Ale Möller Band with special guest Aly Bain performs The Flogging Reel at Celtic Connections 2006 in Glasgow, Scotland.


All reels have the same structure, consisting largely of quaver movement with an accent on the first and third beats of the bar. Reels usually have two parts (A and B); in most reels each part is repeated (AABB), but in others it is not (ABAB). Each part (A and B) typically has eight bars, which in turn are divisible into four-bar and two-bar phrases, as in a scheme of question-answer, where the first phrase is the "question" and the second is the "answer."

The Flogging Reel (often said to originally have been named The Flagon or the Flagon Reel until an unnamed masochist renamed it) is claimed to be of either Irish or Scottish origin. As these things go the arguments for one or the other can get heated at times. It seems clear however that migrant Irish workers carried their music to Scotland and also brought back a number of tunes of Scottish origin. The Donegal fiddlers may well have been the route by which Scottish tunes such as The Flogging Reel entered the Irish repertoire. These players prided themselves on their technical abilities, which included playing in higher positions (fairly uncommon among traditional Irish fiddlers), and sought out material which would demonstrate their skills.

And the Flogging Reel is undoubtedly an established vehicle for demonstrating great musical skill, something that Aly Bain has in abundance. On this occasion however he was somewhat outshined by double bass player Sebastien Dubé who, ignorant of what others perceive as limitations of his instrument, merrily bows along in an exhibition of excellence. (less info)