What a great trip to Austin. Today, I got to see my good college friends, Earnest Mazique, and Christopher Gandin Le. We had lunch at a hip restaurant in north Austin called Mother’s Cafe. Conveniently enough, there was an Irish harpist playing there by the name of Doc Grauzer. I hummed for him the first tune that came to my mind when I thought of Irish Harp, and he knew the tune. Fancy that. So I grabbed my fiddle, and we recorded Planxty Fanny Powers. Doc also informed me that a Planxty was a commissioned tune, and was often named after the patron. And now I have my fact for the day to go with my fiddle tune for the day.
Planxty Fanny Powers according to Fiddler’s Companion
PLANXTY FANNY POWERS (Pleraca Fanni Ni Paor). AKA and see “Fanny Power,” “Mrs. Trench.” AKA – “Planxty Fanny Poer.” Irish, Air or Planxty (6/8 time, “lively,” or 3/4 waltz tempo). A Major (O’Neill): G Major (Johnson, Matthiesen): F Major (Complete Collection, O’Sullivan). Standard tuning. AB (Complete Collection, O’Sullivan): AAB (O’Neill): AABB (Johnson, Matthiesen). Composed by blind Irish harper Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1732) for Fanny (Frances) Power, the daughter and heiress of David and Elizabeth Power of Coorheen, Loughrea, County Galway, who in 1732 married Richard Trench (d. 1768) of Garbally, County Galway. Fanny’s parents were patron’s of O’Carolan (see, for example “Mrs. Power/Poer,” better known as “Carolan’s Concerto” and “David Power”). The tune is sometimes called “Mrs. Trench” after Fanny’s married name, although it appears likely the melody was composed before the nuptials, for in the second verse of his song O’Carolan expresses the hope that he will live to dance at their wedding. The melody appears in Edward Bunting’s (1773-1843) c. 1800 manuscript collection (copies in MS 29, pg. 22, and MS 33, book 3, pg. 15, held at the Library of Queen’s University, Belfast). Bunting, in different publications, names variously harpers Charles Byrne and Arthur O’Neill as his source. There is also a printing in John Mulholland’s Collection of Ancient Irish Airs (Belfast, 1810, pg. 51). Complete Collection of Carolan’s Irish Tunes, 1984; No. 155, pg. 106. S. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician No. 3: Carolan), 1983 (revised 1991, 2001); pg. 10. Matthiesen (The Waltz Book), 1992; pg. 39. O’Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 238. O’Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies), 1903/1979; No. 673, pg. 122. O’Sullivan (Carolan: The Life, Times and Music of an Irish Harper), 1958; No. 155. Avocet Records, Glasnotes ‑ “Live from Contrafornia.” Fortune Records, Patrick Ball ‑ “Music of Turlough O’Carolan.” Front Hall, Walt Michael ‑ “The Good Old Way.”
| See also listings at:Alan Snyder’s Cape Breton Fiddle Recording IndexJane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources
Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info |

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