Annotation:Pen the Maid against the Gate
X:1 T:Pen the Maid against the Gate M:C| L:1/8 R:Reel S:Philip Carolan music manuscript collection N:Philip Carolan (c. 1839-1910, Ballyvicmaha, County Mayo), a musically literate N:farmer and fiddler who compiled his ms. probably during 1863-1873. S:Angela Buckley, thesis, “A Critical Edition of the Irish Music Manuscripts of S:Philip Carolan c. 1839-1910, vol. 1”, Waterford Institute of Technology, S:2007, p. 95. Carolan ms. 1, No. 214 K:Amix Be(ed) (Bc)dc|Be(ed) (BG)GA|Be(ed) (cd)e(f|gf)gd (BA)A2:| |:aA A/A/A (BA)AA|aA A/A/A (BG)e(f|g2) (fg) e2 d(c|Bd)gd (BA) A2:|
PEN THE MAID AGAINST THE GATE. Irish, Reel (cut time). A Mixolydian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. "Pen the Maid against the Gate" is a tune whose tonality, obscure through much of the first strain, becomes apparent at the cadence and in the second strain. The title is similar to "Pin Her against the Gate," a musically unrelated reel, though it indicates the name for a tune was probably in general circulation. The title is a double-entendre, barely plausible as referring to a farm animal.
