Annotation:Sonny's Mazurka

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SONNY'S MAZURKA. AKA - "Sonny Brogan." Irish, Mazurka (3/4 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (Johnson, Mallinson): AA'BB' (Brody): AABBC (Miller). "Sonny's Mazurka" is perhaps the most well-known of Irish mazurkas. It is named for the County Dublin accordion player Sonny Brogan (d. 1966), originally from Prosperous, County Kildare. Brogan made records in the 1930’s with The Lough Gill Quartet and was a member of Ceoltóirí Chualann under the direction of Seán Ó Riada. The tune can be found on the recording “The Pipering of Willie Clancy” under the title “Garret Barry's Mazurka,” named after the blind 19th century piper from Inagh, County Clare. There is also a recording of fiddler Michael Gorman playing the tune in the late 1960's, where it appears as the generic "The Polka-Mazurka"^[1].

Caoimhin Mac Aoidh, quoted in Miller & Perron’s Irish Traditional Fiddle Music (2006), says: “The beat in a mazurka falls on the second and third elements of the bar unlike other forms of Irish music. This can be confirmed by watching the old traditional dancers, as they actually take off on those lead-in notes and batter the second and third beats. In this way, the first two notes (of “Sonny’s Mazurka”) are not introductory but actually part of the melody line.”

Johnson (1991) notes it makes a good vehicle for the Scandinavian couples dance called the hambo.

Additional notes
Source for notated version : - Delaware Water Gap (Brody) & Chieftains (Miller).

Printed sources : - Brody (Fiddler’s Fakebook), 1983; p. 263. Bulmer & Sharpley (Music from Ireland, vol. 4), 1976, No. 90. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician’s Occasional: Waltz, Air and Misc. No. 1), 1991; p. 1. Mallinson (100 Enduring), 1995; No. 92, p. 38. Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music, vol. 1), 1977; No. 8 (appears as "Sonny Brogan"). Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music), 2nd Edition, 2006; p. 153. Tubridy (Irish Traditional Music, vol. 1), 1999; p. 3.

Recorded sources : - Boys of the Lough "Live at Passim." CCF2, Cape Cod Fiddlers – “Concert Collection II” (1999). Claddagh 4CC 32, Willie Clancy – “The Pipering of Willie Clancy, vol. 1” (1980. Appears as “Garret Barry’s Mazurka”). Coleman Music Center CHC 009, fiddler Verona Ryan – “The Coleman Archive, vol. 2: The Home Place” (2005. Various artists). Flying Clouds Music FCM 3, Sam Rizzetta "Bucks and Does." Island 9379, Chieftains "Chieftains 3". GN1, Joe Thoma "Up the Track: Traditional Music from Kenmare." Kicking Mule 205, Delaware Water Gap "From the Rivers of Babylon to the Land of Jazz" (1979). Philo 1026, Boys of the Lough "Live." RCA 09026-61490-2, The Chieftains - "The Celtic Harp" (1993). Shanachie 79023, "Chieftains 3" (1971/1982).

See also listing at :
Jane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources []
Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info [1]

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↑ Topic TSCD 525D, Michael Gorman - "The Sligo Champion: The Fiddle Music of County Sligo" (2001).

[1] Topic TSCD 525D, Michael Gorman - "The Sligo Champion: The Fiddle Music of County Sligo" (2001).

[1]