Arthur Darley’s jig

If you’re confused about the first part, I thought I’d let you know that it turns into somewhat of a slip-jiggish rhythm at one point and back to a jig again.

That second part is great. The way it goes all minor-like makes the whole tune really dynamic.

I always called this the Swedish Jig.

I agree, Jeremy. Although a little tricky to play on a flute, the second part is truly the coolest part of the tune.

mmmm…I call it the Swedish Jig too, but, when I was submitting it, I kinda forgot how to spell “Swedish” (with one “e” or two). So, I just called it by it’s other name…haha.

I learned this tune a good while back as a solo piece on the acoustic guitar. To my surprise, when I bought Arty McGlynn’s “McGynn’s Fancy” album, he had a version of the tune on the cd. He plays it generally slower than normal, which adds to the atmosphere of the tune.

In the CD cover notes, the following is written….
“Arthur Darley arrived in Co. Donegal from Dublin to play the organ in a church somewhere around, it is believed, buckless. This jig, which Arty learned from the playing of the great Donegal fiddler, the late John Doherty, is one of several tunes that Arthur Darley composed in the early 19th century”

It surprises me how many people, upon hearing the tune played (especially on guitar), assume that it’s a non-traditional tune due to the appearance of the F naturals etc. in the second part, and the unusual structure of the tune.

On the fiddle I enjoy playing this with a slight variation digging deep down on the G-string in the eight measure (bar)
so I’d substitute
DFE CDE
with
DAB CDE

.. and likewise in the 6th line, 4th measure (or counting 5 measures from the end)

The first time I heard this tune it was in the middle of a medley. The tune made me lost. I was saying; What?-Huh?-Wait a minute!
I think it’s a beautful joke to enter one bar of 9/8 time in the second measure. Dancers will be tripping up if this is played for them.
Brilliant tune. 🙂

He also composed cloch na ceithre mhile some organist.

This is such a wonderufl tune.. and I couldn’t remember the title so searched for “arthur daley’s” and jeremy was kind enough to set me straight. Play on!

I’ve always heard the parts of this great jig played in sessions (and on Oisin’s first album) in a different order than you’ve posted it here.Let’s call the parts as you’ve posted them A,B and C.It’s usually played A,C,B,C,B.Not that it matters. David Meredith

Arthur Darley gave the name “Bruckless Shore” to this jig.

For a good read on this mis-naming of this tune (thank you Kevin Burke), as well as more info about Darley himself (and a trunk full of lost compositions), check out “Between the Jigs & Reels” by Caoimhin MacAoidh:

http://www.ossianusa.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=ossian&Product_Code=00355-BK&Category_Code=B1

If you count the A3 as a pick-up note, it makes more sense. (Is it supposed to?)

I love this tune and would love to be able to play it on the flute but I’m not quite sure what to do with those low C#’s. I have a 6-key flute so the other accidentals are fine, just not the C#’s. Any ideas on what to do in place of them?

I haven’t tried this tune on flute yet, and probably won’t until I’ve got one with keys, but I play this tune more like this on whistle:

|:A3 AGF|EFE D3|d2e fgf|edc d3|
|fgf edc|dAA BAG|AGF GFE|FED DEF|
|Ddd Aee|Aff Agg|fed edc|d3 dcB:|
|:A2=f fef|A2=f fef|A=ff Agg|Aaa A_bb|
|A2=f fef|A2=f f2g|=fed ed^c|1d2d d2e:|2d2A a3||
|:f3 edc|dAA BAG|AGF GFE|FED DEF|
|Ddd Aee|Aff Agg|fed edc|1d2A a3:|2d2d dcB||

The second phrase is still kind of hit and miss, and a few bits are quite different from the original, but it works for me…

I also take some notes out so as to avoid the 9/8 in there…

This is a version played as per the comment title - called The Swedish Jig and played by Sharon with Jim Murray and Gerry O’Connor - I believe on the third of the Session television programmes.

X: 1
T: Arthur Darley’s (Jig)
T: The Swedish Jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Dmaj
|: A2A AGF | EDC D2A | d2e f2f |edc d2 A |
d2e fed | edc d2A | BAG FED |EDC DA,B, CDE|
Ddd Aee | Aff Agg | fed edc |[1 d2d dcB :| [2 d2d d=c_B ||
K:Dmin
|: Aff fef | Aff fef | Aff Agg | Aaa Abb |
Aff fef | Aff feg | fed ed^c |[1 d2d dcB :|[2 d2A a3 ||
K: Dmaj
|: f3 edc | d2A BAG | FED EDC | DA,B, CDE |
Ddd Aee | Aff Agg | fed edc | [1 d2A a3 :| [2 ddd dcB||

I hope you like it!
- Cap’n

That’s also the setting Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham play.

The Cap’n’s setting is much like that of Le Cheile, with Danny Meehan. It’s also basically that played on a private tape by Johnny Doherty, with one interesting exception - John played another F natural in the first bar of the 3rd part, but F sharp in the rest. In this he differs from Danny’s setting.

X:1
T:“Bruckless Shore” (The Swedsh Jig)
C:Jig composed by Arthur Darley
L:1/8
Q:360
K:D
M:6/8
z3 A3 |: AGF EDC | D3 d2e | fgf edc | d3 d2e | fgf edc | dAA BAG | FED EDC | DA,B, CDE | \
Ddd Aee | Aff Agg | fed edc |1 d3 A3 :|2 d2d d=c^A |: A=ff fef | A=ff fef | A=ff Agg | \
Aaa A_bb | A=ff fef | A=ff f2g | =fed ed^c |1 d2d d=c^A :|2 d3 z2e |: fgf edc | dAA BAG | \
FED EDC | DA,B, CDE | Ddd Aee | Aff Agg | fed edc |1 d3 z2e :|2 d6 | \

Workshop Tune #5 - Bruckless Shore (or Swedish Jig)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KMXOPfNOKw

play video

Niamh Ní Charra - The Bruckless Shore, Sailmaker’s Wife, Muineira de Pontesempaio (The Blue Horse)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwFIoOolIFk

play video

No problem on D-limited winds, it goes beautifully ~ with a few adjustments… 😉

X: 5
T: Arthur Darley’s
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: DMaj
|: dcB |\
[M: 9/8] A^GA AGF EG/F/E | [M:6/8] D2 A d2 e | faf edc | d2 A d2 e |
f2 f edc | dAA BAG | FED EDc | dAB cde |
Ddd [DE]ee | [DF]ff [DG]gg | fed edc | d2 d :|
[K: Dmin]
|: dcB |\
Aff fef | A2 f fef | Aff Agg | Aaa Abb |
A2 f fef | Aff f2 g | fed ed^c | d3 :|
[K: DMaj]
|: d2 e |\
fa/g/f edc | dA/A/A BAG | F2 D EDc | dAB cde |
Ddd [DE]ee | [DF]ff [DG]gg | fed edc | d2 d :|

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krK3—2a3ak

play video

A setting that places the 9/8 bar in the 8th measure (as setting 5 does above), and shows the key change more explicitly. Modeled loosely after the version by Ashley Ashworth on “Beyond The Green”.

For Arthur Darley’s bio, see : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Warren_Darley
and for a comment and history of the tune, see : http://slowplayers.org/2015/02/01/arthur-darleys-d-daeol-d/

Sounds more like a “jiggified” trad Italian tune to me.

http://tunearch.org/wiki/Bruckless_Shore_(The)
BRUCKLESS SHORE, THE. AKA and see “Arthur Darley’s,” “The Swedish Jig.” Irish, Air or Jig. Ireland, County Donegal. Composed by classically trained Irish musician Arthur Darley, who had an appreciation for traditional music and who performed and collected it in the early 20th century (see Darley & McCall’s Feis Ceol collection). Darley, who was employed as a Chruch of Ireland organist based in Bruckless (County Donegal), lived for a time in Dunkineely, County Donegal, and influenced Donegal traditional fiddlers, especially John Doherty and Donny O’Donnell (Caoimhin Mac Aoidh, 1994). It is Darley himself who passed the tune to the Doherty family, with whom he was on friendly terms, and John Doherty was supposedly quite taken with the melody. Mac Aoidh explains the origin of the alternate title, “Swedish Jig,” thus: it seems that fiddler Danny Meehan returned to Donegal on vacation from London and was playing with John Doherty, when the latter fiddler happened to play a tune he learned from “Mr. Darley.” Meehan picked up the tune but not the name, and on his return to London he began playing it around. Someone voiced the opinion that it sounded Scandinavian and afterwards people began to request that Meehan play “that Swedish jig,” and the name spread from there. There is an extra beat in the second measure. Philippe Varlet believes that the alternate title “The Swedish Jig” first appeared on the 1978 LP “Lord Mayo” by the London band Le Cheile, (featuring Danny Meehan on fiddle), though he says the ultimate source for that name may have been Dublin fiddler John Kelly Sr.

Now with chords……