Annotation:Ragg (The)
X: 1 T: The Ragg, set by a gentleman B: A Collection of the most Celebrated Irish Tunes, 2, p. 7 N: The last part had an initial repeat symbol but no final repeat symbol. M: 6/8 L: 1/16 F:http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/music/book/CMCIT/allCMCIT.abc K: C g2 |\ e4d2 G4_B2 | (ABc2)A2 F4f2 | e4d2 (G2A2G2) | c6 f6 | e4d2 G4_B2 | A2>B2AG F4f2 | e2f2g2 (f2e2d2) | c6 f4 :| |: g2 |\ e4f2 (g2e2c2) | d4e2 (f2d2B2) | e4f2 (g2e2c2) | e6 f6 | e4f2 (g2e2c2) | (f2e2d2) (f2e2d2) | (e2f2g2) (d2e2f2) | c6 e4 :| |: f2 |\ (g2e2c2) (Bcd2B2) | (ABc2A2) F4f2 | e4c2 (d2B2G2) | c6 (e4f2) | (efg2)e2 (cde2)c2 | (Bcd2)B2 (def2)d2 | (efg2e2) (def2)d2 | c6 e4 :| |: f2 |\ g2(efg)e c2(efg)e | d4BcdB G2BcdB | g2efge (c2>d2)c2 | e6 (f2Tf3e/f/) | g2efge (a2g2f2) | Tg3fe2 d2e2f2 | ((ef)Tf2e/f/g) d2e2f2 | c6 e4 :| |: G2 |\ E4G2 TG4_B2 | (ABc2A2) F3AGF | E4G2 (AGFE)(FG) | c6 (e4g2) | E4G2 (G2A2_B2) | A2G2F2 f2e2d2 | Tg4(fe) (f2e2d2) | c6 e4 :| |: f2 |\ (g2f2e2) (g2f2e2) | (f2e2d2) (f2e2d2) | (g2f2e2) (g2f2e2) | (a2g2f2) e2f2g2 | (fga2)f2 (efg2)e2 | (d2B2G2) (f2d2B2) | (g2e2c2) (f2d2B2) | c6 e4 :| |: (G/F/E/D/) |\ (C2E2G2) (c2G2E2) | F2A2c2 f2c2A2 | G2B2d2 g2d2B2 | c2e2g2 e4dc| (C2E2G2) F2A2c2 | G2B2d2 c2e2f2 | g3fe2 f2d2B2 | c6 e4 :| |: f2 |\ ef(Tg3e/f/) g2e2c2 | Bc(Tc3B/c/) d2B2G2 | ef(Tf3e/f/) g2e2c2 | Te6 f2 g4 | (a2fgaf) (g2efge) | (d2BcdB) (G2BcdB) | (g2efge) d2B2G2 | c6 e4 :| |: (Tfe/f/) |\ g4G2 G4_B2 | (ABcBAG) F4f2 | (efg2) G2 G4(c/B/A/G/) | c6 (e4f2) | (efg2) G2 G2A2_B2 | (A2G2F2) f2e2d2 | g3f2e d2B2G2 | [c6E6G,6] z2z2 :|
RAGG, THE. AKA and see "Irish Ragg." English, Irish; Jig (6/8 time). D Major (most versions): C Major (Neal). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. A Ragg is an 18th century English term for noisy disorderly conduct or riotous festivity, which still survives in university slang in 'rag week'. The melody and dance instructions were printed by John Walsh in his Third Book of the Compleat Country Dancing-Master (London, c. 1735) and in his Caledonian Country Dances, although it had earlier been published as "Irish Ragg" in Daniel Wright's (the elder) Aria di Camera (London, 1727). Publisher John Johnson printed it in Daniel Wright's (the younger) Wright's Compleat Collection of Celebrated Country Dances (London, c. 1740, p. 14). However, the earliest printing of the tune is a version called "Ye Ragg, set by A gentleman," issued by Dublin music publishers John and William Neal in 1724 on p. 27 of their A Collection of the Most Celebrated Irish Tunes , strongly suggesting an Irish provenance for the tune. Only one of the Neals' volumes under that title has survived, preserved by Belfast collector Edward Bunting (1773-1843), and is housed with the Bunting collection at Queen's University, Belfast. Graham Christian (2015) records that London publisher John Walsh used the tune for his "Scotch Country Dance" printed in his Caledonian Country Dances, 2nd edition (c. 1735), which was picked up by another London music publisher, John Johnson, in his c. 1740 and c. 1750 collection, "and Walsh reprinted it until 1755."
Some versions (Neal, Walsh) stray into the mixolydian mode, usually in the first strain. A branch of this tune family can be found as "Irish Ragg" and derivatives "Merrily Kiss the Quaker--New Set" and the slide "Around the House and Mind the Dresser."
"The Ragg" was also entered into the 1770 music manuscript collection of Northumbrian musician William Vickers, the 1747 collection of Walter Rainstorp (London), and the 1790 music manuscript of London musician Thomas Hammersley. Unfortunately, very little is known about either.
