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Crested Hens (Edor)

Gilles Chabenat

Gilles Chabenat

This tune is usually notated in waltz time (3/4).  It was written in 1983 by the French hurdy gurdy (vielle a roue) player Gilles Chabenat (b. 1963).  Like “Ashoken Farewell” it is often played but is not in public domain.  It was originally notated in 3/8 (as a bourrĂ©e a trois temps) and called “Les Poules Huppees.”  Note, that to make this 3/8 tune fit into 3/4 time requires some work. Though sometimes mistakenly claimed to be an old Breton tune, Chabenat’s reported inspiration were some bars of a Debussy composition.

As for the title, the composer writes, “I was 15 and couldn’t decide on a title. One day we were playing at oxymorons and my friend said ‘Les Poules Huppees’ [and] we all laughed at that for a long time, so I decided to name the tune that
. I know it’s a dumb title, but we were just dumb kids.”  I’m sure someone is working right now on a tune with a similarly oxymoronic title, such as “The Bulls Utters,” or “The Snake’s Toes.”    The English title “Crested Hens” is what it’s called in the U.S., probably due to Winnie Horan’s rendition on the self-titled Solas CD (1995), but solas1elsewhere it retains its French title or is sometimes simply called the “Coxcombe BourĂ©e.”  Just think, from playing at oxymorons the title might have been “The Judicious Guitarist” or even “The Stable BodhrĂĄneer”  — and, btw, the plural would be “BodhrĂĄnai.”

If you want the ABC for this tune, click Crested Hens

 

Crested Hens, med tempo (flute, Eric Ryan)

 

Crested Hens

Crested Hens

 

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