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Miss McDermot’s polka

Also known as Miss MacDermott, Miss McDermot, Miss McDermott, Miss McDermott’s, Princess Royal, The Princess Royal.

There are 11 recordings of this tune.

Miss McDermot's has been added to 35 tunebooks.

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One setting

1
X: 1
T: Miss McDermot's
R: polka
M: 2/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:f/e/|dc Bf/e/|dc Bf|gg/f/ ea/g/|f/g/f/e/ df|
e/f/e/d/ c/d/c/B/|AG Ff/e/|dc/B/ d/c/B/A/|B2 B :|
|:F|BB/A/ Bc |dD Dd|d/c/B/A/ G/F/E/D/|c/d/c/B/ AB/c/|
dc/d/ ed/e/|ff b2|ad ga/g/|fd ef/e/|
e/d/d/c/ B/d/c/B/|A/B/A/G/ Ff/e/|dc/B/ d/c/B/A/|B2 B :|
|:f/e/|d/B/c/A/ Bf/e/|d/B/c/A/ Bf|gg/f/ ea/g/|f/g/f/e/ df|
e/f/e/d/ c/d/c/B/|A/B/A/G/ Ff/e/|dc/B/ d/c/B/A/ |B2 B :|
# Added by JACKB .

Eleven comments

Miss McDermot’s

A fantastic O’Carolan tune, we played it in a group many years ago and it Baroque feel using cello, harp, violin, and pipes.

Posted by .

Miss McDermot’s

Great tune - but be aware that it’s only called a "polka" because it’s in 2/4. It hasn’t got a polka feel about it (not surprising - the polka as we know it wasn’t around in Carolan’s time), and if it were written in 4/4 then it would be much closer to a reel.

Princess Royal

Another tune related to "The Princess Royal" and also "The Irish" as submitted by MixO’Lydian on the 17th of this month
https://thesession.org/tunes/9441

Posted by .

Polka

Must disagree with your comment ‘lazyhound’. To me it does have a polka feel and 2/4 is the right signature. Consider the contrast between those bars with 2 pairs of quavers and those bars with to sets of 4 semi-quavers. Fairly standard in many Irish Polkas, e.g. "Johnny Leary’s", "St. Mary’s".
Each bar has a 2-beat emphasis anyway but I suppose we should use the term ‘Polka’ with care. Being an ex morris dancer I cannot help thinking about the stepping that could go with this tune, being: 1.2.3 HOP.

Posted by .

It is "The Princess Royal"

It’s not "related" to the "Princess Royal"

- It is "The Princess Royal"!

("The Princess Royal" being the alternative name for the tune "Miss McDermot’s" in the O’Carolan manuscripts).

Variants of the tune (using the Princess Royal" name) occur in many of the Engish Morris traditions, including:

- Adderbury
- Bampton
- Bledington
- Fieldtown
- Stanton Harcourt

Morris "Double-Step" and "Polka Step"

@ hetty - are you suggesting that there is some fundemental difference between the Morris dancer’s "double-step" and the polka step?

Morris "Double-Step" and "Polka Step"

Both are: 1,2,3 HOP. but I’ve never danced the morris double step going round and round in a circle movement. And certainly not holding my fellow morris dancers in a ballroom, or similar hold. however I have danced a polka step with a female partner and perambulated around a dancefloor either slowly & sparingly or boldly and flamboyantly in a circular momentum completely seperately from any other dancers. So I suppose IMHO there is a fundamental difference in the execution of said step therefore the labels.

Posted by .

On the Hop!

Yes hetty - and I would also be the wrong length for most polka dances …

… not to mention that "polkas" didn’t exist in O’Carolan’s time …. 😉

We can hear it also on O’Stravaganza by Hugues de courson (perhaps that is what you’re telling about JACKB)

Re: Miss McDermot’s

there is another recording of this- on ‘Clannad’s’ 1972 debut album, track 8, titled ‘Mrs. McDermott’. There is another section in their version & it is played in a different key (E minor?), but it is definitely the same tune.