Annotation:Bruckless Shore (The)

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X:1 T:Arthur Darley's T:Bruckless Shore T:The Swedish Jig C:Arthur Darley Senior D:Mick Moloney, Strings Attached Z:Nigel Gatherer <gatherer@argonet.co.uk> M:6/8 L:1/8 K:D ABA AGF| \ M:9/8 L:1/8 EDC D2D Ade | \ M:6/8 L:1/8 fed efc | d2 d Ade | fed edc | d3 BAG | FED ECD | DA,B, CDE | Ddd ede | fef g2 g | fed edc |1d2 d dcB :|2 d2 d d=c_B |] K:Dm A2 f fef|A2 f fef|Aff Agg|Aaa Abb|A2 f fef| A2 f f2 g|fed ed^c|1d3 dcB:|]2d3-d2|] K:D e|fed edc|(3ddd d BAG|FED EDC|DA,B, CDE| Ddd ede|fef g2 g|fed edc|d3 d2 e:|]



BRUCKLESS SHORE, THE. AKA and see "Arthur Darley's," "Swedish Jig (The)." Irish, Air or Jig (6/8 time). Ireland, County Donegal. Composed by classically trained Irish violinist Arthur Warren Darley (1873-1929), who had an appreciation for traditional music and who performed and collected it in the early 20th century (see Darley & McCall's The Feis Ceóil Collection of Irish Airs, 1914). Darley, who was employed as a Church of Ireland organist based in Bruckless (County Donegal), lived for a time in Dunkineely, County Donegal, and influenced Donegal traditional fiddlers, especially John Doherty and Donny O'Donnell [1]

  1. . Far from islolated, Darley was an active participant in the Feis Ceoil Association and Gaelic League music events held in Dublin in the first decade of the twentieth century. Caoimhin Mac Aoidh, "Between the Jigs and Reels", 1994

. It is Darley himself who passed the tune to the Doherty family, with whom he was on friendly terms, and John Doherty was supposedly quite taken with the melody. Mac Aoidh explains the origin of the alternate title, "Swedish Jig," thus: it seems that fiddler Danny Meehan returned to Donegal on vacation from London and was playing with John Doherty, when the latter fiddler happened to play a tune he learned from "Mr. Darley." Meehan picked up the tune but not the name, and on his return to London he began playing it around. Someone voiced the opinion that it sounded Scandinavian and afterwards people began to request that Meehan play "that Swedish jig," and the name spread from there. There is an extra beat in the second measure. Philippe Varlet believes that the alternate title "The Swedish Jig" first appeared on the 1978 LP "Lord Mayo" by the London band Le Cheile, (featuring Danny Meehan on fiddle), though he says the ultimate source for that name may have been Dublin fiddler John Kelly Sr.


Additional notes





Recorded sources : - Emerald Records, Arty McGlynn - "McGlynn's Fancy" (1979). Gael-Linn Records, Paddy Glackin - "Ceol ar an bhFidil le Paddy Glackin" (1977. Appears as "Arthur Darley's"). Gerald Trimble - "First Flight." Mick Moloney - "Strings Attached." Green Linnet SIF 3107. Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham - "The Pearl" (1994. Appears as "The Swedish Jig").

See also listing at :
See a standard notation transcription and analysis of John Doherty's entire version (as "Arthur Darley's"), by Conor Caldwell, in his PhD. thesis "‘Did you hear about the poor old travelling fiddler?’ - The Life and Music of John Doherty", 2013, pp. 339-340 [1]



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  1. . Far from islolated, Darley was an active participant in the Feis Ceoil Association and Gaelic League music events held in Dublin in the first decade of the twentieth century. Caoimhin Mac Aoidh, "Between the Jigs and Reels", 1994