Another Jig Will Do/ Drops of Brandy/ Cronin's/ The Moving Clouds
This is our "sampler" of Irish tunes that we like to start our set with to warm up and get up to speed. This is a sampler in the true sense of the word – a collection of varied dance types. Normally in Irish music medleys consist of the same kind of tune, but we move from 9/8 to a 4/4 hornpipe to a fast reel.
Another Jig Will Do is in O'Neill's Music of Ireland (the classic bible of Irish dance tunes) and in the Fiddler's Fakebook - best money Paul ever spent in his life on his first transatlantic trip to NY City in the mid 1980s! Karen learned it from the playing of the Boys of the Lough. Around age 25 Karen synthesized what she learned overseas of Irish music in Playing the Hammered Dulcimer in the Irish Tradition, which became a landmark instruction book. The medley came together starting with the tunes in the middle from Karen’s book and then adding an unusual take for the first tune, and ending with a killer reel! Drops of Brandy and Cronin's can be found in her book. This version of Cronin's is strongly colored by local Washington, DC fiddler Steve Hickman.
The Moving Cloud started life as a party piece composed by Northern Irish accordionist Néillidh Boyle but changed drastically through being replayed by many musicians. You can hear a recording of him playing it on his granddaughter Katie Boyle's CD "Back to Donegal."