Johnny’s Wedding reel

I’d like to find the right title for this reel. I found it in a track list by Trio Vladah who played mainly Rom and East Europe folk music. They titled just “Reel”.

Looks a bit like “Johnny’s Wedding” to me.

Thanks to Kenny I found the right title for this reel. The Dm submission just comes from my own recording by Trio Vladah, but the original version you can find in the book “O’Neill: The dance music of Ireland” at N.493 in Gm key. For traditionalist players I suggest this one.

X: 1
T: Johnny’s wedding
M: C|
L: !/8
R: reel
K: Gm
GA|BGdG BGGB|AFcF AFFA|BGdG BGGB|AF (3D=E^F G2 GA|
!BGdG BGGB|AFcF AFFA|GBAc Bdce|dg^fa g2:|
!|:ga|bgag fdd=e|fdcB AFFA|bgag fddc|dg^fa g2 ga|
!bgag fdd=e|fdcB AFFA|GBAc Bdce|dg^fa g2:|

I often come across this tune as Colonel McBain, and it is always played in Em in Irish sessions. Jeremey posted it as Sean Frank’s: https://thesession.org/tunes/102 I’m sure O’Neill has it in the same key. A bit of research shows the older Scottish version is in the key of Gm in the Athole collection. You can find it on this page: http://softflute.co.uk/music/abc/index.htm It’s massive!

Comparing all these tunes I find great similarity mainly in A part, but in my opinion the most recognizable parts of “Johnny’s wedding” stand in the latest 2 measures both of A and B.
In my own database I will consider similar (very similar indeed!) all them, but I prefer to distinguish separately “Johnny’s wedding” by “Sean Frank’s” and “Colonel McBain”.
About O‘Neill editions I confirm that in “O’Neill: The dance music of Ireland” N.493 you will find in Gm. Meanwhile I have the “O’Neill: Music fo Ireland” (revised by Miles Krassen) editon on page 99 where you can find just 1 b near violin key, but the tune sounds in Gm too.

It seems to me the two tunes derived from one and the same Scots tune in Gm. But O’Neill has them as separate tunes in different keys. Mind you, keyless flute players can’t play most tunes in Gm and Dm.

I’ve generally played this tune in G minor but I also have a setting of the same/similar tune known as Sean frank’s or Colonel McBain from Lucy Farr, in A minor.
I recently came across another version of this tune in O‘Neills ’1001‘ as ’The Smoky House’

I also play these as separate tunes in different keys, but I play them in Edor and Gdor respectively. I don’t think I realised until today that they were related, but it seems obvious to me now. Here are my settings:

X: 1
T: Colonel McBain’s
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Edor
F|GEBE GEEG|FDAD FDDF|GEBE GEEB|AGFG E3F|
GEBE GEEB|ABAG FDDF|~G3F GBdB|AGFG E3:|
|:F|~G3F GBdB|ABAG FDDF|Eeed efge|fedf e3d|
efed BcdB|ABAG FDDF|~G3F GBdB|AGFG E3:|

X: 1
T: Johnny’s wedding
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Gdor
A|BGdG BGGB|AFcF AFFA|BGdG BGGB|AGFA ~G3A|
BGdG BGGB|AFcF AFFA|GBAc Bdc_e|dg^fa ~g3:|
|:a|bgag fdde|fdcB AFFa|bgag fdd^c|dg^fa ~g3a|
bgag fdde|fdcB AFFA|GBAc Bdc_e|dg^fa ~g3:|

Nice settings… 🙂

Key signature: E Dorian
Submitted on April 3rd 2007 by JACKB.

X: 1
T: McMullin’s
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: E Dorian
|: zF |
GEBE GEEG | FDAD FDDF | GEBE GEEG | FEDF E3F |
GEBE GEEG | FDAD FDDF | EGFA GBAc | Be^df e2 :|
|: ef |
(3gfe fd edBA | BGAF GEEf | (3gfe fd edBA | Be^df e2 ef |
(3gfe fd edBA | BGAF GE E2 | EGFA GBAc | Be^df e2 :|

“I don’t know much about this tune, I learnt it years ago.”

# Posted on April 3rd 2007 by JACKB

Well done for saving that, ‘c’.

Great tune…..a little dark for a wedding…… the poor lad prolly didn’t know what he was getting himself into.

I’ve come across this tune when playing with a friend who has it as a single reel and in the last bar of the first part he goes down to the low B. I’ve listed the setting which I picked up from him…

Tune number 725 in Francis O’Neill:“The Dance Music of Ireland” (1907).

There are other two tunes in thesession that have the same name, but as a second name. I went through all the settings and if I’m not mistaken, there are only some similarities with the first part. What makes this tune more recognisable is the second part, that reaches the high C.

The Breton band Gwendal played it in his 1977 album called Rainy Day, it is one of the reels of the set played in the first track. More than likely this band got the tune directly from O’Neill’s tunebook because they play it very similar, doing a nice alternation of instruments.

This is the track in the album, the reel starts at 3:13 (I added a comment with the link):

https://youtu.be/nQvj5NmOFZA

play video

Kyle Borley plays a fine version as well:

https://youtu.be/6jFJjtS7ypM

play video

And here you are Fergal Scahill on the mandolin with what looks like a change of position in the second part:

https://youtu.be/5UDIXTXfmq0

play video

From a heard setting of Seamus Ennis (though I cannot locate the recording as I post this). I imagine he must have played in in A on the pipes, but I am not sure.

Rainy Day I believe is a separate although similar tune. In the 2nd measure of the B part of Smoky House, stringed instruments can instead of repeating the low G, change the second G to an open string D and let it ring, allowing more time to get back up to the high B. O’Neil’s version in A goes up to the high C and only down to the G, which means that the B part may be played entirely in the lower register with a lovely ringing open G string at the bottom of the line. One of my favorite tunes, with many different settings inherent in the tune itself.

Do you Know the other tunes that complete the Rainy Day set of Gwendal?

Rainy Day - Miss Crawford´s - …..? - The Smoky House - McBrand´s Reel - ….? til the end


Thanks

*McBrand´s -The Humours Of Westport reel

The Girl Who Broke My Heart - Miss Crawford´s - Rainy Day - The Smoky House - The Humours Of Westport.

Gwendal - Rainy Day

I miss the ending of the set….