Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#1275 (Merry Sisters)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 24 | ABC | E Dorian |
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 SE 5 (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Merry Sisters, The / Merry Sister's / The Merry Sisters of Fate (compare 1st 2 parts with reel Dan McCarthy's Fancy / Dan McCarty's Fancy / Country Girl's Fortune included here and with Twin Sisters #1984 and with Gan Ainm #3503; compare 2nd and 3rd parts with The Shepherd's Daughter #1763; compare 3rd part with 1st part of Traveller #3099)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| 1938 | 7#3 | [IFM] various. Past Masters of Irish Fiddle Music. |
| ~1973 | 7#5 | [Ch 3] The Chieftains. 3. Michael Tubridy (flute, concertina, whistle), Seán Potts (whistle), Paddy Moloney (pipes, whistle), Martin Fay (fiddle), Seán Keane (fiddle), Peadar Mercier (bodhrán, bones). |
| 1974 | 4#3 | [JD 3] John Doherty. The Celebrated Recordings. John Doherty (fiddle, vocals). |
| ~1978 | 7#1 | [SE 5] Seamus Ennis. The Fox Chase. Seamus Ennis (pipes). |
| ~1982 | 1#2 | [TP 4] Tommy Peoples. The Iron Man. Tommy Peoples (fiddle). |
| 1999 | 4#1 | [MOBAL] Michelle O'Brien, Aogán Lynch and Gavin Rolston [sic]. Michelle O'Brien, Aogán Lynch and Gavin Ralston. Michelle O'Brien (fiddle), Aogán Lynch (concertina), Gavin Ralston (guitar). |
| ~2001 | 4#1 | [Lu 3] Lúnasa. The Merry Sisters of Fate. Kevin Crawford (flute, whistle), Seán Smyth (fiddle, whistle), Cillian Vallely (pipes, whistle), Donogh Hennessy (guitar, whistle), Trevor Hutchinson (double bass). |
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 #1267 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #1283 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #535 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #548 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #30 in volume 2 of [LPTW] Eithne Vallely. Learn to Play the Tin Whistle. |
| On page 108 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. |
| On page 111 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. |
| In [FF] David Brody. The Fiddler's Fakebook. |
| On page 46 of [TP] Tommy Peoples. Fifty Irish Fiddle 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