Annotation:Ragg (The)

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RAGG, THE. English, Jig (6/8 time). D Major (most versions): C Major (Neal). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. 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. Publisher John Johnson printed it in Daniel Wright's 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 , 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, and the 1790 music manuscript of London musician Thomas Hammersley. Unfortunately, very little is known about either.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Christian (A Playford Assembly), 2015; p. 92.

Recorded sources:

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