Julia Delaney’s reel

I don’t know too much about this tune - I learned it from Bob Drouin. I think it might have northern origins, as I’ve heard lot’s of Glackin’s play it & T. Peoples played it alot as well. Nonetheless it’s a nice tune - it’s good fast or slow & there’s a lot of room to add your own little things too.

Thanks—this is one of my favorite tunes. I believe it appears in O’Neill’s collection, but there aren’t any notes about origin. I understand Julia (and a few other Delaneys) were related to Captain O’Neill—nieces or grandchildren.

You can listen to this tune at http://www.rte.ie/radio/ceolnet/ . go to Musicians -> The Bothy Band -> Julia Delaney’s.

Is it just me, or is the O’Neil version of this tune unplayable?
http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/cgi/abc/gettune?F=GIF&U=/~jc/music/book/oneills/1850/X/1401_bs.abc&X=1401&T=JULIADELANEY&N=JuliaDelaney.gif

Paddy Moloney and Sean Potts do a really interesting version of this tune on their old album "Tin Whistles." It’s just the two of them doing a duet on whistle with a bodhran accompanying them. The version they do sounds very dramatic.

Daniel Petrie

Probably is a northern tune, as was mentioned. The second part looks distincly Scottish. Many of the scottish tunes that were taken up in Ireland were changed to versions suitable to something other than the highland pipes (pretty obvious) which might explain the f naturals and the low first part.

This one is quit difficult to play on a D whistle in the key it’s written in here (D dorian). However, it becomes a lot simpler if you shift it up to E dorian. Then you just need to play it on a C whistle to get back to the original key.
And yes, the O’Neill’s version is completely different ( and unplayable ).

I think I heard this tune played by Kane sisters on radio. I don’t know how they call it.

Kevin Burke used to do a mean slow version of this in his days touring with Micheal O’Domhnaill - nothing much like it is on If the Cap Fits. Lots and lots of oh so sensitive variations. Haven’t heard the Bothy version. Tried harry’s link, above, but it appears to be long gone 🙁

Then again, I have a pal who plays a much friskier version on the banjo - guess what? Lot’s of oh so sensitive (totally different) variations.

Another version from a session tape.

||:d=cAG F2DF |E2CE FEFA |dBAG F2EF| Add^c defe|d=cAG F2DF |E2CE FEFA |d
BAG F2EF|1 Add^c d4:||2 Add^c d2de||
:fede fagf |e=cgc acgc |fede fagf |edcB Adde |fede fagf |ecgc acgc |fedf
edcB |Add^c d2de:||

Oups. Bar 3 and 7 are better as |dBAG F2DF|.

This tune sounds like Eileen Curren in a different key.

I think this tune is closely related to Maude Miller: https://thesession.org/tunes/65

Will, help! 🙂 Or someone — you once posted what key James Kelly and Zan MacLeod play this in on the Ring Session cd — do you remember off hand what that key is? Inquiring minds, I’m having a lesson and can’t remember, hope you’re online!

Zan picks it in Gm.

Thanks! 🙂

||: dcAG F2 EF | E2 CE FEDc# | dcAG F2 DF | Addc# defe | dcAG F2 EF | E2 CE FE Dc# | dcAG F2 DF | Addc# d4:||
||: f2 fe fagf | ecgc acgc | fede fagf | edc#e d2 de| f2 fe fagf | ecgc acgc | fede fdca | addc# d2 de:|| addc# d4 |

Somewhat different.
Played after The Tempest as a set.

Julia Rythym
||: Dm | C Dm| Dm | Am Dm :|| (x2)
||: Dm | C | Dm | A Dm :|| (x2)

Portneuf Valley Brewing Company ~ Pocatello, Idaho, U.S.A.
Submitted on December 28th 2005 by nipdigler.
https://thesession.org/sessions/1197

The one I play is loosely based on the Bothy version. The Fiddler’s Companion (http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/JR._JZ.htm) has quite a bit of the history.

X:1
T: Julia Delaney’s
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Ddor
|dcAG F2DF | E2CE F2A,F | dcAG EFDF| A~d3 defe |
dcAG D~F3 | D ~E3 D ~F3 | dcAG EFDF|1 A~d3 ~d3z:|2 A~d3 ~d3 e||
|f2de fagf | ecgc acgc | fAde fagf| eBcB A d{e}de|
fAde fagf | (3edcgc acgc | fedf edcB|1 A ~d3 ~d3 e :|2 A~d3 ~d3z|

Paul O’Shaughnessy recorded a great Donegal version of this tune on the recent duet album with Harry Bradley.

There is an excellent version of this tune in Jerry Holland’s fiddle tune collection.

Con Cassidy recorded this well-known tune as "Maude Millar’s Highland."

I like this tune but it’s impossible to play it as notated on a concert D set. Most of the transitions between the F naturals and other notes are awkward at best, even with good technique on the key, half holing, etc.

Also, the C natural is TERRIBLE as a pedal tone to second octave notes like g and a.

Solution for pipers: Transpose to E dorian and play it on a C chanter. Or just play the whistle.

BTW how come fiddlers can change the key of a perfectly good tune in G major or D major and it’s cool and funky but if a piper takes a tune that’s very hard on the pipes in its "normal" key and makes it work better within the limitations of the chanter that’s seen as naff or weak or too demanding of everyone else?!

Can you say "DOUBLE STANDARD," folks?

That’s because they don’t understand how hard it is to actually play the pipes, so what do they care.

Here’s an easier substitute: https://thesession.org/tunes/65

The issues with keys generally depend on whether the listener has anything resembling perfect pitch. If he or she has, playing tunes in keys they weren’t written in can be cringing to listen to. A common example for me is Calliope House when played in anything other than E Major.

This tune has D minor written all over it!

I hope I didn’t break any rules by moving every letter in the ABCs up one in the alphabet.

X:1
T: Julia Delaney’s
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Edor
edBA ~G2FG | ~F2 EF GE E2 | edBA GABB | Beed e2 gf :||
g2gf gbag | fdad bdad | g2gf gbag | fedA Bee2 :||

Shane McAleer plays a beautiful, extended version of this idea(the theme can hardly be recognised but the mood’s in it) after his own ‘Sorley Boy McDonnell’ on track 4 of: Live at Madden’s
https://thesession.org/recordings/3760

Is JD a single or double reel? My sense is that it’s mostly played as a single reel (4 bars repeated, A & B), rather than a double reel (8 bars repeated, A & B). I’ve seen it done both ways.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8ERdevqoCQ

play video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8ERdevqoCQ

play video

Johnny McGreevy’s rather unique version of this tune (or some semblance of his version)

X:1
T: Julia Delaney’s
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Ddor
|dcAG FDDE | F2cF dFcF | dcAG FDDc| Addc ~d3c |
dcAG FDDF | E~C3 G~C3 | dcAG EDDc|1 Addc ~d3z:|2 A~d3 ~d3 e||
|fede fagf | e~c3 Gceg| fede fage| fedc Ad2e|
fede fagf | e~c3 Gceg |^f~a3 e~3g|1 =fedc Ad2e :|2 =fedc Ad3|

This is what I meant to post. He plays it single.

X: 7
T: Julia Delaney’s
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Ddor
|dcAG FDDE | F2cF dFcF | dcAG FDDc| Addc ~d3c |
dcAG FDDF | E~C3 G~C3 | dcAG EDDc| Addc ~d3|
|fede fagf | e~c3 Gceg| fede fage| fedc Ad2e|
fede fagf | e~c3 Gceg |^f~a3 e~3g|=fedc Ad3|

http://youtu.be/5WGqjW8nBGQ

play video

Is it just me, or is the 2nd section of this tune pretty much exactly the second section in Musical Priest?

https://thesession.org/tunes/73

Just another session-learnt variant - played double.
X:1
T:Julia Delaney
O:Ireland/America?
C:Traditional
S:http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/JR._JZ.htm#JULIA_DELANEY_[2]
S:Session-acquired/Martin Hugill
Z:Jem Hammond 11:2:2016
R:Reel
L:1/8
M:C|
K:D Dorian
dcAG F2 DF|E2 CE F2 D2|dcAG F2 DF|Ad{e}d^c defe|dcAG F2 DF|E2 CE F2 D2|
dcAG F2DF|1Ad{e/}d^c d4:|2 Ad{e/}d^c d3 e[|:fede fagf|e/d/cgc acgc|fede fagf|
edcB Ad{e}de|fede fagf|e/d/cgc acgc|fede edcB|1 Add^c d3 e:|2 Ad{e/}d^c d4|]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdATUCG9qEA

play video

Setting in E Minor with chords and with no ornamentation.

My transcription of Julia Delaney as played by the band Knacker’s Yard. They play it second in a set with Tamlin’s reel.

It’s in the PORTLAND COLLECTION p 115

THE PORTLAND COLLECTION
CONTRA DANCE MUSIC IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
BY SUSAN SONGER with CLYDE CURLEY
Copyright 1997
Published by MULTNOMAH PRINTING, PORTLAND, OR
MAY 1997

Source:Kevin Burke
Transcription: Gian Marco Pietrasanta