Annotation:Rub the Bag

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X:1 T:Rub the Bag T:Cumail a' mháilín M:6/8 L:1/8 B:P.W. Joyce - Ancient Irish Music (1873, p. 52) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:Ador c3 edc|BAG BdB|ABA ecA|ABA ecA| c3 edc|BAG BdB|GAG dBG|G/A/BG dBG:| ccc c2e|ddd d2f|eee e2f|ggg g2a| eee efg|ddd ded|c3 edc|BAG BdB| ABA ecA|A/B/cA ecA|c3 edc|BAG BdB| GAG dBG|GAG dBG||

RUB THE BAG (“Cumuil an mala” or “Cumail a' mháilín”). AKA "Ree Raw (1)." Irish, Long or Set Dance (6/8 time). C Major (Cole, Joyce): D Major (O'Neill). Standard tuning (fiddle) AAB (Cole, Joyce): AABB (O'Neill/Krassen): AA'BB (O'Neill/1850 & 1001). "Rub the Bag" is one of the classic set dances and set dance tunes in Irish repertory. Joyce notes the tune was well known in Cork and Limerick, and that Petrie gives a Kilkenny version of this tune under the title “Ree Raw (2).” Joyce notes that in Munster the phrase cumail a' mháilín (like “Ree Raw”) signifies “confusion or uproarious merriment" (and is pronounced 'kimel-a-vauleen').

Additional notes

Source for notated version: - “I learned it when a boy (in the 1840's in Limerick) from fiddlers and pipers, who used to play it as a set dance. I remember seeing a man dance it one time on a table” [Joyce].

Printed sources : - Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; p. 73. Joyce (Ancient Irish Music), 1873/1890; No. 52, p. 52. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; p. 223. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903; No. 1795, p. 336. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems), 1907; No. 968, p. 166. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 104 (categorized as a jig).

Recorded sources: -