Annotation:Gregg's Pipes (1)
X:1 T:Gregg's Pipes [1] M:C L:1/8 R:Reel S:Kerr - Merry Melodies, vol. 4, No. 136 (c. 1880's) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:A Dorian c|eAcA eAcA|eAcA BEEc|eAcA eAcA|BdcA BEE|| |:d|c2 (cB) cAAd|c2 (cA) BEEd|1 c2 cA B2 Bc|ABcA BEE:| |2c/c/c (cA) BcBc|ABcA BEEz||:EA,CA, EA,CA,|EA,CA, EFGF| EA,CA, EA,CA,|B,CDE CA,A,E:||GFEF GG,G,F| GFED EA,A,F|GFED EDCB,|A,B,CD EA,A,||
GREGG'S PIPES. AKA and see "Beatty's Reel," "Cobbler's Hornpipe (2) (The)," "Connolly's Reel," "Craig's Pipes," "Edenderry Reel (The)," "Fiddler is Drunk (The)," "Greg's Pipe Tune," "Greig's Pipes," "Gun Do Dhuit am Bodach Fodar Dhomh" (Old Man Wouldn't Give Me Straw (The)), "Kerry Huntsman (The)," "Kregg's Pipes," "Manchester Reel (1)," "Píopaí Greig," "Willie Winkie's Testament (2)," "Willie Wink's Testament (2)," "Willy Wilky." Scottish, Irish; Reel (cut time). A Dorian (Kerr): A Major (Donnellan/O'Connor). Standard tuning (fiddle). ABB'CCD. "Gregg's Pipes" is a version of the reel often known as "Greig's Pipes" or one of the several variants of that name. There are many melodic variants of the tune strains, but it usually has multiple parts, sometimes as many as four or five.
An early version in five parts was found by researcher Conor Ward in vol. 2 of the c. 1860's music manuscript of fiddler Patrick O'Farrell, from Gaigue, Ballinamuck, Co. Longford, who was probably born around the year 1835. O'Farrell's "Greg's Pipes" was transcribed for scordatura tuning (AEae) on the fiddle. The reel was collected in the Slieve Gullion region of south County Armagh by the Rev. Luke Donnellan (1878-1952), a rector at Dromintee, who published a collection of over 100 tunes, mostly reels, in 1909 in an article entitled "Oriel Songs and Dances" in The Journal of the County Louth Archaeological Society (vol. II, No. 2). Oriel [1] (now Oirialla), or Airgíalla, and Anglicizations, Oriel, Uriel, Orgiall, or Orgialla, was the name of an ancient Irish federation or kingdom largely in what is now the County Armagh, in the north of Ireland. Donnellan was enthusiastic about P.W. Joyce's then recently published Old Irish Music and Songs (1909), but found Irish music rather rare in his area.
The old people of Dromintee will tell you of the number and the skill of musicians who used to come to [nearby] Forkhill fair. I was told there used to be as many as thirty playing at it. They display an extensive knowledge of the names of songs and dance tunes, but cannot sing them. The reel known as “Black Haired Lass (2) (The)” No. 66 inf., seems to have been a great favourite with everyone. These facts point to a vanishing and disappearing musical culture.
Forkhill Fair, held on Michaelmas Day (Sept. 29th) was once the great horse and cattle fair, and festival of the area (St. Michael is the patron saint of horsemen).
Brendan Breathnach writes that the "Foxhunter's Reel (1) (The)" is a related tune. "See note for "annotation:Greig's Pipes" for more.
