Annotation:Bonaparte's Retreat (4)

Back to Bonaparte's Retreat (4)

---

BONAPARTE'S RETREAT [4] (Brisead Bonapart). Irish, Set Dance. E Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (O'Neill/1850 & 1001): AABB (O'Neill/Krassen). Francis O'Neill concludes that the tune was widely known in Munster but not outside the province, from the contact he had with Irish musicians in Chicago. However, it appears that his Irish Music Club was primarily made up of musicians from the south of Ireland, and that he had relatively few contacts with musicians from other regions.

Source for notated version: "Hartnett" [O'Neill], referring to Sergeant Michael Hartnett of the Chicago police, an Irish dancer.

Printed sources: O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; p. 221. Cotter (Traditional Irish Tin Whistle Tutor), 1989; 86. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 1789, p. 335. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems), 1986; No. 980, p. 168 (the tune is mistakenly printed a step lower {placing it in an unplayable D Major}).

Recorded sources: Island ILPS9432, The Chieftains - "Bonaparte's Retreat" (1976).

---