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The Chancellor hornpipe

Also known as The Happy Couple, The Humours Of Ballinlass, Loughgill, Sports At Listowel, Breen’s, The Sports Of Listowel, Tralee Fair, West Of The Hill, West On The Hill, West The Hill.

There are 12 recordings of this tune.
This tune has been recorded together with

The Chancellor appears in 3 other tune collections.

The Chancellor has been added to 3 tune sets.

The Chancellor has been added to 37 tunebooks.

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Two settings

1
Sheet Music3
Sheet Music333132
Sheet Music
Sheet Music333132
2
Sheet Music
Sheet Music3
Sheet Music
Sheet Music3

Sixteen comments

It’s in A.

This is in O’Neill’s as the Humours Of Ballinlass.

This is not the tune played by Brian Rooney on Godfather, called The Chancellor.
I can’t find another version or name for Rooney’s tune. It’s in G on this recording.

Anyone know anything about it?

West the Hill

Finbarr Dwyer’s recorded this in G as “West the Hill” but I think that was a typo on the box. “West OF the Hill” sounds more reasonable. It’s also in Breathnach’s collections vol. 3.

O’Neill’s

There is no tune named “The Humours Of Ballinlass” in either O’Neill’s (1850 / Krassen) ? But is in Breathnach III / 228.

Try O’Neill’s (1907), tune # 942

Tune on the Brian Rooney album

The tune on Rooney’s album is actually, “The Harlequin.” Beginish also recorded this tune with the “Chancellor” title on their album, “Stormy Weather.”

Not the one on the Healy brothers album either

Seems like the list of recordings is never very accurate on here.

The Humours of Ballinlass

Here are the two versions mentioned above, namely in O’Neill’s and that played by Mary Crowley.
I’m not sure which version I prefer at the moment but have the feeling that Mary Crowley’s version will probably win the day. Her version is certainly stretching my playing technique with her triplets.

X: 2
T: The Humours of Ballinlass
S: O’Neill’s 1001 page 161 no 942
R: Hornpipe
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: G
GE ||: D2DF G2G2 | c3A BAGB | cBcd e2dc | (3cBA BG EAGE | D2EF G2B2 | c2cA Bdgd
| (3BdB GB (3AcA FA | G2GF G2 :||
ef ||: gfed e2ef | gede d3B | cBcd e2dB |1 (3cBA BG E2ef | gede d2B2 | (3BdB GB (3AcA FA
| G2GF G2 :||
2 (3cBA BG EAGE | D2EF G2B2 | c2cA Bdfd | (3BdB GB (3AcA FA | G2GF G2 ||

X: 3
T: The Humours of Ballinlass
S: Mary Crowley on youtube
R: Hornpipe
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: G
GE ||: D3E GD(3EFG | AB(3cBA BG(3GFG | ABcd eEdB | ABAG EAGE | DB,DE G2(3EFG |
ABcd g3d | B2GB ADFA |1 GB(3AGF G2 :||2 GB(3AGF G2(3def ||
gfed e2de | gedB d2Bd | c3d gedB | ABAG (3EGA GE | D3E G2(3EFG |
ABdf g2gd |1 B2GB ADFA | GB(3AGF G2(def :||2 B2GB ADFA | G2GF G2 ||

I have the feeling that “The Humours of Ballinlass” is this tunes correct name. It would be interesting to know what daffyd’s source was.

The Sports Of Listowel/Breen’s Hornpipe

Martin Mulvihill recorded this in 1978 as “Breen’s Hornpipe”. On the sleeve he is quoted, “Breen was a fiddle player who lived in Glin long ago.”

Michael Dwyer - ‘Tralee Fair’

Michael Dwyer plays this hornpipe in G on his album ‘Na Daoine Ata Imithe’ and calls it ‘Tralee Fair’. (When Finbarr recorded it, he called it ‘West the Hill’.)

I hope to get round to transcribing their setting of it, as it’s a little different from the one above.