Annotation:Humors of Listivain
X:1 T:Humours of Listivain, The M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Country Dance B:James Aird – Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. 3 (Glasgow, 1788, No. 170, p. 182) N:”Humbly dedicated to the Volunteers and Defensive Bands of Great Britain and Ireland” Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:Amin EAA T(AGA)|T(BAB) GAB|eAA T(AGA)|TBAB g3|(eg).g (de).e| (Bd).d (GA).B|eAA T(AGA)|TBAB g3|(eg).g (de).f|BEG A3:| |:(ea).a T(ag).a|Tbab g3|T(aga)e3|T(gfg) d3|.e(e/f/e/d/) .B(B/c/B/G/)| A(A/B/A/G) E3|EAA T(AGA)|TB>AB g3|(eg).g (de).e|BEG A3:|]
HUMORS OF LISTIVAIN. AKA and see "Humors of Bandon," "Jolly Old Woman," "Merry Old Woman (3) (The)," "Plangsty Callagh," "Terry's Rambles," "tSeanbhean Sultmhar (An)." Similar to "Nuptial Knot (The)," "Spirits of Whiskey (2)," "Three Little Drummers (1)." Irish, Jig. A Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. As "The Humours of Listivain" it appears in Jackson's Celebrated Irish Tunes, a collection from the famous 18th century gentleman piper Walker 'Piper' Jackson of the townland of Lisduan in the parish of Ballingarry, Aughrim, County Limerick, printed by Samuel Lee in Dublin around 1775 (reprinted in 1790). However, it appears the tune is older than this, for as "The Humors of Bandon" it was known as far back as 1690 when the Irish (who had learned it from the supporters of William III) played it when they sacked Kilbrogan (Winstock, 1970, p. 26). The melody appears in the James Goodman (mid-19th cent., County Cork) manuscripts as both "Terry's Rambles" and "tSeanbhean sultmhar (An)," in the Pigot collection as "Plangsty Callagh," and in Pádraig Ó Néill's manuscript collection as "Terry's Rambles." Two similar alternate titles appear in the William Forde collection ("Jolly Old Woman (The)") and in Stanford/Petrie ("Merry Old Woman (3) (The)"). O'Neill (1922) remarks: "(Aird's) setting of which there are several variants, is no doubt the original. In O'Farrell's National Irish Music for the Union Pipes, 1797-1800, a tune named "Jerry's Rambles" closely follows it. More distinct variants are "The Jolly Old Woman" and "The Humors of Bandon", the latter as printed in O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland being the arrangement favored by modern dancers." Patrick O'Flannigan, editor of The Hibernia Collection (1860), published in Boston by Elias Howe, included the jig as "Humors of Liftivain," and did not convert the 18th century printing convention of using an 'f' to substitute for an 's'.
"Humours of Listivain" was one of the airs included in Crotch's Specimens of various styles of music referred to in a Course of Lectures read at Oxford and London, and adapted to keyed instruments by W. Crotch, Mus. Doc., Prof. Mus. Oxon. Crotch, who was Principal of the Royal Academy of Music (London) from 1823-1832 delivered lectures on various types of national music from 1800-1804 and 1820, and had them bound in three volumes, familiarly referred to as "Crotch's Specimens". The Irish tunes are contained in volume 1. The melody also appears (as "Humours of Listivain") in the 1788 music manuscript collection of fiddlers John and William Pitt Turner, of Norwich, Conn. "Humours of Listivain" was also copied into Book 2[1] of the large mid-19th century music manuscript collection of County Cork cleric and uilleann piper Canon wikipedia:James_Goodman_(musicologist), probably copied from J.T. Surenne's 1854 collection.
See also note for Bayard (Hill Country Tunes), 1944, No. 46.
