So, I'm playing at a bar yesterday (in the suburbs of Philly)... and a gentleman and his wife are there dancing at appropriate times (like when we play Roddy McCorely, Shoe the Donkey, and various waltzes) with the appropriate foot apparel... when who should approach me but THE Ed Reavy Jr. himself (the man I mentioned earlier). He gave me a couple of books written by his father... any of you out there familiar with his music... I see in one of the books that the famous Fisher's Hornpipe is credited to Reavy... most of the music in these books is absolutely brilliant. Anyone out there know who I'm talking about? In the intros it says he's from Co. Cavan.
I don't know too much about him, but I am a big fan of his tunes. Any tune that I've ever heard of his, I've liked a lot. Tunes that you just want to learn how to play. I think you can buy his books at http://cranfordpub.com
yeah, Ed Jr. told me that he was pretty well known in Ireland... and that he wasn't particularly fond of the barn dances he wrote... but I think they're pretty fun.
I grew up about 10 miles west of Reavy's house in Landsdowne PA., just off the West Chester train line. Mick Moloney ran a radio program on WXPN in Philly and played a fair amount of Reavy stuff that was just then being recorded.
Fisher's is an old hornpipe, predating Reavy. You might be thinking of Fisherman's Island (http://thesession.org/tunes/display/181). He penned a lot of great tunes. Hunter's House is common in sessions around the world, and Hughies Cap is one of my favorite Reavy tunes.
Go to the site Stewart posted above to get Ed and Ed Jrs. stories on almost every tune.
I have a weekly radio show in Philadelphia on Sundays at noon and I would say that on average I play one or more of Ed Reavy's tunes done by many musicians/groups almost every week. Ed Jr. is a font of information on his father's tunes and he was very well known in the states as well as in Ireland. If you have never been to the Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival held every September you should try to attend as you will find almost all of the musicians who perform will pay homage to Ed Reavy by playing his tunes. My favorite Ed Reavy tunes are on "Live at Lena's in Feakle" by the Lahawns, track #4 (Never Was Piping So Gay & Hunter's House) played by Joan Hanrahan, Anne Marie McCormack and Jim Corrie. When I shared that with Ed Jr. he told me his father never really cared for Never Was Piping So Gay. Another great resource for info on Ed Reavy is Tommy Moffit, whose radio show I took over last year. And for the set dancers, Ed Reavy was responsible for the Philadelphia Set which was danced in all of the pubs on 69th Street and out in Upper Darby. The set can be found in "The Rolling Tide" set dance book by Pat Murphy.
Ed Reavy was very well known in Ireland largely through the efforts of Louis Quinn(NY) from Armagh. Ed was already quite famous by the time he returned to Ireland some 50 years after he left. One of the best cds of Ed's music is At Reavys House by Jim Egan from Baltimore. He is a spectacular fiddler and really did a great job with Ed's music. Ed was really one of the greatest composers of Irish Traditional music in the 20th century
and the popularity of his music really speaks to this. Enjoy the books, his music is timeless. Brian B.
the two books that Ed Jr. gave me are The Ed Reavy Collection of Irish American Traditional Tunes
and
The Collected Compositions of Ed Reavy. I see the Fisher's hornpipe in there as well as Mountain Road... All of them sound great... although, Ed told me that his father wasn't a particular fan of the Barn Dance genre.... they still have their place.
Didnt Reavy claim alot of trad. stuff as his own? I dont mean that in a negative light. I am no expert in Irish music and I am interested in how he was/is viewed in the Irish music community. Collector? Composer? Both? My sense is that he had a great ear for a tune and wrote great stuff, collected and arranged trad. tunes.
Ed Reavy didn't claim trad stuff as his own, to my knowledge.
There is a book out there ("the music of corktown") that has his own versions of trad tunes, but I don't think he's taken credit for writing them. He's probably best known as a composer, having written dozens of fascinating tunes, a good number of which have grown so popular that people don't realize they were relatively recent compositions.
The "Collected Compositions of Ed Reavy" would not have the "Mountain Road" or "Fisher's hornpipe" (I think Fisher's Hornpipe appears in O'Neill's), but it does have "Maudebawn Chapel", "Fisherman's Island", "Lad O'Beirne's Hornpipe", "In Memory of Coleman", and dozens of other great and popular tunes.
(First, pastrings, you are lucky to live where Ed Jr. and Mary Reavy might drop in to a session to dance to your music).
Ed Reavy Jr. and his brother Joe are friends of mine and have done a lot to help make their father's music available to all the traditional musicians who love it, through publishing books and tapes without any expectation of a profit for themselves.
Ed Jr. has told me that many of his father's compositions were never written down or recorded. Ed Sr. worked long hard hours as a plumber and it wasn't always possible for him to archive the outpourings of his wellspring of creativity. Then, many of his original compositions that were recorded on wax discs were lost when these melted. Still, what has been preserved for us is a wonderful legacy and rumor has it that there are still further recordings with Reavy compositions that may reach the public someday.
All that said, the book of Reavy compositions does include a range from stunningly original tunes (that still cry to be included in sets with the most traditional of tunes) to some tunes that seem "versions" of others. When I first got the book I noticed (and discussed with the Reavy brothers) that the airs "The Corncrake" and "Silent the Lonely Glen" are versions of songs published long ago. Then, I heard Joe Burke in an RTE interview mention that he had brought a tape of Paddy Fahy's compositions to Ed Reavy Sr., and Joe claimed that this may have influenced some Reavy compositions. Often it seems you can match a Fahy tune with a somewhat similar (but still honestly original) Reavy tune, and maybe this is why. Some of those G modal Reavy tunes seem to have been reclaimed and re-organized by Paddy Carty (RIP) and other East Galway musicians to great effect.
Aye Paddy, they're both cracking tunes & The Letterkenny Blacksmith' could even have been written about my Grandad cause he was a Letterkenny man & had something to do with Horses.
Oh no, wait a minute, no it was the putting of money on race horses that was the equine connection there & he only used to repair peoples shoes, not horse shoes!
Yes, he was quite clever when it came to composition. I wonder what was going through his mind when he was writing a tune (not taking the title into account here). Would he have been up to scratch on musical theory? It would have been a help to composers if they knew a little about scales and keys I'd imagine. Then again, some would just go by what they think "sounds right". I know an accordion player who learns by ear and has a bunch of trad tunes in his repertoire and yet he doesn't even know what all the notes on his box are.
Much obliged, fap. A colleague of mine is in the middle of writing a thesis on the Franco Prussian war, which he started in 1986 and is near completion. Anyway, his ma knew a butcher who played the tin whistle and who told her that another customer of his talked to a neighbour of ed's once, who said he was a cigarette smuggler. The butcher took from that conversation that Ed himself was involved in the smuggling game. That butcher went on to sell the most sausages, pound for pound, in the whole of ireland during the month of March, 1997. He was recognised by his neighbours and friends, jokingly, as a cut above the rest.
Ed Reavy
Ed Reavy
So, I'm playing at a bar yesterday (in the suburbs of Philly)... and a gentleman and his wife are there dancing at appropriate times (like when we play Roddy McCorely, Shoe the Donkey, and various waltzes) with the appropriate foot apparel... when who should approach me but THE Ed Reavy Jr. himself (the man I mentioned earlier). He gave me a couple of books written by his father... any of you out there familiar with his music... I see in one of the books that the famous Fisher's Hornpipe is credited to Reavy... most of the music in these books is absolutely brilliant. Anyone out there know who I'm talking about? In the intros it says he's from Co. Cavan.
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by pastrings
Re: Ed Reavy
I don't know too much about him, but I am a big fan of his tunes. Any tune that I've ever heard of his, I've liked a lot. Tunes that you just want to learn how to play. I think you can buy his books at http://cranfordpub.com
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by anastasiadesroches
Re: Ed Reavy
yeah, Ed Jr. told me that he was pretty well known in Ireland... and that he wasn't particularly fond of the barn dances he wrote... but I think they're pretty fun.
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by pastrings
Re: Ed Reavy
http://reavymusic.com/main.html
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by Stewart
Re: Ed Reavy
The House of Hamill (Reel Eminorish) is a beast of a tune. Is Kilty Town his aswell?
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by Sinocal
Re: Ed Reavy
Sorry, it appears to be Charlie Lennon,s.
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by Sinocal
Re: Ed Reavy
I grew up about 10 miles west of Reavy's house in Landsdowne PA., just off the West Chester train line. Mick Moloney ran a radio program on WXPN in Philly and played a fair amount of Reavy stuff that was just then being recorded.
Fisher's is an old hornpipe, predating Reavy. You might be thinking of Fisherman's Island (http://thesession.org/tunes/display/181). He penned a lot of great tunes. Hunter's House is common in sessions around the world, and Hughies Cap is one of my favorite Reavy tunes.
Go to the site Stewart posted above to get Ed and Ed Jrs. stories on almost every tune.
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by Miss Lonelyhearts
Re: Ed Reavy
I have a weekly radio show in Philadelphia on Sundays at noon and I would say that on average I play one or more of Ed Reavy's tunes done by many musicians/groups almost every week. Ed Jr. is a font of information on his father's tunes and he was very well known in the states as well as in Ireland. If you have never been to the Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival held every September you should try to attend as you will find almost all of the musicians who perform will pay homage to Ed Reavy by playing his tunes. My favorite Ed Reavy tunes are on "Live at Lena's in Feakle" by the Lahawns, track #4 (Never Was Piping So Gay & Hunter's House) played by Joan Hanrahan, Anne Marie McCormack and Jim Corrie. When I shared that with Ed Jr. he told me his father never really cared for Never Was Piping So Gay. Another great resource for info on Ed Reavy is Tommy Moffit, whose radio show I took over last year. And for the set dancers, Ed Reavy was responsible for the Philadelphia Set which was danced in all of the pubs on 69th Street and out in Upper Darby. The set can be found in "The Rolling Tide" set dance book by Pat Murphy.
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by moria enya
Re: Ed Reavy
Ed Reavy was very well known in Ireland largely through the efforts of Louis Quinn(NY) from Armagh. Ed was already quite famous by the time he returned to Ireland some 50 years after he left. One of the best cds of Ed's music is At Reavys House by Jim Egan from Baltimore. He is a spectacular fiddler and really did a great job with Ed's music. Ed was really one of the greatest composers of Irish Traditional music in the 20th century
and the popularity of his music really speaks to this. Enjoy the books, his music is timeless. Brian B.
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by Bjcomm96
Re: Ed Reavy
Ooh, yeah, John Roarty's is a great reel off Jim Eagan's album.
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by Miss Lonelyhearts
Re: Ed Reavy
http://www.thesession.org/recordings/display/1060
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by Kenny
Re: Ed Reavy
Maudabawn Chapel...; one of his tunes I never get tired of.
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by Henk Bos
Re: Ed Reavy
You can find the ABCs to his tunes here: http://www2.redhawk.org:8080/cgi-bin/abc/parse.pl?abcfile=Reavy/Reavycom.abc
Great stuff it is too.
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by RichardB
Re: Ed Reavy
the two books that Ed Jr. gave me are The Ed Reavy Collection of Irish American Traditional Tunes
and
The Collected Compositions of Ed Reavy. I see the Fisher's hornpipe in there as well as Mountain Road... All of them sound great... although, Ed told me that his father wasn't a particular fan of the Barn Dance genre.... they still have their place.
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by pastrings
Re: Ed Reavy
Did he used to smuggle cigarettes?
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by copo24
Re: Ed Reavy
Didnt Reavy claim alot of trad. stuff as his own? I dont mean that in a negative light. I am no expert in Irish music and I am interested in how he was/is viewed in the Irish music community. Collector? Composer? Both? My sense is that he had a great ear for a tune and wrote great stuff, collected and arranged trad. tunes.
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by The Merry Highlander
Re: Ed Reavy
Ed Reavy didn't claim trad stuff as his own, to my knowledge.
There is a book out there ("the music of corktown") that has his own versions of trad tunes, but I don't think he's taken credit for writing them. He's probably best known as a composer, having written dozens of fascinating tunes, a good number of which have grown so popular that people don't realize they were relatively recent compositions.
The "Collected Compositions of Ed Reavy" would not have the "Mountain Road" or "Fisher's hornpipe" (I think Fisher's Hornpipe appears in O'Neill's), but it does have "Maudebawn Chapel", "Fisherman's Island", "Lad O'Beirne's Hornpipe", "In Memory of Coleman", and dozens of other great and popular tunes.
http://www.cranfordpub.com/books/ed_reavy.htm
http://www.cranfordpub.com/books/corktown.htm
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by Georgi
Re: Ed Reavy
Ed Reavy would certainly be one of my favorite composers. In my opinion, his best tunes were Maudabawn Chapel and The Letterkenny Blacksmith.
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by 52Paddy
Re: Ed Reavy Jr and his father's tunes
Hi George and all,
(First, pastrings, you are lucky to live where Ed Jr. and Mary Reavy might drop in to a session to dance to your music).
Ed Reavy Jr. and his brother Joe are friends of mine and have done a lot to help make their father's music available to all the traditional musicians who love it, through publishing books and tapes without any expectation of a profit for themselves.
Ed Jr. has told me that many of his father's compositions were never written down or recorded. Ed Sr. worked long hard hours as a plumber and it wasn't always possible for him to archive the outpourings of his wellspring of creativity. Then, many of his original compositions that were recorded on wax discs were lost when these melted. Still, what has been preserved for us is a wonderful legacy and rumor has it that there are still further recordings with Reavy compositions that may reach the public someday.
All that said, the book of Reavy compositions does include a range from stunningly original tunes (that still cry to be included in sets with the most traditional of tunes) to some tunes that seem "versions" of others. When I first got the book I noticed (and discussed with the Reavy brothers) that the airs "The Corncrake" and "Silent the Lonely Glen" are versions of songs published long ago. Then, I heard Joe Burke in an RTE interview mention that he had brought a tape of Paddy Fahy's compositions to Ed Reavy Sr., and Joe claimed that this may have influenced some Reavy compositions. Often it seems you can match a Fahy tune with a somewhat similar (but still honestly original) Reavy tune, and maybe this is why. Some of those G modal Reavy tunes seem to have been reclaimed and re-organized by Paddy Carty (RIP) and other East Galway musicians to great effect.
Paul
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by Paul Groff
Re: Ed Reavy
Aye Paddy, they're both cracking tunes & The Letterkenny Blacksmith' could even have been written about my Grandad cause he was a Letterkenny man & had something to do with Horses.
Oh no, wait a minute, no it was the putting of money on race horses that was the equine connection there & he only used to repair peoples shoes, not horse shoes!
Ah well, I still like that tune!
# Posted on February 20th 2007 by Ptarmigan
Re: Ed Reavy
Yes, he was quite clever when it came to composition. I wonder what was going through his mind when he was writing a tune (not taking the title into account here). Would he have been up to scratch on musical theory? It would have been a help to composers if they knew a little about scales and keys I'd imagine. Then again, some would just go by what they think "sounds right". I know an accordion player who learns by ear and has a bunch of trad tunes in his repertoire and yet he doesn't even know what all the notes on his box are.
# Posted on February 21st 2007 by 52Paddy
Re: Ed Reavy
Yeah Copo24 your dead right right he was renowned for smuggling many things including tin! Good memory copo24
# Posted on February 21st 2007 by fap
Re: Ed Reavy
Much obliged, fap. A colleague of mine is in the middle of writing a thesis on the Franco Prussian war, which he started in 1986 and is near completion. Anyway, his ma knew a butcher who played the tin whistle and who told her that another customer of his talked to a neighbour of ed's once, who said he was a cigarette smuggler. The butcher took from that conversation that Ed himself was involved in the smuggling game. That butcher went on to sell the most sausages, pound for pound, in the whole of ireland during the month of March, 1997. He was recognised by his neighbours and friends, jokingly, as a cut above the rest.
# Posted on February 21st 2007 by copo24
Re: Ed Reavy
He played the tin whistle? I wasn't Jem ~Ryan was it?
# Posted on February 21st 2007 by fap