The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #100071 Message #2002048
Posted By: greg stephens
20-Mar-07 - 10:08 AM
Thread Name: 3:2 Hornpipes
Subject: RE: 3:2 Hornpipes
Re: Les in Chorlton's query re 3/2 and Irish Hornpipes. Irish hornpipes are much like English, Scottish and Welsh hornpipes. 4/4 (or cut-time 2/2) tunes,8 bars played AABB with the distinctive diddle didle diddle diddle om pom pom last two bars. Somtimes with the quavers played evenly(and faster), sometimes with the first quaver longer than the second and played a bit slower. These tunes originated (possibly in northern England or southern Scotland, and thence to Ireland but nobody really knows).TYhey start appearing in collections from the early 1700's, though not generally called hornpipes to start with.
Up till about 1750 the 3/2 hornpipe predominated (Cheshire/Lancashire Derbyshire seems to have been a key area, but they were very widespread). The basic tune was a 4-bar 3/2 main theme, followed by variations(it is safe to assume that the musicians would have made up the variuations, like jazz players). After 1750 more and more of the modern 4/4 ones start appearing(sometimes written in 2/4), and by 1850 it is quite rare to find many in manuscript tune books, apart a few NE pipe tunes like "Go to Berwick Johnny". Joseph Kershaw, the mid 19th century Pennine Lancashire fiddler, was notable in having a few of the old tunes in his repertoire.
The heyday of the modern type of hornpipe was from 1800 on, peaking in the 1850's very roughly. James Hill the Newcastle virtuoso was the archetypal hornpipe player and composer, but there were thousands of others. I don't think we have the names of many early 3/2 players: Old Hale was a Derbyshire piper notable enough to have his picture produced over the sheet music of one of his hornpipes(this was in the 1600's).