Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Drowsy Maggie

I like the reel Drowsy Maggie. It's easy to learn and fun to play. I learned it from Matt Molloy's recording on Heathery Breeze, and, as I see no reason to play any tune faster than Molloy, it usually sounds rushed to me when I hear it in a session. It's a beautiful tune played slowly, I think. Anyway, here are some good sources for the tune.

  • Here's Séamus Ennis playing it on the pipes. He includes the infrequently-heard-but-traditional third part.
  • Paddy Killoran's fiddle recording.
  • As above, Molloy's recording is my favorite. He plays it relatively slowly on the B♭ flute, giving it a stirring power.
  • Altan play a breakneck "Northern version" of the tune on Harvest Storm. It's way too fast for my taste, but it's an interesting version of the tune, and they end the set with the spectacular Altan original reel "Harvest Storm," which is itself a great tune, and, I think, more suited to the blistering speed of the set.

1 comment:

Beniy said...

I just found your site and have been reading through your posts chronologically. Great stuff! I took a few lessons a little more than a year ago and learned three tunes. Now, I'm trying to learn some more tunes, and your site is inspirational. Thanks!