Emma waltz

Despite giving the real name of this Waltz in his sleeve notes, Dan Herlihy, for some reason calls it ‘The French Waltz’ on the CD ‘The Ballydesmond Polka’. (?)

His notes actually say:
"John {Drew} first heard this tune from Concertina player Jackie Bolster-Aherne of Mourneaddey. Seamus Creagh and Aidan Coffey have recorded it as one of the Muistoja Karpaateilta Waltzes sourced in Finland."

So why, if he didn’t want to use its real name, did he call it The French Waltz instead of say The Finish Waltz, or better still, its real name?

I think this is a magical little tune and it reminds me of some of those delightful, charming, & kind of hypnotic, tunes of Brittany, which should be played over & over again, at least 30 times, with 30 Litres of Wine at your side!

Must get a listen to Seamus & Aidan playing it.

Must say, I don’t find this as mournful as many of the Finish tunes I’ve heard.

It is it a waltz, why transcribe it as a jig?

Blah! ~ I haven’t had my coffee yet, some excuse eh. So, to put it in another way:

~ if this is 3/4, why transcribe it as if it were 6/8?

Weird!!! ~ that obviously isn’t the only thing strange about this transcription… I need to hear this… I have played a number of Finnish waltzes but so far this one isn’t making much sense to me ears. Maybe after the coffee, and if I finish off that unopened bottle of Cuban rum too…

Now, the midi rings bells and is familiar… Hmmmm?

"I’ll be back!!!" ~ in a Schwarzenegger sort of accent…

No! ~ I do not sound like the bloke from the local Indian takeaway!

"If it is a waltz, why transcribe it as a jig?" - Och SCHEISSE Ceolachan, sure you play everythin’ far too fast! 🙂 ………. or, maybe ‘cause I’ve got two left feet & can’t dance!

By the way, are you sure your name isn’t really Ceallachan - "In direct line from ‘Ceallachan’, King of Munster from 935 until his death in 954"

Maybe that would explain all those ‘Airs & Graces’! 😀

http://www.araltas.com/features/callaghan/

i.e. - "It’s no good putting on airs and graces with me. I knew you when you were working in a shop!"
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/airs+and+graces

So, come tell us, which shop did you work in?
Or have we got to guess?

He He 😀

Damn, is that why I sometimes smell like something long dead, and I thought it was just the heat and my love of garlic and the whole alium family.

With regards to ‘shops’, well, do you want my CV? We had our own small garage store going for awhile, festival stuff, and then I worked in several music places, managerial even, there was the last one which was the main one for a county, and there was one further back that was ‘international’… The county one was run by a scam artist and crook… He wanted me to partner with him. I quit three times and he kept begging me to come back and that things would change. The third time was final and I gave him enough upset with the way he was cheating our customers, but he did try to get me to come back again ~ my response was without respect or consideration, I lost it…

Instead of ‘a minor’, the version given above, the following are in e minor and 3/4 waltz time (I haven’t figured out yet how to make a smilies with its teeth showing, but what I’d really like is one with the canines oversized 😉 )…

I also enjoy swinging it like a mazurka, with the pulse on 1 & 3, see the second take…

K: e minor
|: B>c BG EE |B>c BG EG | F>A GF E^D | E>F GA B2 |
B2 BG EG |B>c BG E2 | F2 F/G/A GF | E>F GF E2 :|
|: e2- ee dc | B>c BE GE | F>A GF E^D | E>F GA B2 |
e>f gf ec | B>c dc BG | F2 F/G/A GF | E>F GF E2 :|

|: B>c B>G E>G |B>c B>G (3EFG | F>A G>F E>^D | E>F G>A B2 |
B2 B>G (3EFG |B>c B>G E2 | F2 (3FGA G>F | E>F G>F E2 :|
|: e2 e>E d>E | B2 B>E G>E | F2 G>F E>^D | E>F G>A B>g |
e2 g>c e>c | B2 d>G (3BAG | F2 (3FGA G>F | E2- E>^D E2 :|

K: a minor
|: e>f ec AA | e>f ec AA | B2 B/c/d cB | A>B cd e2 |
e>f ec AA | e>f ec AA | B2 B/c/d cB | A>B cB A2 :|
|: a>a aa gf | e>f ee dc | B2 B/c/d cB | A>B cd e2 |
a>a aa gf | e>f ee dc | B2 B/c/d cB | A>B cB A2 :|

Ive played a version of this tune years ago with friends from sweden as emma-waltz together with the øland waltz
i have no time to write it down but find something via Jc´s abc-tunefinder:


X: 1
T:Emma
R:Waltz
O:Sweden
O:Finland
M:3/4
A:Dalarna
F:http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/music/abc/mirror/kirby98.fsnet.co.uk/em/Emma_1.abc 2006-07-28 08:59:37 UT
K:Am
Ac|\
e4 e2|c2A2 Ac|e4 e2|c2A2 Ac|B4 Bc|d2c2 B2|A6\
|1 E4 :|2 A4::
e2|\
a4 a2|a2g2f2|e4 e2|e2d2 c2|B3B c2|d2c2 B2|A6\
|1 E4:|2 A4|]

Thanks Kurt, that certainly sounds more lonesome & mourneful - & much more like the Finish/Swedish tunes I’ve heard in the past.

Still, nothing wrong with IT musicians putting their own stamp on the tune. No sense in slavishly copying for the sake of it - eh?

I’m sure Scandinavian musicians put their own flavour on Irish tunes when they play them & I know, when I try to play Irish tunes they always reek of Glenmorangie & Haggis - or is that smell coming from my feet? 🙂

I’ts those damn runners of yours…toe cheese!

Key signature: A Dorian
Submitted on July 28th 2006 by Kurt Franke.
https://thesession.org/tunes/6040

"Oi Emma!" 😉 ( Oi! ~ You! )
~ the why of the alternate title…

Oi muistatkos, Emma, sen kuutamo-illan,
Kun yhdessä tansseista palattiin?
Sinä sanasi annoit, ja valasi vannoit,
Ja lupasit olla mun omani.

Oi Emma, Emma, oi Emma, Emma,
ja lupasit olla mun omani.
Oi Emma, Emma, oi Emma, Emma,
ja lupasit olla mun omani.

Sinä sanoit vielä senkin että "painappas pääsi
Vasten mun palavaa rintaani!"
Sinä omistit minut, minä omistin sinut,
Ja tahdoimme lempiä alati.

Oi Emma, Emma, oi Emma, Emma,
Ja tahdoimme lempiä alati.
Oi Emma, Emma, oi Emma, Emma,
Ja tahdoimme lempiä alati.

Minä uskoin ja vannoin, ja sormukseni annoin,
Ja lupasin olla sun omasi.
Sinä valasi taitoit, ja lahjastani laitoit
Vain heiluvat renkahat korviisi.

Oi Emma, Emma, oi Emma, Emma,
Vain heiluvat renkahat korviisi.
Oi Emma, Emma, oi Emma, Emma,
Vain heiluvat renkahat korviisi.

K: a minor
|: c Ac |
e2- ef ec | A2 cA cd | e2 ef ec | A2- Ac BA |
BE ^GB EG | e2- ed cB |1 A2 AB cd | e3 :|
2 A2 Ac B^G | A3 ||
|: A ce |
a2- a_b a^g | (3aba (3gag f2 | e2- ef e^d | (3efe (3ded c2 |
B2 ^GB EG | e2 ed cB |1 A2- AB cd | e3 :|
2 A2 Ac B^G | A3 ||

K: d minor
|: F DF |
A2- AB AF | D2 FD FG | A2 AB AF | D2- DF ED |
EA, ^CE A,C | A2- AG FE |1 D2 DE FG | A3 :|
2 D2 DF E^C | D3 ||
|: D FA |
d2- d_e d^c | (3ded (3cdc B2 | A2- AB A^G | (3ABA (3GAG F2 |
E2 ^CE A,C | A2 AG FE |1 D2- DE FG | A3 :|
2 D2 DF E^C | D3 ||

A tune I got from a very good friend and brilliant musican, John Murphy, who played in an Irish band through Europe many years back.

Is there a recording available for this tune? For the time being I am learning it from the MIDI download.

I learned the A and B part as a tune called "The Swedish Waltz".

I think the 2 part version is also called ‘Emma’s Waltz’

Key signature: a minor (& other transcriptions in ‘comments’)
Submitted on July 27th 2006 by Ptarmigan.
https://thesession.org/tunes/6030

Unfortunately this was originally submitted in 6/8 time, as a jig, and as yet no correction has been made in the ABCs:

X: 1
T: Muistoja Karpaateilta
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
R: waltz
K: Amin
|: e3 f e2 | c2 A2 A2 | e3 f e2 | c2 A2 A2 | B4 Bc | d2 c2 B2 | A3 B cd | e6 |
e3 f e2 | c2 A2 A2 | e3 f e2 | c2 A2 A2 | B4 Bc | d2 c2 B2 | A3 B cB | A6 :|
|: a3 a a2 | a2 g2 f2 | e3 f e2 | e2 d2 c2 | B4 Bc | d2 c2 B2 | A3 B cd | e6 |
a3 a a2 | a2 g2 f2 | e3 f e2 | e2 d2 c2 | B4 Bc | d2 c2 B2 | A3 B cB | A6 :|

Submitted on July 27th 2006 by Ptarmigan.
‘Minor’ adjustments, & to 3/4 made by ‘c’…

X: 1
T: Muistoja Karpaateilta
M: 3/4
L: 1/8
R: waltz
K: Amin
|: e2- ef e2 | c2 A2 A2 | e2- ef e2 | c2 A2 A2 | B4 Bc | d2 c2 B2 | A2- AB cd | e6 |
e2- ef e2 | c2 A2 A2 | e2- ef e2 | c2 A2 A2 | B4 Bc | d2 c2 B2 | A2- AB cB | A6 :|
|: a2- aa a2 | a2 g2 f2 | e2- ef e2 | e2 d2 c2 | B4 Bc | d2 c2 B2 | A2- AB cd | e6 |
a2- aa a2 | a2 g2 f2 | e2- ef e2 | e2 d2 c2 | B4 Bc | d2 c2 B2 | A2- AB cB | A6 :|

‘Minor’ adjustments, & to 3/4 made by ‘c’…

Key signature: e minor
Submitted on October 12th 2008 by JACKB.
https://thesession.org/tunes/8997

One end of the bookend repeat signs are missing here but the correction could still be added to the ABCs…

What is John Murphy’s story behind this waltz? ~ especially the 3rd part, which, to my senses, does not hang comfortably on the end of the other two?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1IHW0nTt8w

play video

"Seamus Creagh and Aidan Coffey have recorded it as one of the Muistoja Karpaateilta Waltzes sourced in Finland."

I don’t know where this misinformation came from. There are (as far as I know and Finnish recording catalogues seem to verify) not a "series" of "Muistoja Karpaateilta Waltzes "."Muistoja Karpaateilta" translates as "Memories of the Carpathians" and there is (apparently) only one waltz under that name. It most definitely isn’t this one. This tune has been correctly identified as "Emma" - a traditional tune used for a song either by Väinö Siikaniemi (no luck finding who this was but it was also the name of a javelin thrower!) or Evert Suonio - there seems to be a dispute over the composer.
The song is a real downer. Ceol has submitted the words.
Rough translation (My Finnish isn’t that great) of first verse and chorus:

Oh do you remember, Emma, on that moonlight night,
When we returned together from the dance,
You gave your word and made a vow,
And promised to be mine.

Oh Emma, emma,
Oh Emma, Emma,
And promised to be mine,
Oh Emma, emma,
Oh Emma, Emma,
And promised to be mine.

…but it all falls flat.

Here’s Tapio giving his rendition:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-8ombTrT8A

play video

As for Muistoja Karpaateilta, I’m submitting the "real" one.
In the seven years that this misinformation has circulated, it has found its way all over the internet.
It does strike home how important it can be to check facts.

I live in Sweden and belong to a Swedish folk music orchestra that plays mostly traditional Swedish folk music (especially from our county).

However, we also include particularly lovely tunes from other Scandinavian countries in our repertoire. So, this tune’s name is definitely "Emma" and it’s definitely a traditional Finnish waltz. Our orchestra often plays for traditional dances, and our signature "end tune" is always Emma.