Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

The Banks

hornpipe

Key signature: Fdorian

Submitted on August 24th 2002 by B Rad .

This tune has been added to 110 tunebooks.

Also known as The Bank, Banks, The Great Western Lancashire Clog, The Lancashire Clog, Mrs. Taff, Souvenir De Venice.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

1982 by Willie Hunter And Violet Tulloch
Best Of Irish Traditional Music by Sean McGuire And Roger Sherlock
Celtic Fiddle by Sean Maguire
Drimalost And Beyond CD2 by Danny Meehan
Farewell To Ireland by Patrick Mangan
Flame On The Banks by Maeve Donnelly
Handed Down by Cathal Hayden
Highly Strung by Alistair McCulloch
Humours Of Lissadell by Seamus And Manus McGuire
It's A Hard Road To Travel by Andy McGann And Paul Brady
Kebister Head by Bryan Gear And Violet Tulloch
Live From Gatineau, Quebec by Leahy
Milestone At The Garden by Irish Fiddle Masters From The 78 RPM Era
No Songs by Martin Carthy And Dave Swarbrick
Northern Banjo by Ken Pearlman
Orkney Twister by Saltfishforty
Out West by Mick Doherty And Robert Zielinski
Over The Sea To Skye: The Celtic Connection by James Galway And The Chieftains
Portrait Of A Scottish Jew's Harp Player by Lindsay Porteous
Potsticks by Sean Moloney
Sean Keane by Sean Keane
Selections From Byker Hill, But Two Came By, No Songs by Martin Carthy And Dave Swarbrick
The Angel's Share by Atlantic Wave
The Dances Down Home by Joe Cormier
The Dawn by Shaskeen
The Dusty Bridge by Fergal Scahill
The Floating Bowhand by Jim McKillop
The House by Dennis Botzer
The Mighty Box by Luke Daniels
The Morning Mist by Joe Burke
The Pleasures Of Hope by Harry Bradley And Michael Clarkson
The Silver Bow: The Fiddle Music Of Shetland by Tom Anderson And Aly Bain
The Strathspey King by James Scott Skinner
The Very Best Of Sean McGuire by Sean Maguire
Traditional Music Of Ireland by Joe Burke
Traditional Music Of Ireland And The Bucks Of Oranmore by Joe Burke And Charlie Lennon
Traditional Scottish Fiddling by Various Artists
Tru The Years by Jim McKillop
Velvet Arm Golden Hand by Joseph Cormier And J.P Cormier
Volume One by Sean Maguire
Winston "Scotty" Fitzgerald: House Parties And 78s by Winston 'Scotty' Fitzgerald

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

The Banks

A Scott Skinner Hornpipe, often paired with the "Newcastle" (in fact I've never heard them played apart from each other) not for the faint of heart. This tune was the yardstick of a good fiddler in past decades. If you've got nothing to do for the next two months start working on this one, have fun.

# Posted on August 24th 2002 by B Rad

The Banks

There's an interesting version of this tune on the CD of tunes from Co.Leitrim by the Rooney family - quite different from the more common version.

# Posted on August 24th 2002 by Kenny

The Banks

Nice tune but tricky.I think the key is in Eb major,not F Dorian.

# Posted on August 25th 2002 by Christopher Reynolds

The Banks

I'm well aware that it's not in F Dorian, thats the only way I could enter it into this database as there is no Eb option when submitting a tune. It doesn't really matter to me - as long as three flats show up on the sheetmusic.

# Posted on August 25th 2002 by B Rad

The Banks

Not the Rooney family - the McNamaras, and the CD is entitled "Leitrim's Hidden Treasure". There is a 4-part version called "Morgan's", from the Grier manuscripts. The sleeve notes say that Scott Skinner attributed the tune to the Italian violinist Parazotti.

# Posted on August 28th 2002 by Kenny

Couplings

Andy McGann pairs this with the Galway Hornpipe on his 'It's a Hard Road to Travel' album and it's an ear-catching change (E flat - G minor)

# Posted on December 13th 2002 by biggus dave

The Banks

Here's a fairly close transcription from Brian Conway and Andy McGann's playing on the Boston College Fiddle Festival recording, My Love is in America, from 1990. It varies slightly from Brad's posting, mostly in a few ornaments and a note here and there.

X: 1
T: Banks, The
C: Scott Skinner
D: The Boston College Fiddle Festival: My Love is in America, track #6, Andy McGann and Brian Conway
R: hornpipe
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Eb
B,/C/D | E2 G2 G3 E | D2 F2 ~F3 D | [A,2E2] c2 c2 de | =ABcB _AGFE |
| G,2 B2 B2 cd | A,2 c2 c2 de | DEFG AFDF | E{F}E G2 E2 B,/C/D|
| E2 G2 G3 E | D2 F2 ~F3 D | [A,2E2] c2 c2 de | =ABcB _AGFE |
| G,2 B2 B2 cd | A,2 c2 c2 de | DEFG AFDF | E{F}E D2 E2 ~g2 ||
| g2 e2 e3 g | f2 d2 d3 f | e2 c2 c2 fe | dcB=A B2 fB |
| DBfB DBfB | EBgB EBgB | =ABcd ecAc | B=ABc B_AGF |
| EGBG eBFE | DFBF dFED | CEAE cBAG | (3FGF (3EFE DCB,A, |
| G,EBE G,EBE | A,EcE A,EcE | DEFG AFDF | E{F}E D2 E2 {a}g^f|
| g2 e2 e3 g | f2 d2 d3 f | e2 c2 c2 fe | dcB=A B2 fB |
| DBfB DBfB | EBgB EBgB | =ABcd ecAc | B2 dc B_AGF |
| EGBG eBFE | DFBF dFED | CEAE cBAG | (3FGF (3EFE DCB,A, |
| G,EBE G,EBE | A,EcE A,EcE | DEFG AFDF | E{F}E G2 E2 B,/C/D ||

# Posted on March 5th 2005 by Will Harmon

Banking to the left ~

# Posted on June 5th 2005 by ceolachan

Leahy's Banks

Leahy (actually Donnell Leahy) plays an absolutely amazing rendition of this tune on the Live album... never knew it was possible to bow like that.

# Posted on April 25th 2007 by flyboy04

There's also a great rendition by Tom Anderson and Aly Bain on 'The Slver Bow'. Not Irish, but mighty stuff.

# Posted on May 3rd 2007 by CreadurMawnOrganig

The Banks

Joe Burke did it on his black album -surely not Eb there?! Must check it out....

# Posted on May 9th 2007 by triplet

The Banks

There's a lovely version of this tune played on fiddle by young Clare musician, Tara Breen at http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_207_3_tara_breen/

# Posted on May 9th 2007 by Bannerman

"The Banks" / "Mrs. Taff" ~ C: ascribed to one 'Parazotti'

The Fiddler's Companion ~ Andrew Kuntz
http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/
http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/BAN_BARM.htm#BANKS_HORNPIPE

"Composed by Parazotti" is an ascription often found attached to this tune, sometimes called a ‘descriptive hornpipe’, or (by Skinner) a ‘Classical hornpipe’. ~ The composer’s origins were somewhat obscure, although he appears to have been a Scotsman of Italian heritage, his grandfather having immigrated to Glasgow. ~ Alastair Hardie (1992) ~ reports that Parazotti did exist and was actually the grandson of an Italian violinist who settled in Glasgow. The tune was inspired by the sights and sounds of a river in spate. The melody appears first in print in 1881 in Kohlers' Violin Repository (Bk. 1) under the title "Mrs. Taff" (whom Hardie explains was a person who resided on the West coast of Scotland and was Parazotti's patron for a time. It is said she was the owner of the house in which Parazotti composed his tune). The piece is similar to the tune "Souvinir De Venice Hornpipe" in the 1883 Ryan’s Mammoth Collection. “ “Souvinir” is credited to L. Ostinelli, an Italian who arrived in Boston in the year 1818.

# Posted on December 12th 2008 by ceolachan

A nice version here by Maeve Donnelly and Tony McManus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuRpM_K9TgI&feature=related

# Posted on July 12th 2010 by flossie

"The Banks Hornpipe" ~ James Scott Skinner's take on it

The Music of James Scott Skinner The 'Strathspey King' ~ University of Aberdeen
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/scottskinner/index.shtml
& for a recording ~
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/scottskinner/audio.php
& for his transcription of this in Eb and 2/4 ~ ascribing it to Parazotti
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/scottskinner/display.php?ID=JSS0200

I'll add an ABC of this, with minor adjustments, such as into 4/4, later...

# Posted on August 1st 2010 by ceolachan

"The Banks Hornpipe" ~ a la James Scott Skinner

X: 4
T: Souvenir de Venice
T: Banks
S: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/scottskinner/display.php?ID=JSS0200
C: Parazzotti ~ transcription by James Scott Skinner
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: EbMaj
R: hornpipe
|: (3B,CD |\
E2 G2- G2 (3BGE | D2 F2- F2 (3AFD | A,2 c2- c2 d>e | (=A>B).c>.B ._A>.G.F>.E |
G,2 B2- B2 c2 | A,2 c2- c2 d>e | (D>E).F>.G .A>.F.D>.F | [.G,2.E2] [.B,2.G2] [.G,2.E2] :|
|: {a/}g>^f |\
g2 [G,2E2] [G,2E2] (3gbg | f2 [B,2D2] [B,2D2] (3fgf | e2 c2- c2 f>e | (d>c).B>.=A {A/}B2 {e/}f2 |
D>Bf>B (3DBf (3.f.B.D | E>Bg>B (3EBg (3.g.B.E | (=A>B).c>.d .e>.c.A>.c | {B/c/} (B>A).B>.c .B>._A.G>.F |
([G,E]>G).B>.G (e>G).F>.E | (D>F).B>.F (d>F).E>.D | (C>E).A>.E (c>B).A>.G | (F>G).F>.E .D>.C.B,>.A, |
G,>EB>E G,>EB>E | A,>Ec>E A,>Ec>E | (D>E).F>.G .A>.F.D>.F | [G,2E2] [B,2G2] [G,2E2] :|

Options, B-part, bars 5 & 6, can be twice through the arpeggio of the first half, or repeat twice the pair of triples of the second half.
D>Bf>B D>Bf>B | E>Bg>B E>Bg>B | ~ or ~
(3DBf (3.f.B.D (3DBf (3.f.B.D | (3EBg (3.g.B.E (3EBg (3.g.B.E |

# Posted on August 1st 2010 by ceolachan

"The Banks Hornpipe" ~ a la James Scott Skinner ~ G - and for Bb winds

X: 5
T: Souvenir de Venice
T: Banks
C: Parazzotti ~ transcription by James Scott Skinner - transposed from Eb to G by me
K: GMaj
|: (3DEF |\
G2 B2- B2 (3dBG | F2 A2- A2 (3cAF | [C2E2] e2- e2 f>g | (^c>d).e>.d .=c>.B.A>.G |
[B,2D2] d2- d2 e2 | [C2E2] e2- e2 f>g | (F>G).A>.B .c>.A.F>.A | [.B,2.G2] [.D2.B2] [.B,.G2] :|
|: {c'/}b>a |\
b2 [B,2G2] [B,2G2] (3bd'b | a2 [D2F2] [D2F2] (3aba | g2 e2- e2 a>g | (f>e).d>.^c {c/}d2 {g/}a2 |
F>da>d (3Fda (3.a.d.F | G>db>d (3Gdb (3.b.d.G | (^c>d).e>.f .g>.e.c>.e | {d/e/}(d>^c).d>.e .d>.=c.B>.A |
([B,G]>B).d>.B (g>B).A>.G | (F>A).d>.A (f>A).G>.F | (E>G).c>.G (e>d).c>.B | (A>B).A>.G .F>.E.D>.[Cc] |
[B,B]>Gd>G [B,B]>Gd>G | [Cc]>Ge>G [Cc]>Ge>G | (F>G).A>.B .c>.A.F>.A | [B,2G2] [D2B2] [B,G2] :|

# Posted on August 1st 2010 by ceolachan

Options, B-part, bars 5 & 6, can be twice through the arpeggio of the first half, or repeat twice the pair of triples of the second half.
F>da>d F>da>d | G>db>d G>db>d | ~ or ~
(3Fda (3.a.d.F (3Fda (3.a.d.F | (3Gdb (3.b.d.G (3Gdb (3.b.d.G |

Note: I had to submit this in bits because, for some reason, some digital gremlin wouldn't let them be submitted together, especially with the G transcription... :-/

# Posted on August 1st 2010 by ceolachan

The Banks - Canadian Style

Here's a link to the late Graham Townsend doing his version of The Banks, preceded by Eugene Stratton and Arthur Seat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4SdiWAXy7E

# Posted on June 28th 2011 by FiddlinMike55