Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#91 (Ask My Father)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single jig | 64 | AABB | D 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 SE 2 (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Ask My Father / Ask Me Father / Fiafraigh de m'Athair é / The Four Courts (1st in set Away with Ye on Ch 6) (also singled, also as hornpipe, included here) (compare With All My Heart #2645 and Johnny Allen #986)
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.
| Year Recorded |
Track #Tune? |
[Album code] Artist. Title. Primary musicians (instruments). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1973 | 7#1 | [SE 2] Seamus Ennis. The Pure Drop. Seamus Ennis (pipes). |
| ~1976 | 4#1 | [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). |
| ~1980 | 8#1 | [JKn 1] James Keane. Roll Away the Reel World. James Keane (accordion). |
| ~2007 | 2#1 | [OMcA] Oisín McAuley. Far from the Hills of Donegal. Oisín McAuley (fiddle, guitar). |
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 #941 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #367 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #143 in [WC] Pat Mitchell. The Dance Music of Willie Clancy. |
| As tune #62 in [CRE 1] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 1. |
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