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The Orkney hornpipe

There is 1 recording of this tune.

The Orkney has been added to 21 tunebooks.

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One setting

1
X: 1
T: The Orkney
R: hornpipe
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Gmin
|:B>cd>B c>A B2|F>ED>B, C>A,B,2|c>BA>B c>de>c|A>cB>c d>e f2|
B>cd>B F>D B,2|D>FA>B (3cBA B2|F>DE>G c>edc|B>A c2 B2 B2:|
|:(3fga b>f d>BF>B|d>fg>f =e>fd>B|A>FE>G c>eD>F|B>dc>B A>B c2|
(3fga b>f d>BF>B|d>fg>f =e>fd>B|A>FE>G c>ed>c|B>A c2 B2 B2:|

Four comments

The Orkney Hornpipe

Transcribed from the album "Goose Music" by the brilliant Orkney duo called Saltfishforty. This duo comprises of Douglas Montgomery (fiddle) and Brian Cromarty (guitar etc.).

The tune is clearly in Bb Major and not G minor. Unfortunately you can’t post tunes directly in this key.

On the CD pullout the tune is attributed to a J Johnson.

Composer

Subsequent to posting this tune I was curious to know who "J Johnson" was and found this under the entry for the hornpipe on the Fiddlers Companion website:

"Composed by self-taught fiddler James Johnson (1904-1948) of Mirland, Deerness parish, Orkney."

Re: The Orkney

I realise this has been sitting in the pile for 9 years since posting, but has anyone else looked at it and thought that the bar lines are in an odd place? The phrasing makes more sense to me if the first two notes (Bb and C) are treated as a pickup phrase and the bar lines are all shifted on by one beat.

Posted by .

Re: The Orkney

Yes indeed Bazza: another big clue is in last bar of each section, where you would just expect the 3 crotchets.
Listening to the Saltfishforty track would probably nail it.