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Hello and welcome back!
Apologies for the delay. I was hoping to work on this while traveling, but several factors beyond my control made that difficult. I'm home now, and ready to continue.
Today, I have a jig in G Major called Delvin House. This isn't a completely unknown tune, being the very first tune in the third volume of O'Farrell's Pocket Companion for the Irish or Union Pipes, with a variation on that same setting by Bill Black. There is also an admirable performance by Wetootwaag on his podcast, in which he is pulling from the same source. With the classic sound of the tune as well, I wouldn't be surprised if it survives by its merits outside of the internet.
What I can highlight here is that this is a pipe tune, but is very portable. I've found it comfortable to play on the concertina and the mandolin, and with the addition of the pipes, I am ready to generalize and say that this is appropriate for most instruments.
There is one element of the setting which I have chosen to change - I have omitted the repeat written in the B part, as it doubles the length of the part in comparison to the A part. Normally, that might not be enough for me to remove it, but firstly, the parts of the tune do feel as though they should be in balance, and secondly, Bill Black has also seen fit to make this change. Looking at a PDF scan of O'Farrell's, it looks as though the parts are intended to be different lengths, but I could also conceive of a world in which it was not necessary to inform the player whether the part was to be repeated or not.
There are also small changes between the settings in O'Farrell's and in Pigot's collections - Pigot's source is a Robert O'Reilly, via a John Donohue, both also barristers. The source manuscript does not survive. It seems to me to have been a good collection - this is the 208th tune in the book, and the previous tune was Bougher Boliagh. The section also contains An Buachailín Buidhe, Humours of America, The Banks of Claddy, the classic Geese in the Bog, and at least one, perhaps two or three more tunes that I intend to present. Anyhow, the changes between the settings are not terribly significant to me except that the dotted notes appear in different places - I find that they are very effective in the beginning, as they appear in Pigot's collection, and I don't terribly miss them in the B part. There are also Ds before each line of the B part in the O'Reilly version, and I find them very pleasant.
TuneArch does list two other names for the tune (Mr. Binden's Fancy, Lord Breadalbane's Delight), which are connected to different settings as well.
I again recorded this one with my phone - perhaps next week I'll be able to dig out my audio interface from the few remaining boxes we need to unpack. I'm sure it'll be a marked improvement. I just spent some time recording music with a friend, and it's been a bit of an inspiration to get my own recording act together.
I don't think that the fact of each line of the B part being unique is terribly troubling for session play, as the differences are small but memorable and effective. I've also always wanted to play a tune that dares to repeat a note so many times - starting strong with 7 Gs in a row certainly sets a mood! Other than that, I don't have too much more to say about the tune; I've enjoyed putting this together, and I'll probably continue playing it in the future.
I suppose it's also worth noting that I've made it to double digits! It's unclear at the moment to me whether I can sustain this from this source text along into the triple digits, but I'll do my best to find a way without compromising quality. If it means that I must turn away from the concertina to play tunes that do not suit it, perhaps that will be the choice I must make, but for now, it is benefiting me to continue, so I continue.
I hope you enjoy the tune!