Comments

Longest piece

Longest piece

What is recognised as the longest piece of music in the common repertoire of Irish/ Scottish Traditional music? Anyone know?
I don't mean the Brendan Voyage or any quasi-classical stuff either.

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by Alf Tupper

Re: Longest piece

The Fox Hunt?

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by Henk Bos

Re: Longest piece

Strayaway Child is pretty hefty as well. But I think Henk's right - The Fox Hunt. The bloomin' thing seems to go on forever.. ;-)

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by bc_box_player

Re: Longest piece

Singers would have you believe that all the tunes are equally as long. They start at 9pm and carry on until the pub shuts.

"You can't get to sing at all because of "the TUNE" at the festival bar" :-(, they moan.

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by Johannes J

Re: Longest piece

...and then when they DO get to sing, it's still a moan.

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by Alf Tupper

Re: Longest piece

And the problem with the fox hunt is most pipers make the whole lot sound like the fox dying

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by llig leahcim

Re: Longest piece

I've never heard the fox hunt though I've seen it in O'Neill's - looks formidable! There's also a famous body tattoo of a fox hunt - a friend who is a nurse told me you get extra points if you spot one of these. The hunt is shown in full cry across the back of the, er, patient, and the fox's tail is depicted disappearing (as she put it) "where the sun doesn't shine!" Would any pipers confess to having one of these?

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by RichardB

Re: Longest piece

The longest conventional dance tune?

Anything longer than the 7-part Gold Ring?

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by wormdiet

Re: Longest piece

In Noel Hill's latesr cd "the irish concertina two", he play's the slip-jig part of the fox hunt, and in the sleeve notes he claims that some of the concert verson of the whole tune may last as long as twenty minutes. This verson's is mainly associated with piper's. Liam O'Flynn play's a fairly long one at his cd "Out to another side". So I think Henk has found the winner.

When it come to conventional dance tunes howerver I thick wormdiet is right

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by TradLad

Re: Longest piece

horrible spelling in that last post of mine, it should ofcourse be versons, pipers etc and I think wordiet is right not thick hehe. Hope you don't mind, english is not my first language

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by TradLad

Re: Longest piece

There's a 128 bar Welsh hornipe. It's called 'The Sermon'. Can't remember if each part repeats - fell asleep.

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by c.g.

Re: Longest piece

Wormdiet wrote: 'The longest conventional dance tune?
Anything longer than the 7-part Gold Ring?'.

Not that I know of; but Kitty O'Shea (7 pt. hornpipe) is a fine one as well!

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by Henk Bos

Re: Longest piece

I think it's accepted that the Fox Hunt is also "the tune" for pipers with all the sound effects of the hunt. Celebrated players, Séamus Ennis and Leo Rowsome would have included this piece in their repertoires.

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by Bannerman

Re: Longest piece

7 parts? Huh!

Mckeown's Polka has 8 parts:

http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/2181

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by Alf Tupper

Re: Longest piece

(arguably)

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by Alf Tupper

Re: Longest piece

Please don't post it Danny! It took our session group a couple of months to learn off the 4 part version played on the Sean Mac and some of the Liverpool lads (I think one was the late great Eamonn Coyne) cassette. Even as a 4 parter, it's a mighty tune.

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by Bannerman

Re: Longest piece

Longest piece? Anything played by - (grips throat and sticks tongue out) aaaaarrrrrgggghhhhhh!

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by maxF

Re: Longest piece

Our friend Danny once posted the shortest piece or, at least, the quietest. :-)

http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display.php/2399

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by Johannes J

Re: Longest piece

I'm pretty sure it says 8-part polka for McKeown's on the sleeve notes of the cassette (remember them?) "The Long Strand" - but even if it's 4 parts each part is double-length so it's academic whether you call it 4 or 8 parts. Bloody top tune anyway. Bannerman, I have to say, I didn't find it too difficult to commit to memory (though actually *playing it* is a different matter!) Some of those long tunes' various parts can sound "samey", whereas McKeown's has enough variety to distinguish each part, IMHO.
John, that one takes me back to the Good Old Days at The Session...sigh...threads about shakey eggs and april fools....

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by Alf Tupper

Re: Longest piece

Some versions of The Mason's Apron seem to go on for an eternity

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by Strathfoyle

Re: Longest piece

The Welsh harp hornpipe, The Sermon (Y Bregeth), consists of 8x2 + 8x2 + 8x2 + 8x2 + 8x2 +16x2, making 112 played bars in all.
I'll submit it if you like.

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by lazyhound

Re: Longest piece

I don't know about longest tunes........ but O'Carolyn sometimes wrote some very long phrases. I like how Joanie Madden plays Loftis Jones, for example.

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by morning star

Re: Longest piece

oops.......I got quasi-classical there for a moment! Sorry.

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by morning star

Re: Longest piece

"Paidín Ó Raifeartaigh" ~ I have come across a 9-part version, but it is a slip jig, so, counting the number of notes dedicated to the melody, it probably wouldn't quite make it as the longest...

Maybe an idea would be to go categorically ~ in other words, the longest reel? ~ the longest jig? ~ the longest hornpipe? ~ etc. ? ;-/

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by ceolachan

Re: Longest piece

Possibly the tune that Connemara dancers persuaded accordionist Bobby Gardiner to play for more than forty minutes until he collapsed with exhaustion.

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by Floss the Tethers

Re: Longest piece

Black Jock, must be 15 parts or something ridiculous

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by nick b

Re: Longest piece

Wow, that Mckeown's Polka might be the most annoying tune I've ever heard. And it has 8 parts. I think I might just learn it...

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by mcdevincabe

Re: Longest piece

I have submitted The Sermon, so you all better behave yourselves or the Wrath will be upon you :-)

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by lazyhound

Re: Longest piece

The foxy tune in O'Neill's I was referring to is "The Fox Chase" - just looked it up. I can't be bothered to count the bars but it runs to 15 lines with some repeats. I don't think it would ever be played at a session though. The slip jig Gurty's frolics sometimes is, or abbreviated versions of it - in O'Neill's it has 9 repeated sections and it's a great tune.

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by RichardB

Re: Longest piece ~ "The Sermon" ~ hornpipe

equivalent to 7 parts = 112 bars...
Key signature: Dmajor
Submitted on February 27th 2007 by lazyhound.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/6870

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by ceolachan

Re: Longest piece ~ "Gusty's / Gurty's Frolics" ~ slip jig

Key signature: D Major
Submitted on June 30th 2001 by martin t.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/169/comments

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by ceolachan

Re: Longest piece

Probably not the longest..but some versions of the Mason's Apron are pretty long also.

http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/74

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by *Misha*

Re: Longest piece

Woops...I guess someone already beat me to it!

# Posted on February 27th 2007 by *Misha*

Re: Longest piece

Oh.........tunes. I thought it was Danny boasting again.

# Posted on February 28th 2007 by oldstrings

Re: Longest piece

BTW, "The Fox Chase" is the last tune in O'Neill's "1850". It's not in the "1001", and I don't think it's in the Krassen edition either.

# Posted on February 28th 2007 by lazyhound

Re: Longest piece

In the New England Fiddler's Repertoire collection there are 96-bar versions of two well-known tunes - "Old Grey Goose" (Michael Coleman version), and "Boys of the Lough" (unattributed, but from Sligo). Both are usable in sessions by players who are up to it.

# Posted on February 28th 2007 by lazyhound

Re: Longest piece

"The Old Gray Goose" ~ jig, 6-part, 96 bars
Submitted on August 20th 2001 by Mad Baloney.
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display.php/241

"Boys of the Lough" ~ reel, 96 bars
# Posted on October 18th 2002 by lazyhound
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/343/comments

# Posted on February 28th 2007 by ceolachan

Re: Longest piece

Someone gave me the dots to a tune called 'The Long Mile', which is around 9 parts, I think. Six or seven of them are very nice, but there is too much repetition, and too few disitnguishing features between some of the parts. It would be a good tune to arrange for a performance, but not necessarily the greatest session tune.

# Posted on February 28th 2007 by Robert Ryan

Re: Longest piece

The Five Mile Chase

# Posted on February 28th 2007 by ragaman

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