Annotation:Church Hill (1)

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CHURCH HILL [1] (Cnoc an Teampall). Irish, Double Jig. D Major (O'Neill): D Mixolydian (Goodman). Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Paul de Grae, in his article "O'Neill's Outcries" [1] the jig to be the concluding section of “Allisdrum’s March, Battle of Cnoc na nDos, Laments &c”, in the music manuscript collection of Uilleann piper and Anglican cleric James Goodman, who collected in Munster in the mid-19th century. The four-part piece commemorates the battle of Cnoc na nDos/Knocknanuss (hill of the bushes), fought in 1647 in north County Cork. Goodman notated the programmatic piece from the playing of Kerry piper Tom Kennedy. The jig is said by some to have been spontaneously rendered by Aladair's wife when she was sure that her husband was really dead, although, "in fairness" remarks de Grae, "to the widow, merry or otherwise, another version of the story has it that she danced from pique at not being allowed to keen for her husband before the other women; and another setting of the piece omits the jig altogether, concluding with the laments."

See also the related version "Church Hill (2) (The)." The first strain of the tune may also have been used for the first strain of his "Yellow Wattle (2)" by O'Neill's source for the tune, Timothy Dillon.

Source for notated version: Chicago policeman and fiddler Timothy Dillon [O'Neill]; the mid-19th century music manuscript collection of uilleann piper and Church of Ireland cleric James Goodman [Shields].

Printed source: O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems), 1986; No. 343, p. 71. Shields (Tunes of the Munster Pipers), 1999; No. 149, p. 64.

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