O Cabalo Azul jig

In Galicia, jigs are called "muñeiras". I’ve double-checked and this is the right spelling. You will nevertheless see many references to "muiñeiras", but it only takes one "i".

Writing this one, I tried to capture the subtleties of Carlos’ interpretation. Of course, I did not succeed… In music, nothing compares to the ear!

Lovely tune.

Hi f.pellerin

I wouldn’t be too concerned about that type of tune being spelled with two "i" as "muiñiera" That seems to be how it’s spelled in Galego on Nuñez’s site and on the sleeve notes of the Galician group Milladoiro’s first recording.:-)

The Blue Horse?

Should the 1st time last bar of the final part be like this?

DFA dEF:|

I know this tune, but didn’t know the title. I think it has a known composer (a piper) and was composed sometime in the 50s or 60s, but I don’t know the name.

Unlike the Uillean pipes, the Gaita Gallega can play a full chromatic scale over two octaves, using cross fingering (similar to a recorder) and tunes in melodic minor scales, such as this one, are not uncommon. They are usually pitched in C, so this tune would sound in Cm.

In fact, it’s more of a harmonic minor. Not the Dorian or Aeolian mode.

"Muiñeira a De Cabana"
Submitted on December 16th 2001 by keko.
https://thesession.org/tunes/437

"Muiñeira De Casu"
Submitted on October 30th 2002 by Trinil.
https://thesession.org/tunes/1096

"Muiñeira De Poio"
Submitted on July 1st 2004 by chris_celt.
https://thesession.org/tunes/3231

"Muineira Del Sol"
Submitted on August 20th 2004 by FiddlinViolinin.
https://thesession.org/tunes/3428

"Galician Muiñeira"
Submitted on October 20th 2004 by ceolachan.
https://thesession.org/tunes/3730

"Muineira de "Chao"
Submitted on March 1st 2005 by FiddlinViolinin.
https://thesession.org/tunes/4268

"Cristina Pato’s Muiñeira #1"
Submitted on March 21st 2005 by swisspiper.
https://thesession.org/tunes/4336

"Cristina Pato’s Muiñeira #2"
Submitted on March 22nd 2005 by swisspiper.
https://thesession.org/tunes/4343

"Muñeira Anterga"
Submitted on January 25th 2006 by eduard.
https://thesession.org/tunes/5452

Thanks for the handy muiñeira cross-referencing, ‘c’!

isn’t "muneira" without the "i" the asturian language name for jig?

It seems, even album notes, Asturians themselves vary the spelling. Maybe it goes by district?

In galician is muiñeira

(i’m galician)

That’s good, really, I’m happy for you, but it seems we may have a disagreement between the Asturians and the Galicians? ~ or at least some folks take it with or without, like coffee or tea with or without cream or milk… :-/

I’ve just come across this tune in a tutor book (and monster tune collection) ‘Os Segredos da Gaita (‘The Secrects of the Gaita’), by Xose Lois Foxo (sho-SEH lo-EESS FO-sho), under the title,
‘Muiñeira Da Ponte De San Paio’ - (I’ve posted this as an alternate title). It says it was collected by J. Inzenga.

Incidentally, the whole book is in Gallego, published by the Galician regional authority (Xunta de Galicia) and it consistently uses the spelling ‘muiñeira’. And, for the record, in Portugal, it’s ‘murinheira’.

"isn’t "muneira" without the "i" the asturian language name for jig?"

Swisspiper - There are too many subtle shades of meaning for there to be one-to-one word relationships between languages. Sometimes, rather than adopt foreign words to denote foreign concepts, we use a word that is a close approximation. An Asturian musician might find it convenient to use ‘muiñeira’ or ‘muñeira’ to refer to a jig, a musician from the British Isles might refer to a muñeira as a ‘jig’. But, I don’t think ‘muñeira’ is the Asturian word a jig any more than ‘jig’, is the English word for ‘muñeira’.

As for traditional dancing, I know very little about it - much less that of the NW Iberian peninsula. But I did see a muiñeira danced (accompanied very deftly on pandeireta [tambourine], no other musicians being present) in Vigo, Galicia, and I can say that it bore very little resemblance to any jig I have seen.

the correct name of this tune is: Muiñeira de Pontesampaio.
This tune dates from 1880.
Galician muiñeiras are closed to asturian muñeras, but slightly diferent.

If you travel once to Galicia you can realise everybody say MUIÑEIRA in galician language and even in spanish.
Muiñeira is a word refered to MUIÑO, mill in english.
Usually the whells of the mills in Galiza were drived by hydropower.
When the people went to the mills they spent all the day there and finally they sang songs and play tunes called MUIÑEIRAS, but not all the tunes played there are musically MUIÑEIRAS.

I love it, ‘I’nternational conflict at TheSesh… ;-)

"Muiñeira De Santalla D’Ozcos"
Submitted on May 20th 2004 by Rusty.
https://thesession.org/tunes/3042

"Muiñeira De Ourense"
Submitted on July 1st 2004 by chris_celt.
https://thesession.org/tunes/3236

"Muiñeira Das Zocas"
Submitted on September 20th 2007 by Bush Q’oran.
https://thesession.org/tunes/7737

"Muiñeira De Chantada"
Submitted on September 20th 2007 by ceolachan.
https://thesession.org/tunes/7738

"Galician Muiñeira"
Submitted on March 18th 2007 by gaitazampogna_32.
https://thesession.org/tunes/6961

Personally, I’m not so fond of the "E^D=D" parts, but perhaps I just need to her Carlos play it. Other than that, this is a really nice tune.

to say that << In Galicia, jigs are called "muñeiras" >> is like saying they call an Irish wolfhound a ‘cocker spaniel’…

X: 1
T: O Cabalo Azul
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K:Emin
B3|:E2F G2A|BcB eze|BcB AGF|GE/2E/2E E2B|
E2F G2A|BcB ee/2e/2e|BcB AGF|1EE/2E/2E E2B:|2E3 EB/2B/2A|
^GAB BAB|B<cA AGA|FGA AGA|A<BG GFG|
EFG GFG|G<AF FEF|^DEF G2F|E3 EB/2B/2A||
^GAB c/2B/2AB|d<ec cBc|ABc cBc|c<dB BAB|
GAB BAB|B<cA AGA|FGA B2A|G2e e^de||
f2c B/2c/2BA|B2e e^de|f2c B/2c/2BA|B2E BcB|
ABA GAG|F^E=E BcB|ABA G/2A/2GF|E2e e^de|
f2c B/2c/2BA|B2e e^de|gfe B/2c/2BA|B2E B2B|
ABA GAG|F^E=E BcB|ABA G/2A/2GF|E3 EFG|:
ABA AFG|ABA AFG|A2c B2^A|BAG GFG|
ABA AFG|ABA AFG|A/2A/2Ac BGF|1EGB eFG:|2E3 E2B|

This is my band playing the tune a few years ago! Hope you enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNTz-157kHo

play video

the title is Muiñeira de Pontesampaio. Well known in Galicia

Where did the name "O Cabalo Azul" come from? Is it equally legitimate? Was it made up by Carlos Nuñez?

As played by Niamh Ni Charra on

https://thesession.org/recordings/3804

In the sleeve notes she writes: "A Galician muineira, a dance tune similar to a jig, which goes by two names; Muineira de Pontesampaio, and O Cabalo Azul (The Blue Horse). It celebrates the heroic defeat of Napoleon’s men by an army of local sailors and farmers."

This tune’s quite like O Cabalo Azul which is posted on The Session (though in a different key). That tune’s also
known as Muneira De Pontesampaio. The comment here’s interesting.

I’m a Galician piper and, as far as I know, ‘Muiñeira de Pontesampaio’ is the original name of this trad tune and ‘O cabalo azul’ is the name of a set played by Carlos Núñez in his album ‘Os amores libres’ (track 7).

Great tune, by the way!

@Susan K
Yes, you’re right. I should have done a more thorough search! First setting is even in the same key and very similar.
I didn’t find it, maybe due to the search function not working properly at the moment, also it wasn’t linked in the recording.
So I guess it’s just another version of the tune and should be moved there.

@ ghaiteiro
Niamh Ni Charra learned from Carlos Núñez and on her album she plays the tune in a set called The Blue Horse!

And yes, it is a great tune!

Yes, search function wasn’t working at all for a while, everything came up blank. Back to normal now. I’d printed a copy of one setting of this tune because I liked it a lot… Can be awkward too when tunes have a multitude of names, but that’s what happens in traditional music!

There’s a brilliant version of this by Cristina Pato and The Silk Road Ensemble on their "Live at Tanglewood" DVD, along with Muneira do Ariel (https://thesession.org/tunes/9549). Sadly no related studio version or live album.

(The tracklist of this recording says that the first one is Muneira de Ourense rather than Muneira do Ariel but this doesn’t fit with any other recordings I’ve heard or the dots here on the session)