Annotation:Earl's Chair (The)

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EARL'S CHAIR, THE (Cathaoir an Iarla). Irish, Reel. D Major {Mallinson, Taylor}: B Minor ('A' part) & D Major ('B' part) {Songer}. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (Breathnach, Harker/Rafferty, Mallinson, Miller & Perron, Taylor): AA'BB' (O'Malley, Songer). The chordal backing to the tune is more complicated than most, and there are discrepancies between those who hear it in B minor and those who hear it in D major (the beginning chord can be a G major chord as well as a B minor or even E minor). The melody actually resolves to D Major in both parts, though the accompaniment in the 'A' part starts on either a G Major or B Minor chord and the 'B' part starts either on E Minor or A Major.

Historian and concertina player Gearoid Ó hAllmhuráin relates that the tune's origins lie with an East Galway flute player by the name of Pakie Moloney (who was an uncle of Galway-born New Jersey flute player Mike Rafferty). Moloney is said to have composed "The Earls Chair" while sitting on a large rock in the Derrycrag Wood, East Galway. Since he was mid-way between the townlands of Derryoober East and Derryoober West at the time he originally entitled the piece "Down between the two Derryoobers," although he fortunately rethought this at a later time and changed the title to the name of the rock, "The Earl's Chair." That formation is named after the Earl of Clanrickard who owned the hunting rights of the area and used the rock as a resting place there during his hunts, the rock being big enough for the entire hunting party to have lunch on it.

Accordion player Joe Burke has said the tune was popularized by fiddler P.J. Hayes and the Tulla Ceili Band, who had the tune from accordion player Joe Cooley. Bronx flute player Jack Coen, originally from Woodford, East Galway, learned it from local flute players back home who told him it was composed by another local flute player named Pato (Pakie) Maloney. Philippe Varlet suggests that fiddle player Aggie Whyte was instrumental in disseminating the tune.

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