Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#1159 (Lord Ramsey's Reel)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 32 | AABB | A Major |
about these two bars
These two bars are the start of my transcription of how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording DD 3 (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Lord Ramsey's Reel / Lord Ramsey's / Lord Ramsey / John McNeill's / John McNeil's Reel / John Mc Neil's Reel / Ríl Sheáin Mhic Néill / Big John McNeil (composed by Peter Milne)
Discography
Here are all recordings of this tune considering only the indexed recordings. I have discovered by careful listening that these sources are in fact musically the same tune, regardless of the tune titles they use, key changes, retuning, etc. They are listed in order of when they were recorded.
| Year Recorded |
Track #Tune? |
[Album code] Artist. Title. Primary musicians (instruments). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1980 | 11#3 | [DD 3] Dé Danann. Mist Covered Mountain. Frankie Gavin (fiddle, viola, whistle), Jackie Daly (accordion), Charlie Piggott (banjo, mandolin, steel guitar), Alec Finn (bouzouki, mandocello, steel guitar), Johnny 'Ringo' McDonagh (bodhrán, bones). |
| ~1996 | 5#2 | [BC] Séamus Begley and Stephen Cooney. Meitheal. Séamus Begley (accordion, vocals), Stephen Cooney (guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, ditjeridú). |
| ~1997 | 1#3 | [KCB 5] The Kilfenora Céili Band. Set on Stone. Aidan McMahon (fiddle), Anne Marie McCormack (fiddle), Anne Rynne (fiddle), Garry Shannon (flute), Anthony Quigney (flute), Conor McCarthy (accordion), John Lynch (banjo), Tim Collins (concertina), Fintan McMahon (piano), Sean Griffin (drums), Paul O'Driscoll (double bass). |
| ~1999 | 3#3 | [BCB 2] The Bridge Céilí Band. Sparks on Flags. Tom Ahearne (fiddle), Robert Gleeson (fiddle), Karen Gavigan (fiddle), Carthage Daly (fiddle), Catherine McHugh (fiddle), James Kinsella (accordion), Fionnuala Gleeson (flute), Eugene Nolan (flute), Pat O'Meara (piano, synthesizer), Liam McCormack (drums, bodhrán). |
| 2000 | 5#1 | [ACB 1] The Abbey Céilí Band. Bruach an tSuláin. Ger Murphy (accordion), Andrew O'Connell (fiddle), Liam Forde (banjo), Micheál Creedon (bass, keyboards). |
| ~2007 | 8#3 | [GCB 2] The Glenside. Take the Floor with The Glenside. Tom Flood (accordion), Johnny Duffy (banjo), Moyra Fraser (keyboard, vocals), Aidan Flood (drums). |
Bibliography
Here are all transcriptions of this tune under any title whatsoever – considering only the indexed books – listed in chronological order. I have discovered by careful comparison that these are very similar to this tune as played on the recordings listed above.
| As tune #31 in [Sc] Scottish Fiddle Tunes. |
| As tune #23 in [SIMB] Tony Sullivan. Sully's Irish Music Book. |
| As reel #510 in [HN] Henrik Norbeck. Henrik Norbeck's Abc Tunes. |
If you are considering using the above transcriptions to help you learn this tune, I invite you to check these practical Tips for Learning Irish Traditional Music. See also: So why do you bother indexing books and abc?
Year of the oldest source for this tune, considering the recordings and transcriptions listed above (note that I concentrate on sources after 1900): 1903