Johnny Cope hornpipe

Source: Planxty “Cold Blow And The Rainy Night”
I’ll quote from the sleevenotes.

“Johnny Cope” combines the well known song and hornpipe of the same name.How it arrived in Kerry-where it was learned from the great fiddler Padric O’Keefe will never be known but in its travels from Scotland it picked up four more parts and was collected by Seamus Ennis as a six part hornpipe."

Great tune. I know it from the Noel Hill and Tony Linnane album, on which Noel Hill uses a solo break to play this tune. You say you transcribed this from “Cold Blow and the Rainy Night;” did Noel Hill play on this album? I know he played on one or two of them. I was wondering if he also played it with Planxty.

No, he’s not on the album.It was released in 1974 and the band was Liam O‘Flynn,Andy Irvine,Christy Moore and Johnny Moynihan.They sing the song first and then Liam O’Flynn plays it solo.

I have submitted another version of Johnny Cope as an addition to the previous version
thesession.org/tunes/2327/comments
My contribution is more closely linked to that version than the one here.

https://thesession.org/tunes/2327

Mick O‘Brien also has a beautiful setting of this on his album ’May Morning Dew’ (However, the track links to the Polka).

Tim

Submitted on May 6th 2005 by low b flat.
https://thesession.org/recordings/1536

~ to add the link… This isn’t the only case where a link is not made to the relative tune or recording. Fortunately some folks like yourself Tim make the link here in the comments, and in this case I’ve just appended the address…

http://www.contemplator.com/scotland/cope.html

X:1
T:Johnny Cope
L:1/8
K:F
|:G4G3/2A/2 B/2c3/2|d2G2A3/2G/2 F/2D3/2|
F4F3/2G/2 A/2B3/2|c2F2A3/2G/2 F/2D3/2|
G4G3/2A/2 B/2c3/2|d2G2B3/2A/2 G/2A3/2|
[1F2f3/2e/2 d/2c3/2 B3/2A/2|G4G,4:|
[2F2f3/2e/2 d/2c3/2 B3/2A/2|G4D2G3/2A/2
|:B3c B2B,2|B3/2c/2 d/2e3/2 f4|A2G3/2F/2 F2G3/2c/2|
A3/2B/2 c/2B3/2 A2F2|G2A3/2B/2 A2B3/2c/2|
B2c3/2d/2 A2G3/2F/2|D2f3/2e/2 d/2c3/2 B3/2A/2|
[1G4G2G3/2A/2:|[2G4G3/2c/2 =B/2A3/2
|:G2D2G3/2A/2 =B/2c3/2|d3/2c/2 B/2A3/2 c3/2B/2 A/2G3/2|
F4F3/2G/2 A/2B3/2|c3/2A/2 f/2c3/2 B3/2A/2 G/2F3/2|
G2F3/2E/2 D/2C3/2 =B,3/2A,/2|G,/2A,3/2 B,3/2C/2 D2C3/2=B,/2|
C2D/2G3/2 D3/2C/2 B,/2A,3/2|[1G,4G3/2c/2 =B/2A3/2:|
C2D/2G3/2 D3/2C/2 B,/2A,3/2[2|G,8|
|:g4g2f/2g3/2|a2g2a3/2g/2 f/2d3/2|f4f2f3/2g/2|a2f2f/2a3/2|
g4g2f/2g3/2|a2f2g2d2|f2c2d3/2c/2 B/2A3/2|G4G,4:|
|:G3/2^F/2 G/2A3/2 G3/2A/2 B/2c3/2|d3/2_e/2 d/2c3/2 B3/2A/2 B/2G3/2|
A/2F3/2 c/2F3/2 d/2F3/2 c/2F3/2|A3/2c/2 f/2c3/2 B3/2A/2 G/2F3/2|
B3/2c/2 B/2A3/2 G3/2^F/2 G/2D3/2|G3/2A/2 B/2c3/2 d3/2c/2 d/2B3/2|
c3/2d/2 f/2g3/2 f3/2d/2 c/2A3/2|G4G,4:|
|:d3/2B/2 G/2B3/2 d3/2B/2 G/2B3/2|G3/2B/2 d/2g3/2 b3/2g/2 d/2B3/2|
c3/2A/2 F/2A3/2 c3/2A/2 F/2A3/2|F3/2A/2 c/2f3/2 a3/2f/2 c/2A3/2|
d3/2B/2 d/2f3/2 c3/2A/2 c/2f3/2|B3/2G/2 B/2d3/2 A3/2F/2 A/2c3/2|
(3dcB (3cBA (3BAG (3AG^F|G4G,4:|

I think Noel Hill played it in G minor, a lovely key for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJZYpyA63Kw

play video

nice version here

https://soundcloud.com/suzannecronin/padraig-okeeffe-plays-johnny

FWIW, an essay about where this version came from:
https://rushymountain.com/2017/10/06/johnny-cope/

A link to a transcription and an excellent recording of Margaret Barry

http://www.rogermillington.com/tunetoc/johnnycopebarry.html

Further to Chad’s posting . . .

Would this be the same Margaret Barry (Mairead de Barra) of Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick, the younger sister of Donal de Barra who was one of the leading figures in Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann? She played whistle and flute (prize winner in the Listowel Fleadh in about 1978 or -79 with a wonderful rendition of ‘Colonel Frazer’) and moved to Dublin to study.

I ended up learning 5 parts of this tune today without consulting any recording, just from having them in my head somewhere, without even meaning to. Granted I had the 5th and 6th parts switched the first time through, but not bad. The only one I didn’t know was the 4th part, which I went ahead and learned because… might as well. Fantastic tune.

This always sounds to me like it started out in life as a march, definitely a pipe tune. Taken from ‘A Fine Selection of Over 200 Irish Traditional Tunes for Sessions’, compiled by David Speers with a Forward by Matt Cranitch.

There are words about the English general John Cope, very derisive, after he was defeated in battle with the Scots.
Sylvia Miskoe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPddtB2VcdI

play video

A 4 part version from the H.S.J. Jackson, 1823 tunebook, part of the Winders of Wyresdale collection from Dolphinholme near Lancaster.., Lancs.

http://www.andyhornby.net/Winders.html

Ooh, nice find - I’ll have to update the article: https://rushymountain.com/2017/10/06/johnny-cope/
It looks like it’s identical to Aird’s / O’Farrell’s, but with F#s throughout.

In any case, I do think this four part tune should have it’s own tune page, separate from the six part one that starts this page. They’re definitely related, but I think distinct enough to be considered different tunes.

This is my transcription of the late Liam O’Flynn’s performance on Planxty’s “Cold Blow and the Rainy Night” album from 1974. I couldn’t find a melodically accurate transcription of his version anywhere online, so did my own. I haven’t tried to notate piping ornaments in general, so the E music transcription is slightly simplified from what he actually plays, but I have appended an extra E* section at the end for information/alternatives.

On the album Liam O’Flynn plays the tune on a “flat set” of pipes in C, so to play this notation along to the recording (e.g. https://youtu.be/4jjsK0-TfOk), use a C whistle!

play video

I have a downloadable Word.doc of my notation and several other settings and background info/links which may be acquired here: https://app.box.com/s/wws1uc9tjqeteiyohrdl3et48adu4aig

There’s an interesting, thorough background survey to the Irish sources and settings of this tune here: https://rushymountain.com/2017/10/06/johnny-cope, which supplements the Tunearch ones nicely. (https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Johnny_Cope_(1) & https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Johnny_Cope_(2))

My full ABC notation:
X:5
T:Johnny Cope
C:Traditional
O:Kerry, Ireland; after Scottish originals
S:Liam O‘Flynn, after Padraig O’Keeffe
D:Planxty: Cold Blow and the Rainy Night (Polydor, 1974)
N:On the album Liam O’Flynn plays the tune on a “flat set” of pipes in C, so to play this notation to the recording, use a C whistle
Z:Jem Hammond 4:3:2021
R:Hornpipe
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:Ador
P:A
A2 A>B A2 B>d|e>fe>d B2 A>G|E>GG>F ~G3 A|B>AG>B d>BG>A|B>AA>B A2 B>d|
e>fe>d B2 d2|e/f/g f>a g>ed>B|1 B>AA>B A>GE>G:|]2 B>AA>B A3 B]|:[P:B]c>Bc>d c2 G2|
c>de>f g>ed>B|c>BA>c e3 d|c>de>c d>BG>B|c>Bc>d c2 G2|c>de>f g>ed>g|
e>aa>g e/f/g e>d|B>AA>B A3 B:|]|:[P:C]c>Bc>B A>BA>G|A>Bc>d e/f/g d>c|B>G ~G2 d>G ~G2|
c>de>c d>BG>B|c>Bc>B A>BA>G|A>Bc>d e/f/g d>g|e>aa>g e/f/g e>d|1 B>AA>B A3 B:|]2
B>AA>B A2 B>d]|:[P:D]e2 a2 a2 g>a|b2 a2 g2 e>d|e>fg>f g>ab>a|g>ab>g a>ge>d|
e2 a2 a2 g>a|b2 a2 g2 g>e|d2 e>f g>ed>B|B>AA>B A2 B>d:|]|:[P:E]e4 f>e e>d|e4 f>e d>B|
d4 d>BA>B|d>d f>d e>dB>d|e4 f>e e>d|e>aa>e f>ed>B|1 A>Bd>f e>dd>B|B>AA>B A2 B>d:|]2
A>Bd>f e>fd>B|B>AA>B A3 e|]x//[P:F1]a2 e2 e>fg>e|a2 e2 e>fa>g|Tf2 d2 d>^cd>e|Tf2 d2 d3 e|
a2 e2 e>fg>e|a2 e2 e>fd>B|A>Bd>f e>dd>B|B>AA>B A3 e||[P:F2]a2 e2 f/f/e g>e|a2 e2 e2 a>g|
Tf2 d2 d>^cd>e|Tf2 d2 d3 e|a2 e2 e>fg>e|a2 e2 e>fd>B|A>Bd>f e>fd>B|B>AA>B A4|]
T:In the E music above I have not attempted to represent Liam O’Flynn’s staccato piping ornamentation.
T:The following separate alternative transcription of the section is an attempt to do so.
[P:E]“@4,38 (alternative)”|: e4 f/f/e e>d|e4 f/f/e d>B| d4 d>BA>B|d/d/d x6 & d/^c/d f>d e>dB>d|e4 f/f/e e>d|
e>aa>e f/f/e d>B|1 A>Bd>f e>dd>B|B>AA>B A2 B>d:|]2 A>Bd>f e>fd>B|B>AA>B A3 e|]

A version with guitar by John Doyle -
https://youtu.be/tdYOtsm4AMs

play video

This setting is based on track 10 of Mick O’Brien’s “May Morning Dew” where he plays it on a B whistle with lovely piano accompaniment. It’s my favorite setting of this epic hornpipe and I was surprised it wasn’t here already, so I taught myself ABC’s to remedy this void. Enjoy!

Based on Noel Hill’s playing in *Noel Hill and Tony Linnane*.

Most transcriptions of this tune give the second and third parts as distinct, repeatable sections - as in X:1. Is this how the piece is commonly played? (How do YOU do it?). It’s always seemed to me that these melody lines are so similar that the second time through is merely a slight variation of the first. This is how it’s shown in the transcription of Ms Barry’s setting linked to Chad’s comment above: (http://www.rogermillington.com/tunetoc/johnnycopebarry.html). Does anybody else think that this this is the way to play it ?

Here is the Noel Hill version - it’s outstanding!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0Mzxw76ISU

play video

I also think this started as a march.
Feels to me like a sped up march

What Eubonian said.

Pat