Terry ‘Cuz’ Teehan’s reel

Hornpipe??!!
Lunasa "Lunasa"
Track 9 -> Deireadh Fomhair (Terry Cu’z’Teehans + Alice

I just had to comment after finding this: what a terrific tune!

A lot of tunes, when rendered down to sheet music lose their soul - they become very flat, and you need to hear them to find the pulse that brings the tune to life.

Some tunes, however, have such a strong pulse to the melody that they just come to life under your fingers. This one is a beautiful example of that: it just pulls you right in, and you can’t stop playing it.

It’s just a joy to play on a flute of whistle - it’s such a strong tune, it practically embellishes itself right under your fingers!

hornpipe or slow reel?

Definitely not a hornpipe. Slow reel, fling, or highland?

I would say Slow Reel, as it doesn’t look like a Highland (aka fling/ schottische)

My guess is that it might be a 16 bar reel that they slowed down and doubled the B part. They did that with the "Miller of Drohan" on their "Otherworld" recording. They also started it on the B part compared to the tune I’m used to hearing that I learned from Dale Russ years ago. I suppose you’d have to ask Kevin or Sean though to find out for certain.

It seems related to "The Tap Room": https://thesession.org/tunes/711

PHWARRR! - Obviously Highland Fling, 16 bars, a nice swing to it with those long notes too and a lovely second ending for the B part, so often relegated in later life as a single reel, but hey, that can work too. I tend to use snaps in this too, and definitely swing it.

I first heard this tune as a Scottish slow air, but can’t remember where or when.

Sounds like a slowed down Reel to me. I do have it, slowed down like this, on a record somewhere……….but where?

The great Mick O’Brien plays this in his May Morning Dew record on whistle and calls it simply the kerry. He plays it in the set with the kerry fling and Joe Bans or something liek that. Nice.

also, i think i remember reading somewhere, possibly from lunasa notes, that it was terry teehan’s version of the green fields of rosbeigh (aka a few other names that i cant think of right now).

This appears on "Skin And Bow" by Declan Folan and Junior Davey as "Molloy’s Favourite", the other tune in the set being The Road To Gloutane https://thesession.org/tunes/1615.

love this tune i agree with MarkCC completely, it has a certain ebb and flow to it, and it just flows really well on the whistle or flute

another version of the tune… i find quite interesting..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXZirB_3WSk

play video

That’s the art of misremembering.

chansherly212, the link you’ve offered ~ using fingertips on that low Dixon whistle and you can see the tension…

yeah, i noticed that too, using finger tips on the low whistle really is restricitve, i was just noticing that that version is different from what i’m used to

anyway, here’s a video of me playing this tune along with another one…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymI5ZszZvmU

play video

For a very similar feel -at least as far as the 1st part is concerned- see:
Lexie McAskill’s https://thesession.org/tunes/1093

X: 2
T: Terry ‘Cuz’ Teahan’s
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: highland fling
K: E
|: E>A |\
B2 B>A B2 A>B | d>BA>F D>EF<A |
B2 B>A (3BcB A>B | d>BA<F E2- :|
|: E>d |\
B<ee>f g2 f>e | d2 B>d A>DF<A |
[1 B2 e>f g2 f>e | d>BA<F E2- :|
[2 B<ee>d B<AF>A | D>EE<D E2- |]

K: EDor

This is Terry ‘Cuz’ Teahan’s name for this one, in honour of Frank Thornton, a founding member and honorary president of "The Irish Musicians Association of America", 1979…

The following article was published in Irish Traditional Music From Chicago, Vol II 1976/77.

Frank Thornton
http://www.detroitima.org/hall_of_fame/2002/thornton_frank/index.html

Frank Thornton was born in 1908 about five miles from Listowel, Co. Kerry. He started on the flute at age eight, learning from a cousin named Hanrahan who led the town flute band and from another local flute player named Furey. Frank’s uncle, Miles thornton, also played the flute and was a dancing teacher and long-time all ireland step dancing champion. ~

(Follow the link above for the full article and some of his poetry.)

~ In 1956, Frank thought the time had come for a more positive and unified association of Irish Musicians in the various cities of American. Together with a few distinguished musicians here, among them the late Ed Reevy of Philadelphia, Louis E. Quinn of New york, and Johnny McGreevy of Chicago, others too. He founded the I.M.A., Irish Musicians Association of America. Guided by Frank Thornton as its first president, the organization quickly grew in strength and number. In 1963, there were 27 I.M.A. clubs flourishing all across America. In 1969, Frank organized the first ever concert tour of Irish champion musicians from Ireland. This prestigious group was led by the then Comhaltas President Labhras O Murchu. this led to the founding of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann here in 1972, when the then chief Comhaltas organizer, the late Diarmuid O’Cathain came here as the Ardchomhairle representative. He soon made contact with Frank Thornton, who supplied a list of names and contacts that played a vital role in the establishment of Comhaltas here, especially the Annual Concert Tours.

More later…

with John Dunson
tune transcriptions and copying by Ann & Chuck Heyman
production coordination by Justin O’Brien
Published in Chicago, Illinois - 1980 - 91 pages
tunes, tales, photos and poetry…

Sadly this seems to be long out of print. Over time I’ve tried to secure other copies of it for friends, to give as a gift, but haven’t seen an available copy in years.

Page 70: "Frank Thornton" - highland

X: 1
T: Frank Thornton
C: Terence "Cuz" Teahan - 1964
S: Terence "Cuz" Teahan
B: "The Road to Glountane", page 70
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: highland fling
K: EDor
B2 B>A B2 B>A | d>BA>F D>EF>A | B2 B>A B2 B>A | d>BA>F E2 E2 |
B2 B>A B2 B>A | d>BA>F D>EF>A | E2 B>A B2 B>A | d>BA>F E2 E2 ||
B>ee>f g>f e2 | d2 B>d A2 F>A | B>ee>f g>f e2 | d>BA>F E2 E2 |
B>ee>f g>f e2 | d2 B>d A2 F>A | B>ee>d B>AF>A | D>EF>A E2 E2 |]

& that in a reduced form:

K: EDor
|: B2 B>A B2 B>A | d>BA>F D>EF>A |
[B2E2] B>A B2 B>A | d>BA>F E2 E2 :|
|: B>ee>f g>f e2 | d2 B>d A2 F>A |
[1 B>ee>f g>f e2 | d>BA>F E2 E2 |
[2 B>ee>d B>AF>A | D>EF>A E2 E2 |]

From this lovely book, page 70, in Terry "Cuz" Teahan’s own words:

You could always bank on Frank Thornton to be active in the promotion of Irish music. He was one of the founders of the Irish Musicians Association in 1957, and to this day he is more active than any musician I know in promoting Irish music. All through the years he has taught flute and tin whistle and gets very little out of it in the way of money. He organized a group and took them through Irleand, got them bookings in different towns, and it was a complete success. This was thirty years ago —- well before anyone had a notion of bringing Comhaltas to America.


* Frank Thornton, born in 1908 about five miles from Listowel, Co. Kerry, died in Chicago, Illinois on October 21, 1997. He was 89.
Among his many activities for the love of Irish traditions, he also played a leading role in establishing and promoting the presence of Comhaltas in North America.


Detroit Irish Music Association - The Detroit Branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
http://www.detroitima.org/
Frank Thornton - Irish Traditional Music Hall of Fame
http://www.detroitima.org/hall_of_fame/2002/thornton_frank/index.html

X: 3
T: Frank Thornton’s
C: Terry ‘Cuz’ Teahan
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: highland fling
K: EDor
|: B2 B>A B2 A>B | d>BA>F D>EF<A |
B2 B>A (3BcB A>B |[1 d>BA>d B>EF>A :|[2 d>BA>F E2 E2 ||
B<ee>f g2 f>e | d2 B>d A>DF>A |
(3Bcd e>f (3gag f>e | d>BA>F E2 E2 |
B<ee>f g2 f>e | d2 B>d A>DF>A |
B<ee>d B>AF>A | D>E (3FED E>FG>A |]

X: 4
T: Frank Thornton’s
C: Terry ‘Cuz’ Teahan
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: highland fling
K: EDor
|: B2- B>^A (3BcB =A>B | d2 A>F D2 F<A |
(3BcB B>A B2 A>B |[1 d>BA>d B>E (3FGA :|[2 d>BA<F E2- E2 ||
(3Bcd e>f g2 f>e | d>DF>d A>D (3FGA |
(3Bcd e>f (3gag f>e | d>BA<F E2 (3FGA |
B2 e>f g>ef>e | d2 (3Bcd A>DF<A |
B2 e>d (3BcB F>A | D>EF<D E>FG<A |]

Here’s a few other ways you could take the last two bars of this tune ~

[2 (3Bcd e>f g>Af>A | d>BA>F E2 (3FGA |]

[2 B2 (3def g2 f>A | d>DF>D (3EFE F>A |]

[2 (3Bcd e>f (3gag f>A | D2 F>D E>FG>A |]

I think it’s a slow reel or something like that…