Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#161 (Blackberry Blossom)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 16 | AB | 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 MB 1 (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Blackberry Blossom, The / Blackberry Blossom / Bláth na Sméire Duibhe / Blackberry Blossoms / The Strawberry Beds / The Strawberry Blossom (also in A or D or doubled)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| 1916 | 14#2 | [JKm] John J. Kimmel. John J. Kimmel. Early Recordings of Irish Traditional Dance Music. John J. Kimmel (accordion). |
| 1936 | 23#2 | [BtB] Paddy Killoran, James Morrison. From Ballymote to Brooklyn. Paddy Killoran (fiddle), James Morrison (fiddle). |
| 1975 | 4#1 | [JnKlly] John Kelly. Irish Traditional Concertina and Fiddle Music. John Kelly (concertina, fiddle). |
| ~1979 | 8#1 | [MB 1] Mary Bergin. Feadóga Stáin. Traditional Irish Music on the Tin Whistle. Mary Bergin (whistle). |
| ~1979 | 4#1 | [Plx 5] Planxty. After the Break. Christy Moore (vocals, guitar, harmonium, bodhrán), Donal Lunny (blarge, guitar), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, hurdy gurdy, bouzouki), Liam O'Flynn (pipes, whistle), Matt Molloy (flute, whistle). |
| ~1986 | 16#2 | [HMSP] Joe Burke, Michael Cooney, Terry Corcoran. Happy to Meet and Sorry to Part. Joe Burke (accordion), Michael Cooney (pipes, whistle), Terry Corcoran (guitar, vocals). |
| 1990 | 15#1 | [COG] Conal O Gráda. The Top of Coom. Conal Ó Gráda (flute). |
| ~1995 | 13#1 | [KC 1] Kevin Crawford. 'D' Flute Album. Kevin Crawford (flute, whistle, bodhrán). |
| ~2002 | 5#1 | [BCw 1] Brian Conway. First through the Gate. Brian Conway (fiddle). |
| 2006 | 4#1 | [NNW] Eliot Grasso and Dave Cory. North-by-NorthWest. Eliot Grasso (pipes, flute), Dave Cory (banjo, guitar, octave mandolin). |
| 2006 | 4#1 | [TCB 4] The Tulla Céilí Band. 60th Anniversary Celebration. Mark Donnellan (fiddle), Martin Hayes (fiddle), Jim Corry (piano), Sean Donnelly (accordion), Michael McKee (accordion), J.J. Conway (flute), Jennifer Lenihan (flute), Martin Glynn (flute), Mick Flanagan (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 #1295 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #560 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #71 in [A] Hugh McDermott. Allan's "Irish Fiddler." |
| On page 113 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. |
| As tune #5 in [DM 3] Dave Mallinson. 100 Evergreen Irish Session Tunes. |
| As reel #38 in [Ng] Alan Ng. Alan Ng's Transcriptions. |
| As reel #14 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #124 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