Annotation:Murphy's Hornpipe (1)

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MURPHY'S HORNPIPE [1] (Cornphiopa Uí Mhurchada). AKA – "Murphy's Delight," "Murphy's Fancy." AKA and see "Kilderry Hornpipe," "Nellie Murphy's," "Touhey's Favorite Hornpipe." Irish, Hornpipe. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (Brody): AA'BB' (Kerr): AABBCDE (Breathnach): AABB'CCDD' (Miller): AABCCDD' (Carlin). The earliest appearance of the tune to date is in the mid-19th century music manuscript collections of uilleann piper and Church of Ireland cleric wikipedia:James_Goodman_(musicologist) (1828-1896), County Cork, where it was entered three times, twice as untitled "Hornpipes" in three strains. A three-part version (very close to one of Goodman's settings) was also entered into Book 3 of the c. 1883 music manuscript collection of County Leitrim fiddler and piper biography:Stephen Grier (c. 1824-1894). The earliest sound recording of the hornpipe was made in 1904 by Capt. Francis O'Neill, from the tin-whistle playing of uilleann piper and vaudeville performer Patrick "Patsy" Touhey. O'Neill used a home cylinder machine. The Chicago pipes and fiddle duo of Joseph Sullivan and WIlliam McCormick recorded it in 1927 as "Tuohy's Favorite" and the closely related "Kilderry Hornpipe" was recorded in 1928 by Boston fiddler Michael Hanafin with Dan Sullivan's Shamrock Band. That side paired it with an unrelated "Murphy's Hornpipe," which might explain why the "Murphy's" name was subsequently transferred to the Touhey/Hanafin tune when the tune was recorded in 1935 by Sligo master Michael Coleman. Coleman transformed the basic two-part reel into a four-part fiddle showpiece, creating the setting now most commonly heard.

Additional notes

Printed sources : - Breathnach (CRÉ 1), 1963; No. 213, p. 86. Brody (Fiddler's Fakebook), 1983; p. 200. Carlin (Master Collection), 1984; No. 285, p. 160. Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 4), c. 1880's; No. 280, p. 30. Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music), 1977; vol. 1, No. 23. Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music), 2nd Edition, 2006; p. 119 (appears as "Murphy's Fancy"). O'Brien (Irish Folk Dance Music), 1952 (appears as "The Kilderry Hornpipe").

Recorded sources : - Cló Iar-Chonnachta CICD 167, Peter Horan & Gerry Harrington – "The Merry Love to Play" (2007). DECCA 2057A (78 RPM), Michael Coleman (1935). Columbia Co 33192-F, Joseph Sullivan and William McCormick (as "Tuohy's Favorite," 1927). Flying Fish FF-246, The Red Clay Ramblers – "Hard Times" (1981). Folkways FW 8876, Kevin Burke – "Sweeney's Dream." Gael-Linn Records CEF 161, "Michael Coleman 1891–1945." Green Linnet SIF 1138, James Keane – "That's the Spirit." Philo FI 2018, Jean Carignan – "Plays Coleman, Morrison and Skinner" (appears as first tune of "Hornpipe Set" medley). Shanachie 29008, Frankie Gavin – "Traditional Music of Ireland." Shaskeen Records OS-360, Andy McGann, Joe Burke, Felix Dolan – "A Tribute to Michael Coleman" (c. 1965). Johnny O'Leary – "Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border." Kevin Henry – "One's Own Place-A Family Tradition."

See also listing at :
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]
Alan Ng's Irishtune.info [2]
Hear the tune played by fiddler Michael O'Rourke at the Comhaltas Archive [3]
Hear Patsy Touhey's tin-whistle cylinder recording at the Dunn Family Archives [4] (appears as "Touhey's Favorite Hornpipe").

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