Annotation:White Blanket (1) (The)
X:1 T:White Blanket [1], The M:4/4 L:1/8 Z:Lorna LaVerne K:G Major (3ABc |dFFE FGAF | EF (3ABc d3B |cBAF E2FA | B2Bc B2AB | cBAF ECEF | A2AB A2 (3ABc |dFFE FGAF | EF (3ABc d3B | cBAF E2FA | B2Bc B2AB |cBAF ECEF | A2AB AAce | f2fe fgaf | ec (3ABc d3B |cBAF E2FA | B2Bc B2AB | cBAF ECEF | A2AB AAce |f2fe fgaf | ec (3ABc d3B | cBAF E2FA | B2Bc B2AB |cBAF ECEF | A2AB A2 |]
WHITE BLANKET [1], THE (An Súisín Bán). AKA - "White Cushion (The)," "White Flail (The)." AKA and see "Súisín Bán." Irish, Long or Set Dance (2/4 or 4/4 time). G Major (Mulvihill, O'Neill, Roche, Tubridy, Vallely, Williamson): A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). One part (O'Neill/1001, Williamson): AABB (Mulvihill, O'Neill, Roche, Tubridy, Vallely). "The White Blanket" (An Súisín Bán) is the name of both a contemporary and traditional set dance in Ireland. The set dance is derived from the air of the same name (for which see O'Farrell's "Cooleen Bawn"). The title is sometimes known in Englished Gaelic as "The Suisheen Bawn." Musically, it begins on the subdominant chord and for those versions with separate parts, the 'A' and 'B' parts are not the same lengths, as is not uncommon in set dances. However, there are many and diverse variants of the melody. An early version of the melody appears John and William Neales’ Collection of the Most Celebrated Irish Tunes (Dublin, 1726), the first real collection of Irish folk music (Ó Canainn, 1978). O’Neill’s “Maid without Dower (The)” may be a related melody. “An Súisíin Bán” is also a sean-nós song that appears in Hyde’s Love Songs of Connaught (1893). Dr. Douglas Hyde (1860-1949) of Castlerea, County Roscommon was a scholar, a founder of the modern Irish theatre, and one of the seven co-founders of the Gaelic League. He was elected its first president, and later, in 1938 was unanimously acclaimed Ireland’s first president.