The Killavil jig

I learnt this initially from Mary Macnamara.
Her setting is in the softer more lilty playing of East Clare.
Not being a great lover of over embellished or ornamented tunes, it is just lovely played in that East Clare way. And sometimes more on the slow side. I’ve slowed ‘Bundle and Go’ and now play these as a set. It suits the fiddle well played in this way….getting away from ‘everything has to be played fast’!!

The absence of C’s or C#‘s in the notation implies the possibility of the key of D. E dorian seems to work (I’ve seen a transcription that lend itself even more toward the E dorian side… including C#’s).

Both are possible, but of the 2, I find myself hearing it in E dorian more, because a chord of A major sounds nice at the end of each part…

This jig comes from the Sligo area and normally follows Brendan Tonra’s (sometimes referred to as Tone Rowe’s). It’s reputed to have got its title when it was played by Brendan Tonra and the late great Sligo fiddler, Fred Finn at a session in Killavil who, because they had no name for it, decided to call it after the village!

I note that the posting of the Killavil I submitted has been removed and the comments re-directed here. However, I thought that the setting was sufficiently different to warrant a posting in its own right so as the next best thing I’ll post it here in the comments!

BEE BEE|Bdf edB|BAF FEF|DFA BAF|BEE BEE|Bdf edB|BAB dAF|FED E3:||
e2f gfe|faf edB|BAF FEF|DFA dBA|e2f gfe|faf edB|BAB dAF|FED E3:||

I’m wondering where Josh’s version of the tune come from. It’s a fairly unusual setting. I prefer Bannerman’s standard session setting.

Note: The same version is on Wooden Flute Obsession Volume 2, Disc 1 played by Thomas Bernard Ryan

T:Apples in Winter
M:6/8
L:1/8
S:Cian
R:jig
Z:gm
K:EDor
A|BEE BEE|Bdf edB|BAF FEF|DFA dBA|
|BEE BEE|Bdf edB|BAF DAF|FED E2:|A|
Bef gfe|faf edB|BAF FEF|DFA dBA|
Bef gfe|~f3 edB|BAF DAF|FED E2:|

Source: Cian
Transcription: gian marco pietrasanta

See “Killavil” jig.

For some reason, the tunes posted today are appearing on the “Details” as having been posted on December 5th 2004 .

It is December 5th, Kenny. What date do you think it is?

Jack - you mean there’s only 20 shopping days to Christmas ?
Gotta go……

this is much closer to the standard session versions of the well-known Sligo jig. Josh’s version is interesting but never be played anywhere and posted in a wrong key too. I think the last two bars are more often played like |BAF *d*AF|FED E2|

It’s a very common tune and recorded by many groups and solo musicians, but I love Mary MacNamara’s simple and beautiful East Clare version. Sligo flute player June McCormack’s playing of the tune is also unforgettable.

So, does anybody know the correct pronunciation of Killavil? Accent on the first syllable (so as to rhyme with “syllable”!) or the second?

Well I’m not from Sligo, but the town is famous enough for being the home of Michael Coleman and features in the title of at least one other tune (The Kilavill Fancy). In over 30 years of playing I’ve always heard it pronounced with the accent on the second syllable.
Mike.

Fred Finn was also from Killavil: http://homepage.eircom.net/~fredfinn/home_cont.htm#FRED%20FINN

Key signature: e minor
Submitted on May 1st 2002 by Josh Kane.
https://thesession.org/tunes/667

Key signature: E Dorian
Submitted on May 6th 2005 by gian marco.

I’ve noticed if you transpose the A-part of the (unusual) original posting into Ador you almost get the A-part of the Blue Idol https://thesession.org/tunes/2352.

I’m guessing the town’s name comes from “Cill a’ Bhaile” church or cemetary of the town, in which case we would pronounce it with the emphasis on Cill, although when it got translated into english who knows what happened to it’s pronounciation…

nope, caught my mistake. Cill Abhail is the translation, meaning church of something (either Prosperity, apple tree, or Saint Abhail, who I’ve never heard of).
With this in mind the pronunciation is kill-AW-vill

Thus proving once and for all that it’s a good thing to know Irish.

nope, caught my mistake. Cill Abhail is the translation, meaning church of something (either Prosperity, apple tree, or Saint Abhail, who I’ve never heard of).
With this in mind the pronunciation is kill-AW-vill

Thus proving once and for all that it’s a good thing to know Irish.

T: Round Kilavelle
K: Edor
|:A|B2E GFE|BAB edB|AFF DFF|AFA dBA|
B2E GFE|BAB edB|~A3 dAF|FED E2:|
|:A|Bef gbg|faf edB|AFF DFF|AFA dBA|
Bef ~g3|~f3 edB|~A3 dAF|FED E2:|

It’s on “The Best of Seamus Tansey.”

I recently found this lesser known versio of the Killavil Jig is closely related to the Hag’s Purse: https://thesession.org/tunes/926

Watch and listen to Patsy Hanley of Roscommon play this tune: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwZ9dFUSDCs

play video

Not really, I got this tune about 8 years ago from some friends. it could be a version by Dervish. Just thought it is very pretty this way and you should know about it…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdLvRocBEAU&feature=related

play video

Played here by John Wynne and John McEvoy from about 2.10

Sorry, try this link: https://thesession.org/tunes/667#comment437557

Oops, Please ignore my comments above.

Second tune http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmNl7FJHjY8

play video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxwNw1oT8yY

play video

What a strange way to illustrate the Killavil jig ? Your video is clearly presented under Killavil Fancy name and is a reel, not a jig. Please see here https://thesession.org/tunes/576

Transcription (transposed to D, the original being in Eb) from the playing of Theresa O’Grady on the banjo in The Blarney Pilgrims Podcast - Ep 62 (https://thesession.org/discussions/45267) available at: https://blarneypilgrims.fireside.fm/62 (the Killavil Jig is approximately at 02:02:50). - Intriguing variations, with a powerful C natural showing up in the B part.

(Actually transposed from Fdor to Edor, not from Eb to D. When I typed the previous comment I was thinking of the flute keys…).

From the playing of Duilleoga.

Variations, mostly from the playing of Duilleoga.

following the notation from the great piper Peter Laban

X:10 is not the version played in the video above - but sam style🙂