The Development of an Archive of Explicit Stylistic
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CHAPTER THREE TUNE-TYPES In The Companion to Irish Traditional Music, Fintan Vallely defines the term tune-type as: The major forms, with specific time-signatures, are highland/ strathspey, hornpipe, jig (several forms), reel polka, waltz and mazurka. Those with various time signatures are slow airs, planxties, marches and song airs. Other dance related forms are barn dance, fling, German, schottische and two-step. Quadrilles are of historic interest, as is the minuet.1 The term – tune-type – acts as an umbrella term, under which the tunes that comprise the genre’s instrumental music can be organised. In this sense, it is a term that can be used to refer collectively to the reel, jig, polka etc. and it is in this manner that it is most likely understood and used by musicians. Interestingly, a more specific definition of the term does not appear to exist. In Vallely’s description, it is implied that that the terms tune-type and form are synonymous. But since form is understood as ‘the constructive or organizing element in music’2 and the same tune-type can be found in multiple forms - as a two, three, or even seven-part tune – both terms cannot be said to be synonymous.3 The form of the tune’s individual parts on the other hand could be said to be a salient feature because it is a defining characteristic of tune-types such as the set dance. I would suggest that the information required to define particular tune-types includes: metre, tempo, rhythmic characteristics and the form of individual parts. Once these are known, they can be used to enable either the composition or performance of music that 1 Vallely, Fintan: ‘Tune-types’, The Companion to Irish Traditional Music, ed. Fintan Vallely, 2nd ed., (Cork: Cork University Press, 2011), 699. 2 Arnold Whittall: ’Form’, Grove Music Online. http://0www.oxfordmusiconline.com.ditlib.dit.ie/subscriber/article/grove/music/09981 (Accessed 20 February 2013). 3 The most common form used in Irish traditional instrumental music is binary form, but in practice, the same tune-type can be found in a variety of forms depending on how its content is organised. 70 is suitable for particular dances or desired musical purposes. The traditional musician, at least implicitly understands these instructions. It is this combination of the stylistic elements from different conceptual fields that makes ‘tune-types’ a hybrid catalyst.4 As noted in Chapter One, the idea of tune-types grew from the practice of classifying tunes and this did not always necessarily require musical difference.5 Most tune-types are related to a dance-type of the same name.6 The exceptions to this are the slow air, strathspey, march, and the recently-introduced tunes in 7/8. Consequently, the tune-type is related to each of the four Irish dance traditions of step dancing, sean-nós dancing, set dancing, and céilí dancing.7 This relationship is complex in that each style of dance may require different variations of the same tune-type. For example, a jig is played significantly slower for a step dancer than it is for a sean-nós dancer. These potential differences are considered when defining each tune-type in its relevant section below. 3.1 Historiography As noted by Aloys Fleischmann, since the criteria for categorising tune-types ‘did not emerge until they were named by the dancing masters towards the end of the eighteenth century, it seems unwarranted to define such terms before the time they were established in the tradition, c.1775’.8 While there are a number of exceptions to this rule,9 material from before the nineteenth century would require a great deal of research in order to apply the tune-type categorisation in any meaningful way. Consequently, this study begins with material from the nineteenth century. 4 See Chapter Two, 64. 5 See Chapter One, 3, 7, 8. 6 See: Joyce, Patrick Weston: Old Irish Folk Music and Songs, (London; New York: Longmans, Green, and Co.; [etc.,], 1909), xix. As stated by P.W. Joyce: ‘All these dance tunes, except the last, took their names from the manner in which they were danced. Besides these, there were ‘Set Dance’ tunes, i.e. tunes with some peculiarity of time, measure, or length, which required a special sort of dance, that had to be learned and practiced for each particular tune’. 7 Definitions for the dance-types can be found in: Vallely, Fintan: The Companion to Irish Traditional Music, ed. Fintan Vallely, 2nd ed., (Cork: Cork University Press, 2011). See: ‘Step Dancing’, 182; ‘Sean-Nós Dancing’, 189-191; ‘Set Dancing’, 193-200; ‘Céilí Dancing’, 185-189. 8 Fleischmann, Aloys: Sources of Irish Traditional Music, (New York; London: Garland, 1998), xxviii. Exceptions to this are discussed on a case-by-case basis in Section 3.3 below. 9 Such as the slow air and the various types of march and jig. 71 It is not unusual to find a mixture of vocal and instrumental music in the early collections. While the classes of vocal music can often be distinguished by a theme, a musical difference may or may not be discernible.10 Despite the narrative air serving as an example of a type of song that is also distinguished by its musical features, it would require a study in its own right to determine what other vocal music could be defined as a tune-type. Consequently, this aspect is also set aside, pending further study. Published in 1805, 1806, 1808 and 1810 respectively, O’Farrell’s four Pocket Companions are probably the earliest collections that contain tunes which approximate to Irish traditional instrumental music as it is known today.11 In addition to containing jigs and reels, his second volume is notable for some of the more unusual tune-types such as the quick step, gavotte, maggott, ‘minuet, march, planxty, and what is thought to be the most accurate transcription of one of the few extant descriptive pieces, the ‘Irish Fox Hunt’.12 Of this list, the gavotte and minuet have not survived into popular practice, the quick step, also known as the two-step appears to have only persisted in a small number of regions such as west Co. Clare,13 the march has survived through ensemble playing, while the maggott and planxty do not have characteristics that are sufficient for definition in musical terms alone. Petrie’s collections appear to have favoured vocal music but of the instrumental music listed, examples include: a military air or chorus, a quick march, a hop jig, a single jig, a double jig, a Munster double jig, a Munster single jig and a march.14 Petrie’s Munster double jig and Munster single jig appear to be derivatives of the typical double jig and single jig but in both instances, Petrie notes that their origin most likely lies in the older 10 As is the case with the spinning songs and plough tunes collected by George Petrie. See: Petrie, George: The Ancient Music of Ireland, Vol. 2, (Dublin: Society for the Preservation and Publication of the Melodies of Ireland, 1882), xxiv. 11 Sky, Patrick: ‘O’Farrell, Patrick [?]’ The Companion to Irish Traditional Music, ed. Fintan Vallely, 2nd ed., (Cork: Cork University Press, 2011), 511-512. 12 O’Farrell, Patrick [?]: O’Farrell’s Pocket Companion for the Irish or Union Pipes, Vol. IV, (London: John Gow, 1810), where the quick step can be found on pages 23, 144, for a gavotte see page 116, for a maggott see 115, a minuet can be found on page 64 and 87, marches on 30, 44, 49, 72, and the ‘Irish Foxhunt’ on page 57. Also see: See: Brennan, Helen: The Story of Irish Dance, (Dingle, Co. Kerry: Brandon, 1999), 21 where she describes the minuet as being popular at the time. 13 It appears on The Kilfenora Céilí Band, Chapter 8, (Kilfenora Céílí Band, 2012), track 5. 14 Petrie, George: The Ancient Music of Ireland, Vol. 1, (Dublin: M.H. Gill, 1855), xxi-xxiv. 72 march type tunes.15 On further inspection, I would venture to add that both examples approximate to what is known today in the step dancing tradition as the ‘heavy jig’ and so what will be termed the heavy double jig and heavy single jig will be discussed below.16 A small number of reels can also be found in Petrie’s collection17 and while he mentions the ‘galop or polka’ he does not provide an example of either.18 The set dance is mentioned in Volume Two as is the ‘Petticotee Jig’, which is described as ‘a species of lively dance, once fashionable in Ireland, and usually performed immediately after the minuet’.19 While Petrie does include one example of this type of a jig, it would require a number of such tunes in order to discern any distinguishing compositional features. On the other hand, neither of his collections contains a minuet. R.M. Levey is credited with having published the first collection devoted exclusively to dance music. Published by C. Jefferys, London in 1858, the first volume of The Dance Music of Ireland was followed by a second volume in 1873, which, from correspondence with the archivist Maeve Gebruers of the ITMA, would appear to have also been published by Jefferys.20 Both volumes contain reels, single jigs, slip jigs, double jigs and hornpipes. Patrick Weston Joyce is the first collector to attempt to define various tune-types by describing their metre and occasionally, their tempo and other salient characteristics. It would appear that his definition of tune-types had first been printed in Petrie’s Ancient Music of Ireland (1855) but here it is quoted from Joyce’s own 1873 publication Ancient Irish Music where he states that: 15 See: Ibid., 163 for the Munster Double Jig and p.167 for the Munster Single Jig 16 See Section 3.3.19.