Christmas Day Ida Moarnin’ jig

The origin of this tune goes back to 19th century and is attributed to a Shetland fiddler, Fredamann Stickle, who used to play this tune to the laird every Christmas.
It’s a fine tune on the whistle, too.

The way it is written out, the time signature should be 6/8 - it would be more appropriate to file it under ‘jig’.

Other than that, it’s a great tune. Kathreyn Tickell does a fine version on fiddle.

Thank you for the advice. It is actually just a tune, neither reel nor jig, but I should have classified it as a jig.
I’ve already change the tune details, but it seems that the sheet music cannot be modified.

Altering the sheet music is down to the man Jeremy.

I feel terribly sorry whenever I find this tune is in many people’s tunebooks. Here’s the link to the correct sheet music: http://slainte.web.infoseek.co.jp/christmas.pdf

Tune 18: “Christmas Day Ida Moarnin” ~ with notes

The University of Stirling Press, 1979

When I learned this tune, they told me it was a slide

Sounds like a Strathspey to me. It doesn’t really matter though.

It defenitly is a Strathspey, I´d say.

There’s no traditional Shetland tune played as a strathspey as far as I know.

It’s a “listening” tune - as opposed to a dance tune. It is most definitely not a strathspey nor a slide.

slainte said, “There’s no traditional Shetland tune played as a strathspey as far as I know.”

I think you are right, Hiro - usually it’s the other way around, in that Strathspeys, when absorbed into the Shetland tradition get “straightened out”. A good example is “Lady Mary Ramsay” which became a fine reel in Shetland.

Quite a few prominent Shetland fiddlers - e.g. Tom Anderson, Willie Hunter, Aly Bain - display a love of Scottish music, and in that context have played plenty Strathspeys, but I can’t recall hearing any native Strathspeys.

I’ve only ever *heard* this tune in the past, rather than actually playing it, but have begun to play it because a whistle player at the session I go to plays it. Great tune.

I was playing it at a session when said whistle player wasn’t present, and the banjo player said, after we’d finished “No, it ends on a C#”. Now, *I* think that’s just so as to fill in the last chord, and is not actually part of the tune, but does anybody actually know?

I’ve always played it ending on an A . . .

there’s a slight sleigh Slide feel to it?

Ah like the A part, bmnot so sure about the D part, especially in the same tune…

Shira Kammen plays this on her CD “The Castle of the Holly King”, which I like to play at Christmas time because I’m a sucker for jolly wassail songs about cider and punch and chestnuts by the fire 🙂 She makes it very snappy and strathspey-like. Here is her version, where ~ represents trills.

X: 2
T: Christmas Day In The Morning
R: jig
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
f2d fa2|e2d cA2|B2c d2c|BG2 G3|
e2f g2f|~e2d ~c2A|B2d cde|1 d3 a2g:|2 d3 d3||
|:e3 (4edef|g3 ~B3|A2A AA2|B2c dB2|
e3 (4edef|g3 ~B3|A2e dB2|1 A3 A3:|2 A3 a2g||

It actually makes much more sense written as a strathspey…

X: 3
T: Christmas Day In The Morning
R: strathspey
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
f>df<a e>dc<A|B>cd>c B<GG2|e>fg>f ~e>d~c>A|1 B>d (3cde d2 a>g:|2 B>d (3cde d2 d2||
|:e2 e/d/e/f/ g2 ~B2|A>AA<A B<cd<B|e2 e/d/e/f/ g2 ~B2|1 A>ed<B2 A2 A2:|2 A>ed<B A2 a>g||

Here it is, played on ye old Hammered Dulcimer .. Oh yes & Breaking up Christmas too, for good measure … for the day that’s in it. 🙂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rlsga9oYGU4

play video

Cheers,
Dick

Thank you. Very nice. Merry Christmas to all.

Oddly enough, I first heard this tune from English band, Pyewackett, who were around in the 70s/80s: not that they claimed it to be English: just a sign of the great mix of stuff they did, and a lovely version it was! (No, not going to tell you how many shopping days until Christmas!)

Here ya go! Pyewackett version! Like it at that gentle speed, and also Rosie’s bassoon and dulcimer!
https://youtu.be/RYWg9jJXcho

play video

I know it as a listening tune. Learnt from a solo fiddle recording 40 years ago, I think by Aly Bain, probably on a Boys of the Lough album. More fun to play when you don’t keep to a strict time measure.

The Northumbrian group Canny Fettle have a really beautiful song version of this, on their 2016 album “Still Gannin’ Canny.”

It actually makes a fine dance tune , paired with Da Greenlandman and Shaalds o’ Foula, for the dance Foula Reel [which isnt a reel at all in the 4/4 sense]