Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 3714 (Downfall of Paris)

RhythmMode
Set danceG Major
Transcription of first 2 bars of Downfall of Paris
 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 EOD (details in the Discography below).

Where do you get the tune titles?
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Downfall of Paris, The (appears in collage Bonaparte's Retreat on Ch 6) (also without 3rd and 4th parts)
What do the "track#tune" codes mean?

cd 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). Album details
and contents
~19763(11:11)#4[Ch 6] The Chieftains. 6. Bonaparte's Retreat. Paddy Moloney [misspelled as:] Maloney (pipes, whistle, bodhrán), Seán Potts (whistle, bodhrán), Martin Fay (fiddle), Michael Tubridy (flute, concertina, whistle), Derek Bell (harp, oboe, tiompán), Seán Keane (fiddle).View album details
19781#1[EOD] Eugene O'Donnell. Slow Airs and Set Dances. Eugene O'Donnell (fiddle).View album details

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 #1562 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #957 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. [available]
On page 165 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. [available]
In [FMH] Tom Hastings. The Feis Musicians Handbook [sic].
As setd #6 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #85 in [DM 4] Dave Mallinson. 100 Vital Irish Session Tunes. [available]

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