Frank writes: | [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: | > King of the Fairies English?! | | Is it Irish? I know the book I got the tune from is wrong about the | nationalitie of some tunes.
Well, the Irish definitely claim it, and there's a step dance to it that is part of the Standard Repertoire among Irish step dancers. Of course, this says little about what its actual origin might be. It could have been brought back by some sailor from Greece or Java 400 years ago. | > And so jolly. | | I'd like to play it a bit slower too, but it's a hornpipe, isn't it? The Irish step dance is a hornpipe. Some years back, in a place I used to live, I sometimes played whistle as backup to an Irish storyteller sort of fellow. One of his stories was about the King of the Fairies, so of course we used the obvious tune. I played it as a slow air first, then as a march, and then as a bouncy hornpipe. This fit the story, and the tune sounds good in all three rhythms. Part of the story was that if you played the King's tune three times, he would appear. He would usually be in disguise, of course, so you wouldn't necessarily realize he was present. And summoning the Fairy King isn't something that one does frivolously. If he doesn't enjoy your event, he has ways of making you sorry you summoned him. During the course of the story, I did play the tune three times, and presumably this fact was not lost on the audience. So if there was anyone there that you didn't know, maybe you should make sure that he (she?) has a good time. And since the King is known to enjoy good music and dance parties ... To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
