Jenny’s Welcome To Charlie reel

This transcription comes from the Paddy Glackin/Paddy Keenan duet mentioned in the discussion thread. It bears a strong resemblence to the version in the Krassen edition of O’Neill’s (page 142), though to me Glackin’s holds together better (probably because Krassen tended to put too many variations into a single transcription). Kevin Burke also does a thoughtful version, but I can’t recall if and where he’s recorded it.

Pipers will find a version from Seamus Ennis in Breathnach’s Vol 2 (#261) of Ceol Rince na hEireann.

This is a popular show piece for fiddlers, and has cycled in and out of being a standard at competitions.

oh yeah…25 years ago I heard Aly Bain play this piece with Boys of the Lough, but first, by way of introduction, Cathal MCConnell launched into one of his wonderful rambling dissertations about what a welcome that was. Somehow, without ever stooping to plain language, Cathal got it across that Jenny was both angry at and ravenous for poor old Charlie, who perhaps had been away from home for too long. As usual, Cathal’s interpretation took longer to tell than Aly’s four times through this four-part reel, and was just as entertaining.

Of that Seamus Ennis version - mighty piping.

T:Jenny’s Welcome To Charlie
T:Jenny’s Welcome Home To Charlie
M:4/4
L:1/8
S:Paddy Glackin & Paddy Keenan - doublin
Z: gian marco pietrasanta
R:reel
K:Ddor
|D3c AGED|Ec~c2 dc~c2 |D3c AGED|E2cE EDCE|
|D3c AGED|Ec~c2 d2cd|eddc AGEA|1 GEcE EDCE:|2 GEcE EDDg|
|:effA efed|cA AA cAGe|fedf edcd|eaag edde|
|~f2Af efed|cAAc c2cd|eddc AGEA|GEcE EDDg:|
|:ea~a2 age^f|~g2ag gedg|eaag gaag|eaag eddg|
|~a2ea age^f|~g2ag gedB|GA(3Bcd ecdc|1AGcG EGGg:|2AGcG EGGc|
|:Ad~d2 defc|Ac~c2 cAGc|Addc d2 cd|eaag eddc|
|~d2Ad dcAB|~c2Gc cAGE|DEFG Addc|1 AGcG EGGc:|2AGcG EGGE||

Here’s a transcription of fiddler Brian Conway’s first trip through the tune, from his cd, First Through the Gate. Lots to digest here, and he makes it sound so easy. I think I’ll go play easy tunes on my flute for a while….

X: 1
T: Jenny’s Welcome To Charlie
D: Brian Conway, First Through the Gate
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Ddor
[D3D3] A AGEF|G/F/E cE dEcE|DAAc AGEG-|~G2 cG EDCE|
D3 A AGEF|G/F/E cE d2 cd|e/d/c dc AGEG-| ~G2 cG EDCE|
D3 A AGEF|G/F/E cE dEcE|DAAc AGEG|{A}GEcG EcGE|
D3 A AGEF|G~c3 d2 cd|e/d/c dc AGEG-|~G2 cG EDDe||
~f3d efed|cA (3AAA cAG2 |~f3d edcd|eaag edd2 |
e~f3 efed|cAAc G2 cd|e/d/c dc AGEG-|~G2 cG EDD2 |
e~f3 efed|B~c3 cAG2 |~f3d edcd|e/f/g ag ed[d2D2] |
~f3d efed|cAAc G2 cd|e/d/c dc AGEG-|~G2 cG EFGE||
Daag age^f|~g3a gedg|ea{b}ag abag|ea{b}ag edde|
a/b/a gb a2 e^f|~g3a gedB|[GG,]A B/c/d ecBc|AGcG EFGE|
[DA]~a3 age^f|ge f/g/a f-~g3|ea{b}ag a2 ag|ea{b}ag ed[dD]e|
a/b/a gb age^f||~g3a gedB|[GG,]A B/c/d ecBc|AGcG EFGE|
Dd{e}dc d2 ed|~c3d cAGc|Ad{e}dc d/e/d cd|ea{b}ag eddc|
d2 ce dcAB|[c3E3]B cAGE|[D2A2] FA d2 cB|A/B/A GF EFGE|
[DA]~d3 fded|cA B/c/d B~c3|Ad{e}dc d2 cd|ea{b}ag eddc|
dece (3ded AB|~c3d cAGE|D3 ^c- decB|A/B/A GF EcGE||

I’ve set out below a more detailed look at Paddy Glackin’s ornamentation in the third part, which is tricky to pick up. No disrespect intended to Gian Marco, who’s transcription is excellent and very close to the original.

|:e~a3 {b}age^f|~g2ag {b}gedg|e~a3{b}ag ed|ea{b}ag eddg|
|(3agaea {b}age^f|~g2ag gedB|GA(3Bcd ecdc|1AGcG EGGg:|2AGcG EGGc|

|:A~d3d efc|A~c3 cAGc|A~d2c (3ddd cd|ea{b}ag eddc-|
|cddA dcAB|~c2Gc cAGE|DEFG Addc|1 AGcG EGGc:|2AGcG EGGE||

Listen to Meath fiddler Mac Dara Ó Raghallaigh’s unique version of the tune: http://dynamic.rte.ie/quickaxs/209-rte-ceilihouse-2008-01-19.smil (starts around 37:50)
From Ceili House Archive 2008: http://www.rte.ie/radio1/ceilihouse/1177834.html

I was wondering what people would consider the most common version of "Jenny’s welcome to Charlie", because I have heard other versions than the one that I play. I was told that a good few years ago someone made a recording of it that made it famous, but I can’t remember who I was told recorded it. Does anyone know of this recording?
Can anyone help??

Well, I have several recordings of it. Just looking through the recordings list on the page here for it, some recordings that might be considered "famous" would be:

Selected Jigs Reels And Songs - DeDannan
The Pipering of Willie Clancy Vol.2 - Willie Clancy
The Coleman Archive Vol. 2 - Various
Spirit of West Clare - Bobby Casey
Doublin’ - Glackin & Keenan

etc.

It was DeDannan for me, though…

The versions played by Seamus Ennis and Willie Clancy are great but not typical and pretty much inimitable on any instrument but the uilleann pipes. The Paddy Glackin version from Doublin’ is the one I’ve encountered the most.

My favourite version is definitely Paddy Glackins, accompanied by Donal Lunny.
I just got a record deck recently and have been enjoying all those old vinyl classics, scratches and all!…

Glackin on "Doublin’" gets my vote too. Also for Donal Lunny’s accompaniment.

Finbar Dwyer made a wonderful job on that tune on one of his recordings.

Kathleen Collins … lovely.

Zoe Conway’s original

The version printed in Matt Cranitch’s Fiddle Book is unlike any recording
I’ve heard. The one I’ve learned is the Glackin version; I think Martin
Hayes also recorded one.

‘Most common’ and ‘popular’ only rarely coincide with ‘Good’ in Irish music these days. Why settle for the most common? The definitive version of “Jenny’s welcome to Charlie” is, in my opinion, the version recorded by the great fiddler Hugh Gillespie from Ballybofey in North Donegal. Perhaps this is the famous recording of the tune you are referring to. A CD of Hugh Gillespie’s recordings called “Hugh Gillespie: Classic Recordings Of Irish Traditional Fiddle Music” is available, (compiled from his 78s from the 1930s) and it’s absolutely superb. Hugh Gillespie knew Michael Coleman in New York, and shared a flat with him I believe. In certain aspects of his playing he was certainly influenced by Coleman; and this (coupled with a narrow view of the musical Donegal tradition) has led to the current view among the ‘standard-bearers’ of Donegal fiddle playing that he is not at all representative of the Donegal style. In fact much of the playing in north and north-west Donegal at that time had a good deal more in common with other regional styles of Irish fiddling than did some of the south Donegal styles (which are quite idiosyncratic). Hugh Gillespie’s playing is quite recognizably in the Donegal style, and only a simpleton could mistake it for Michael Coleman’s style.
Martin Hayes recorded a characteristically slowish version of “Jenny’s welcome to Charlie” on his latest CD ‘Welcome Here Again’, and in the sleeve-notes he refers to Hugh Gillespie’s recording.

I too like the Gillespie take on it, but my appreciation doesn’t end there.

Here’s another twist to this, takin’ it elsewhere and curiously ~ and calling after the jig
"The Long Note"
Submitted on February 9th 2003 by swisspiper.
https://thesession.org/tunes/1424

Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill do a brilliant version of this on "Welcome Hear Again"- that’s the version I learned. I’ll have to check out the Hugh Gillespie and Paddy Glackin versions.

So, do you play a d whistle and half hole the f, or a c whistle and half hole the f# (or get a keyed flute, or, heaven forbid, play it on a rec&*!!@der)?

The first three options are all acceptable, but you’ll go straight to hell if you play it on a recorder…

If I were to pay the effing tune on a whistle id just half tape the hole in question. tape on, tape off. easy. :-)

dohhh…that’s "Welcome"…you Buckfastleigh boys!! A&Jxx

I suppose that’s the whistler’s equivalent of a capo…

Why hello, bodatcha. This a tune you play?

I play it on a D whistle and half hole the Fs

Great tune! I usually play on a Low C. It probably depends on which version you play.

I learned it from a Seamus Ennis tape, I think. No problem with half-holing in his version.

If you manage the ghost d’s on the whistle ;-)

not yet No.73 but we’ll give it a look!

You can always play it on a C whistle and cross-finger the F#. Or transpose it into G and play it on a D whistle. I try to only half-hole a note when I absolutely have to.

Or am I getting my keys mixed up again…

Nice Idea Red menace - I’ll look into that cross-fingering. I’m guessing it works better on some whistles than others…

On a C whistle, XXOXXO or XXOXXX should give you a pretty decent F#, although you are right it will vary slightly from whistle to whistle.

Just a few hours ago, I heard Paddy Glackin play this popular show piece on stage, backed by Donal Lunny. They still sounded as young as on Doublin’, recorded back in 1978. It was also nice to hear him explain how he got the tune. Here’s what I can remember:

Paddy Glackin picked it up from Dublin-born fiddler Larry Redican, who emigrated to the United States. On one of his returns to Dublin, Redican visited the house of the Glackins to have some music with them, and this reel was among the tunes he played then.

I’ve come across this tune again a couple of times this past week. Sean Maguire recorded it on his "Champion Of Champions" LP. The entry in the sleeve notes is interesting, but IMHO, utter bollocks.

"A tune normally associated with the uilleann pipes [ Irish bagpipes ], or concert flute, here featured in a spectacular arrangement for fiddle".

There is also a somewhat bizarre version, played by Sligo fiddler Andrew Davey, on the 2nd "Coleman Archive" CD, where to my ear, he ignores the high f-naturals altogether, and substitutes the note e ! Sounds very weird after hearing the "normal" version for so many years.

One of my all time favorite tunes, one I’d be taking to a desert island thats for sure. If I had to take a recording of it, it would be the 4 times through Doublin version for me……….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVK_neTyEZs

play video

Gian Marco’s setting, the second one that shows up here from 8 years ago is closest to the Edel Fox version from Chords and Beryls. I like it a lot better than other versions that sound too much like Jenny Picking Cockles, although the latter was most likely derived from the former it’s still nice to be able to distinguish the tunes if possible.

X:2
T: Jenny’s Welcome To Charlie
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K:Ddor
|D3c AGED|Ec (3ccc dc (3ccc |(3DDD Dc AGED| (3EEE cE EDCE|
|D3c AGED|Ec (3ccc d2cd|eddc AGEA|1 GEcE EDCE:|2 GEcE EDde|
|:(3fff fd efed|cA (3AAA cAGe|fedf edcd|eaag edde|
|~fAdf efed|cA (3AAA c2cd|eddc AGEA|GEcE EDde:|
|:(3aaa aa age^f| (3ggg ag gedg|ea (3aaa aged|eaag eddg|
|(3aaa ba age^f| (3ggg ag gedB|GABd ecdc|AGcG EDde:|
|:Ad (3ddd defc|Ac (3ccc cAGc|Addc d2 (3Bcd|eaag eddc|
| (3ddd Ad dcAB|(3ccc Gc cAGE|DEFG Addc| AGcG EDCE :|

X:8 - My piping version of this tune; that’s years I play it that way, so I don’t remember exactly the story, except that I spent time enough to "cook" my own version, for sure a mix between several versions, included Seamus Ennis’ one, obviously because of the "e flats", which probably work well only on the pipes, as "ghost d" ‘s … ;-)
Actually, I never played it on my other instruments.

Trying to remember the fiddle version that followed my pipes version in the band I played in many years ago, I found the De Danann version of that time, "Selected Jigs, Reels and Songs" (that I had on tape) where’s they start with Broken Pledge before going to Jenny and Charlie. I’ve transcribed their version, but I don’t share because it’s close enough from the first versions still here ;-).

Why is this said to be such a demanding piece? I’m basically a beginner and I played around with it a couple of times today. It really doesn’t seem much harder than, say, a reel with tons of rolls, or a reel in C major with five parts like "The Graf Spee". I have to play it really slow and make lots of mistakes, but it seems to come more easily to me than some others. Not to say I don’t want to learn it - what a rocker this is!

What instrument are you playing it on? The accidentals will make it harder and/or slower on a diatonic instrument.

Fiddle.