for this, but then, doing an initial search I found this tune called "Garrett’s Wedding" in several reputable elsewheres.

We learned this secondhand, from a harp playing friend who had it off of Paddy. I know my brain loves to play tricks on me, but I was also sure this was a tune Paddy had written for a movie of some sort. For some reason I was thinking "Tristan und Isolde" / "Tristan and Iseult" ~ which I had some half baked idea might have been the name I’d originally thought this had.

Anyway, if there are any souls out there that can clarify my confusion, that would be welcome… I’m sure I learned a slip jig by Paddy Maloney by that name, but maybe it was a different one? 😏

This is a fun tune to play…IMHO… 😎

Damn, I found my old notes, yes, that’s what it was called back in the 70’s. There are only a few differences that have been my fault over the distance of time. The A-part is pretty much the same, but here’s the old B-part for comparison:

K: e minor
|: g2 B BAB g2 g | f2 A AGA f2 f |
[1 g2 B BAB g2 g | fdd add e/f/ga :|
[2 gfe fed efg | BcB AGF E2 ||

I believe these are the same

https://thesession.org/tunes/2620

Wonderful tune I learned from the Danú recording.

It’s Garech’s Wedding. Paddy Moloney didn’t write it for a movie, he wrote it for…………….Garech’s Wedding! His friend Garech got married and he wrote this tune for the occassion. Very nice tune too, although I prefer Danu’s version than the original Chieftain’s recording.

I’ll take your word for it Ian and that of Danú, and I’ve changed it to the main heading. As said, back in the 70’s, I learned it from an acquaintance who had it from Paddy, and it was given to me and recorded in my old notes as "Tristan and Isoelde"… Curious, but we all make mistakes… I wasn’t familiar with either the Chieftain recording for it or that of Danú. I did hear Paddy Maloney play it once on the whistle and he rolled the hell out of it, for example:

|: ~E3 ~e2 B ~G2 B | ~A3 ~A2 G ~A2 B | ~

There is no way any of the searches I made would have found that, and I did a number, but, because that transcriptions is all bunched up, like so ~ B|:~E3e2BG2B|A2AA2GA2B|~ none of my attempts scored…

I’ll let Jeremy know and this will soon go POOF!

There was no way any of the several searches I made would have found this because that transcriptions is all bunched up, like so ~ B|:~E3e2BG2B|A2AA2GA2B|~ none of my attempts scored… Thanks to ‘FiddleMeThis’ for giving this link…

Key signature: e minor
Submitted on February 4th 2007 by you.
https://thesession.org/tunes/6748

K: e minor
D |: E3 e2 B G2 B | A3 A2 G A2 B |
E3 G2 B e2 f |1 gfe fed B2 e :|2 g>fe fed e2 f ||
|: g2 B B^AB g2 e | f2 A A^GA f2 d |
[1 g2 B B^AB g2 e | fdd add e/f/ga :|
[2 g2 e f2 d ee/f/g | B>cB AGF E2 ||

Here’s this transcription reconfigured for comparison…
K: e minor
B |:
E3 e2 B G2 B | A2 A A2 G A2 B |
E3 G2 B e2 f |1 gfe fed B2 e :|2 gfe fed e2 f ||
g2 B BAB g2 e | f2 A AGA f2 a |
[1 g2 B BAB g2 e | fdd add fga :|
[ gfe fed efg | BcB AGF E2 ||

Back in the 70’s, I learned it from an acquaintance who had it from Paddy, and it was given to me and recorded in my old notes as "Tristan and Isoelde"… Curious, but we all make mistakes… I wasn’t familiar with either the Chieftain recording for it or that of Danú. I did hear Paddy Maloney play it once on a D whistle and he rolled the hell out of it, for example:

|: ~E3 ~e2 B ~G2 B | ~A3 ~A2 G ~A2 B | ~

I was just a bit confused. I remembered this while enjoying JackB’s contribution "Larach Alastair". The confusion is that I’m sure I had another name for this, but then, doing an initial search I found this tune called "Garrett’s Wedding" what I’d taken as reputable elsewheres.

We learned this secondhand, from a harp playing friend who had it off of Paddy Maloney. I know my brain loves to play tricks on me, but I was also sure our friend had told us that it was a tune Paddy had written for a movie of some sort. For some reason I was thinking "Tristan und Isolde" / "Tristan and Iseult" ~ which I had some half baked idea might have been the name I’d originally thought this had.

I’ve since found my old notes, and yes, that’s what I had been given as a name for it back in the 70’s, at least that’s what the notes say. There are only a few differences that have been my fault over the distance of time. The A-part is pretty much the same, but here’s the old B-part from my old ABC’s for it for comparison:

K: e minor
|: g2 B BAB g2 g | f2 A AGA f2 f |
[1 g2 B BAB g2 g | fdd add e/f/ga :|
[2 gfe fed efg | BcB AGF E2 ||

# Posted on February 4th 2007 by ceolachan

"It’s Garech’s Wedding. Paddy Moloney didn’t write it for a movie, he wrote it for…………….Garech’s Wedding! His friend Garech got married and he wrote this tune for the occassion. Very nice tune too, although I prefer Danu’s version than the original Chieftain’s recording."

# Posted on February 4th 2007 by iainsm

"Wonderful tune I learned from the Danú recording."

# Posted on February 4th 2007 by FiddleMeThis

Here’s another way I’ve heard the B-part taken:

K: e minor
|: g2 B BGB g2 B | f2 A AFA f2 A |
[1 g2 B BAB g2 g | fed afd gg/f/e :|
[2 gfe fed efg | BcB AGF E2 ||

Fantastic tune Ceolachan

the Chieftains recording of this was the theme song for the Thistle and Shamrock radio show for many years.

Paddy’s friend Garech married an Indian princess.

"Paddy’s friend Garech married and Indian princess."

I was actually wondering if the association with "Tristan and Isoelde" may have been an alusion, some comic element to it, which would be in the nature of Paddy Maloney…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_and_Iseult

No allusion.The tune was on "The Cheiftains Vol. 10",the album that begins with The Christmas Reel and ends with Cotton Eyed Joe.There’s a set of Manx tunes on it too.Paddy’s friend Garech did marry an Indian princess (Indian indian,not American) and Paddy wrote a tune to commemorate the occasion.I was going to quote the sleeve notes,but while I was rooting around in the vinyl I remembered that I’d lent the album to a friend.

Come to think of it,i’m pretty sure that the album is called Cotton Eyed Joe.

~ that’s actually how I tend to start this one, the lead-in and first two measures of the A-part…

The third tune of this lovely set by Colleen Shanks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1zKN7qJtWQ

play video

Does it bear mentioning the resemblance of this tune and A Fig for a Kiss? I love really that tune and all its harmonic possibilities - which this one also shares.

I heard a lovely version of Brian Finnegan playing this along with the Russian group Lacuna.

The Garech in question, in case you didn’t know. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garech_Browne

His role as a patron in promoting Irish trad is inestimable, both via Claddagh Records and introducing it to polite British society and hooking up several rock musicians with it.

He gave Paddy Moloney a job running Claddagh Records which was a halfway house towards Paddy becoming a full-time professional muso. Paddy had a long-standing promise that he would play for G’s wedding if he ever got married, but when the date was set it clashed with a Chieftains concert tour. So Paddy composed the tune as a gift.

It works very well as a whistle duet: I used to play it with a Belgian pal, threading variations around his melody line.