Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#360 (Colonel Fraser)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 32 | ABCD | 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 BtB (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Colonel Fraser / Colonel Frazer / Colonel Frazier / An Coirnéal Frazer / Green Fields of Ireland / Tommy Whelan's / Whelan's Reel (as a track titled track Meán Fómhair on Lu 1) (also with each part doubled, also with 5th part, also without 3rd part, also structure AABB) (compare Donaghmore #526, West Wind #2049, Braes of Busby #214, and distantly College Groves #358)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1907 | 17#1 | [PT] Patsy Touhey. The Piping of Patsy Touhey. Patsy Touhey (pipes). |
| 1928 | 9#2 | [WW 2] various. The Wheels of the World. Early Irish-American Music. Classic Recordings from the 1920s and 1930s. Vol. 2. |
| 1928 | 18#2 | [BtB] Paddy Killoran, James Morrison. From Ballymote to Brooklyn. Paddy Killoran (fiddle), James Morrison (fiddle). |
| 1931 | 20#2 | [IFM] various. Past Masters of Irish Fiddle Music. |
| ~1947 | A.1#1 | [JDrn] Johnny Doran. The Bunch of Keys. Johnny Doran (pipes). |
| 1957 | 1.9#2 | [SltSdt] various. Seoltaí Séidte. Setting Sail. |
| ~1958 | 6#2 | [TDMI] various. Traditional Dance Music of Ireland. |
| ~1959 | 6#2 | [GD] various. From Galway to Dublin. Early Recordings of Traditional Irish Music. |
| ~1966 | 15#1 | [TMC] Joe Burke, Andy McGann, and Felix Dolan. A Tribute to Michael Coleman. Joe Burke (accordion), Andy McGann (fiddle), Felix Dolan (piano). |
| ~1975 | 16#1 | [PK 1] Paddy Keenan. Paddy Keenan. Paddy Keenan (pipes, whistle, low whistle). |
| ~1975 | 5#2 | [SK 1] Seán Keane. Gusty's Frolicks. Seán Keane (fiddle). |
| ~1978 | 11(1:16)#2 | [SE 5] Seamus Ennis. The Fox Chase. Seamus Ennis (pipes). |
| ~1987 | 7#1 | [JOS 1] Jerry O'Sullivan. The Invasion. Jerry O'Sullivan (pipes). |
| ~1987 | 1.16#1 | [GL20] various. Green Linnet Records. The Twentieth Anniversary Collection. |
| 1990 | 1#1 | [COG] Conal O Gráda. The Top of Coom. Conal Ó Gráda (flute). |
| ~1996 | 8#1 | [Lu 1] Lúnasa. Lúnasa. Seán Smyth (fiddle, whistle), Mike McGoldrick (flute, whistle), John McSherry (pipes, whistle), Donagh Hennessy (guitar), Trevor Hutchinson (double bass). |
| 1997 | 5#2 | [Dnu 1] Danú. Danú. Daire Bracken (fiddle), Brendan McCarthy (accordion), Donnchadh Gough (pipes, bodhrán), Tom Doorley (flute), Eamonn Doorley (bouzouki, fiddle), Timmy Murray (guitar), Cárthach Mac Craith (vocals). |
| ~1998 | 13#1 | [KH] Kieran Hanrahan. Kieran Hanrahan Plays the Irish Tenor Banjo. Kieran Hanrahan (banjo). |
| ~2000 | 5#1 | [EOR] Eoin Ó Riabhaigh. Tiomnacht. Handed On. Eoin Ó Riabhaigh (pipes). |
| ~2001 | 1#1 | [JMcK] Joe McKenna. The Irish Low Whistle. Joe McKenna (whistle, pipes, keyboards, piano). |
| 2003 | 10#2 | [DF] The Dunne Family. Legacy. Mickey Dunne (pipes, fiddle, whistle), Niamh Dunne (fiddle, vocals, viola), Brid Dunne (fiddle). |
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 #1246 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #520 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #21 in volume 3 of [LPTW] Eithne Vallely. Learn to Play the Tin Whistle. |
| On page 41 of [LPUP] Eithne and Brian Vallely. Learn to Play the Uilleann Pipes. |
| As tune #87 in [WC] Pat Mitchell. The Dance Music of Willie Clancy. |
| On page 104 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. |
| As reel #359 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #137 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