O’Farrell’s Quick-step

An image of O’Farrell reproduced from the title page of his ‘National Music for the Union Pipes’. From ‘Irish Minstrels and Musicians’ (1913), by Capt. Francis O’Neill, via Bill Haneman’s website.

As far as I know I have no Irish or Scottish ancestry, so to celebrate St Patrick’s Day or Burns Night might seem rather presumptuous – an act of cultural appropriation some would say. So here’s the faintest nod to the fact that it’s St Patrick’s Day today. It’s an untitled Quick Step from an important early 19th century collection compiled by the uilleann piper O’Farrell:

O’Farrell’s pocket companion for the Irish or union pipes
Being a grand selection of favourite tunes both Scotch and Irish, adapted for the pipes, flute, flageolet and violin : Some of which was never before published : With some favourite duets for the above instruments.

Almost nothing is known about O’Farrell (not even his first name), but he published the first tutor for the Irish pipes, and is known to have performed professionally on the London stage.

One of the productions in which he played was ‘Oscar and Malvina’. In pursuing the connections between this “ballet-pantomime” and the tune ‘Kempshott Hunt’ I looked through a photocopy of the ‘Pocket Companion’ at the Vaughan William Memorial Library – and copied out a number of other tunes. Several of which, like this one, don’t sound remotely Irish (OK, maybe it’s the way I play it).

These days you can find copies of the collection in various places, including the Internet Archive.

Quickstep from O’Farrell’s Pocket Companion. Digitised by the National Library of Scotland, via the Internet Archive.

X:16
T:Quick-Step
M:2/4
L:1/8
S:O’Farrells Pocket Companion Vol 2, c.1806 p23
K: D
A|df fa|ge e>g|fd d>f|e/2d/2c/2B/2 A2|df fa|ge eg|fd c/2d/2e/2c/2|d2d2:|
|:dc BA|GF ED|FA dF|GE E>A|dc BA|GF ED|Ad f/2e/2d/2c/2|d2d2:|
|:fd f/2d/2f/2d/2|ge e>g|fd df|e/2d/2c/2B/2A2|fd f/2d/2f/2d/2|ge e>g|fd c/2d/2e/2c/2|d2d2:|]

O’Farrell’s Quick-step

Played on one-row melodeon in D