The Kerfeunteun Jig

Jig, G, D, by Hammy Hamilton, 1983
Also known as The Kerfunken Jig; The Kerfunten Jig

Kerfeunteun is a town in Brittany (France), a suburb of of Quimper, roughly 301 miles (484 km) west of Paris. The name Kerfeunteun, in Breton, translates to “city fountain” or “city of the fountain” — with “ker” meaning city or town, and “feunteun” meaning fountain. Hammy Hamilton composed the tune on flute in the mid 1980s. He plays the tune in G, but it is often played in D.

Recordings

Dots (Music Notation)

Click this link to go to the interactive score and video on the Irish Traditional Music Archive website. (The tune is presented in G major. The SoundSlice controls will let you transpose to a different key, but you must also switch the Recording control to “Synthetic.”)

Sets

Examples of sets that include this tune.

  • The Woodcock (by Hammy Hamilton) / The Kerfeunteun (G)
  • The Kerfeunteun (D) / Donnybrook Fair (G)
  • Kerfunken Jig (D) / Out On The Ocean Jig / Cowboy Jig

References and Resources

For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.