Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#1520 (Father Tom's Wager)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double jig | 32 | AABB | G 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 FR (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Father Tom's Wager / Fr Tom's Wager / Close to the Floor / Paddy O'Brien's Jig
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). |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 14#2 | [JCC] Jack and Charlie Coen. The Branch Line. Jack Coen (flute), Charlie Coen (concertina). |
| ~1979 | 8#1 | [FR] Joe Burke, Andy McGann, and Felix Dolan. The Funny Reel. Traditional Music of Ireland. Joe Burke (accordion), Andy McGann (fiddle), Felix Dolan (piano). |
| 1998 | 17#2 | [JWh] John Whelan. Come to Dance. John Whelan (accordion). |
| 2003 | 11#3 | [LLPQ 2] The London Lasses and Pete Quinn. Track Across the Deep. Karen Ryan (fiddle, whistle), Elaine Conwell (fiddle), Dee Havlin (flute, whistle), Maureen Linane (accordion), Kathleen O'Sullivan (vocals). |
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 #1005 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #220 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| On page 52 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. |
| As tune #23 in [FT] Randy Miller. The Fiddler's Throne. |
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