The Japanese hornpipe

From the playing of that fine belgian fiddler Thierry Masure

Here’s what was said about the tune on ‘The Fiddler’s Companion’ website.

“The tune originally came from a travelling circus which frequented Donegal. As one of the circus acts a troupe of performers, together with a fiddler, would act a comic skit to the first part of the tune, but when the second part came around they would stop the action and perform a comic dance. This structure was repeated until the conclusion of the skit. The tune was remembered by local Donegal musicians in attendance, and comes down to the present generation of Donegal fiddlers via John Doherty.”

This is my best effort to make sense from the incoherent ABCs that are posted there.

X:1
T:Japanese Hornpipe
M:C|
L:1/8
S:Johnny Doherty
K:A
cd |: (3efe ^de =de c2| (3BcB AB GB F2| EFGA Bcde | fe^de c2  c=d |
(3efe ^de =de c2| (3BcB AB GB F2| EFGA Bcde |1(3gfe (3dcB A2 cd:|2 (3gfe (3dcB A2||
ea|:c’e c’4(3eac’| e’2 bab2 eg |be b4 (3egb | e’2  aga2 ea |c’e c’4(3eac’|
e’2 bab2 ea|gagf (3efe (3dcB |1AcBG A2 ea:|2AcBG A2||

Tha ABC is fine and the sheet music is fine.

Maybe you misunderstood me. I was referring to the ABCs on the Fiddler’s Companion website as “incoherent” – not yours posted here – they’re fine. The problem with the ABCs on that site are in the B-part. I had to move the bar lines and do some serious editing before it was right.

I apoligise,my misunderstanding.

No problem – it certainly isn’t the first time someone misunderstood what was being said in this website. 😉

Something I like to do with this tune is to go between playing it in the keys of A and D. S’fun.

I don’t know ,I learned it from Thierry

This tune doesn’t sound Japanese at all!

It’s all part of the master plan. I think there was a movie about it once. The Japanese write a hornpipe and call it the Japanese hornpipe, but they make it sound sort of Irish just to throw people off the track. I think there a monster involved, and a noodle shop, and the plot was just like one or two Shakespeare plays. But I don’t remember how it ended ’cause I fell asleep in the middle. Or maybe I fell asleep and dreamed that I saw the movie.

X:3 from the fiddling of Frank Cassidy, the original recording may be heard on his Nil Gar Ann! CD. Very flashy. The attempt at capturing Johnny Doherty’s playing isn’t all there and I may attempt to improve on it sometime here.

This is Paddy Glackin’s version from the album ‘Hidden Ground’ that he made with Jolyon Jackson in 1980.

From Offally, but now London-based box player John Bowe’s version:
https://www.itma.ie/digital-library/sound/john-bowe-japanese-hp

Don’t see many tunes going above a B5. Makes this tune quite unique. Am surprised as well to be hearing of it first through the flute playing of Matt Molloy

https://youtube.com/watch?v=GClqWMkOZiU

play video

There seem to be 2 different second parts to this hornpipe — a high one and a lower one.
Also there are slightly different variations in the second part of the lower version . Listen to the various offerings by different musicians and pick the one you like. The one I have posted has bits of different ones mixed in .

Just wanted to add that the version I posted is from John Bowe Accordion player ITMA , except for the last bar of the tune.

I first heard it on “Hidden Ground” by Paddy Glackin and Jolson Jackson.

This is a spirited version from Feargal Scahill
https://youtu.be/Q2sT3qHmiXw

play video