BALMORAL HIGHLANDERS. Scottish, March (2/4 time). A Mixolydian. AABBCCDD. The melody, composed by Angus Mackay of Raasay, was included in one of J. Scott Skinner's concert sets (1921) called "Warblings From the Hill's." Mackay's father, John MacKay of Raasay, had been among the last of the pupils at the famous ancient piping college of the MacCrimmons at Boreraig. The younger Mackay wrote, while still in his early twenties, a book called A Collection of Ancient Piobaireachd, or Highland Pipe Music; a piper's bible for many decades after its appearance in 1838. The word Balmoral is said to mean "the house of the laird," the root being the Gaelic baile, a homestead or, later, village (Matthews, 1972). See note on "Balmoral Castle" for more on Balmoral. Martin (Ceol na Fidhle), Vol. 1, 1991; pg. 37.
BLOOMING MEADOWS [1] (An Moinfeur Fionnsgotac). AKA and see "Cover the Buckle," "Down the Hill," "Down With the Tithes," "Hag and Her Praskeen," "Humors of Milltown." Irish, Double Jig. G Major. Standard. AAB (O'Neill/1915): AABB (Cole, Joyce, Roche): AABB' (O'Neill/1850 & 1001). Bayard believes the first strain of this tune group was developed from "Bung Your Eye." "Trip it Along," "Humours of Ballinafauna," and "Humors of Castle Comer" are variants. Charlie Piggott, in the essay on Kilmaley, County Clare, fiddler, flute player and uilleann piper Peader O'Loughlin in his book Blooming Meadows (1998), remarks on tunes being disseminated into local, isolated traditions in Ireland by visiting musicians. It is remembered that "Blooming Meadows" was introduced into O'Loughlin's Kilmaley-Connolly, Clare, area by travelling piper Jerry O'Shea many generations ago. Cole (1001 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 56. Joyce (Ancient Irish Music), 1873/1890; No. 85, pg. 87. O'Neill (1915 ed.), 1987; No. 146, pg. 84. O'Neill (1850), 1903/1979; No. 917, pg. 171. O'Neill (1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 304, pg. 65. Roche Collection, 1982; Vol. 1, No. 115, pg. 48 (appears as "Down the Hill").
T:Blooming Meadows, The [1]
L:1/8
M:6/8
K:G
D|(D2G) (G2A)|(B2d) cAG|(F2D) DED|~F3 {A}GED|
DGG (G2A)|BAG ABc|(d2B) cAF|G3 G2:|
|:{d/e/f/}|(g2d) def|(g2a) bag|(f2d) ded|(f2g) afd|
(g2 d) def|(g2a) bag|fed cAF|G3 G2:|
CROGHAN HILL. AKA and see "The Castle," "God Speed the Plow," "Ireland in New York," "Speed the Plow." Irish, Reel. G Major. Standard. AABB. The tune is in Breathnach's CRE II (1985) as "Speed the Plow." Source for notated version: fiddler Pat Neilly [Bulmer & Sharpley]. Bulmer & Sharpley (Music from Ireland), 1976, Vol. 4, No. 1. Mallinson (Enduring), 1995; No. 18, pg. 8.
DURHAM RANGERS. AKA - "Sherwood Rangers," "Merry Sherwood Rangers," "Ranger's Hornpipe." Scottish, English; Reel or Hornpipe. D Major. Standard. AABB. The melody is in the "Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine" tune family. It is played in County Donegal, Ireland, where it is rendered in the form of a 'German' (i.e. schottische). The name Durham has an interesting history, as described by C.M. Matthews (1972):
***
(It) is late in origin, being first mentioned in the account
of how Bishop Aldhun and his monks were guided by a
dream to this hitherto unoccupied site in the year 995, and
built on it the first little church as a shrine for St. Cuthbert's
remains. This was written about the year 1000. The name
was then Dunholm, consisting apparently of the English
dun, a hill, to which the Danish word holmr, used generally
for a flat-topped island, was added; the rocky eminence is
almost surrounded by the river Wear. The normal develop-
ment of this would have been to a sound like Dunnam,
possibly spelt Dunham, but the place became pre-eminently
a stronghold of the Normans and under their influence the
'n' changed to 'r'. The final result is a strong, simple sound
that has the advantage of being unique in England.
***
Malcolm II was defeated at Durham by Uhtred of Northumbria in 1006, and in 1040 Duncan I besieged the town with many losses. The castle became the abode of a succession of prince-bishops of Durham from 1072. In the western suburbs is Nevill's Cross, where David II was defeated and captured by the English in 1346. Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book), Vol. 1, 1951; No. 21, pg. 11. Lerwick (Kilted Fiddler), 1985; pg. 10. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 164.
T:untitled Donegal german
T:Durham Rangers
T:Merry Sherwood Rangers
S:Mairéad ní Mhaonaigh
M:4/4
L:1/8
Z:transcribed by Paul de Grae
K:D
FG|ABAF A2 de|fgfe d2 A2|BcdB ABAF|G2 E2 E2 FG|
ABAF A2 de|fgfe dcdA|BcdB ABAG|F2 D2 D2:|
|:g2|fefg afdg|fefg a2 f2|gabg fgaf|edef e2 FG|
ABAF A2 de|fgfe d2 A2|BcdB ABAG|F2 D2 D2:|
ÉAMONN A' CHNUIC (Nos na Ronne). AKA and see "Ned of the Hill," "Edmond of the Hill." Irish, Air (3/4). G Major. Standard. One Part (Ó Canainn): AB (Roche). The melody first appears in the appendix to Walker's Historical Memoirs of the Irish Bards (1786). The song tells of Edmund Ryan of the Hill (Éamonn a' Chnuic), of Knockmeoil Castle, County Tipperary, an Irish earl who refused to go into exile and instead chose to stay on in Ireland after the Battle of the Boyne to fight the English. One of the rapparees o f the era, Éamonn had been forced into outlawry as the result of a altercation with a tax collector, and by 1702 had a price of 200 pounds on his head. He found some shelter for a time with an old lover but at the end was killed by a neighbour who had similarly offered him safe haven, but who betrayed him for English reward money (only to find that the reward had recently been withdrawn due to a service Edmund had performed for an Englishman). Éamonn was an associate of Sarsfield's famous scout "Galloping Hogan" (see "Galloping O'Hogan"). An English translation of the lyrics goes thus:
***
Who is that outside with anger in his voice beating my closed door?
I am Éamann of the Hill, soakend through and wet
From constant walking of mountains and glens
My love, fond and true, what else could I do
but shield you from wind and from weather?
When the shot falls like hail, they us both shall assail
and mayhap we will die together.
***
Through frost and through snow, tired and hunted
I go in fear both of friend and of neighbour;
My horses run wild, my acres untilled
and all of lost to my labour.
What grieves me far more than the loss of my store
is there is no one would shield me from danger
so my fate it must be to bid farewell to thee
and languish amid strangers
***
My darling, my beloved
we will go off together for a while
to forests of fragrant fruit trees
and the blackbird in his nest
the deer and the buck calling
sweet little birds singing on branches
And the little cuckoo on top of the green yew tree
Forever, forever, death will not come near us
in the middle of our fragrant forest.
***
(translation by Barbara Carswell on Connie Dover's CD "If Ever I Return").
Ó Canainn (Traditional Slow Airs), 1995; No. 92, pg. 79. O Sullivan, Songs of the Irish. Roche Collection, 1982; Vol. 3, pg. 1, No. 3.
T:Éamonn a' Chnuic
L:1/8
Q:90
K:G Major
B{c}{B}A|"G" G2{A}{G} E3 F |"Em" {A}G4 {A}GA |
"G" B{a}g3{a}{g} fd |"C" {a}e4 f{a}{f}e |"G" d4 B{c}{B}A |
"Em" G4 AB |1"C" c3 B{c}{B}A{B}{A}G |
"D" E4 :|2"C" A4 {B}{A} "D" GF |"G" G4 ||
Bd | "C" e c3 g2 |"G" {c}d4 d2 |"C" e2{a}f2{g}{f}e2 |"G" d4 de |
d4 B{c}{B}A |"Em" G4 AB |"C" c3 B {c}{B} A{B}{A} G|"D"E4 |
B{c}{B}A |"G" G2{A}{G} E3 F |"Em" {A}G4 {A}GA |
"G" B{a}g3{a}{g} fd |"C"{a}e4 f{a}{f}e |"G" d4 B{c}{B}A |
"Em" G4 AB |"C" A4 {B}{A}"D" GF |"G" G4 ||
GLEN TILT LODGE. AKA and see "Ca' the Wethers to the Hill," "Glentilt." Scottish, Canadian; Strathspey. Canada, Cape Breton. A Major. Standard. AAB (Dunlay): AABB' (Kerr). A double-tonic tune. The melody appears as "Duke of Athol's Forest Lodge, Glen Tilt" in Alexander McGlashan's A Collection of Reels (1786). Glen Tilt is in Perthshire, Scotland, visited in 1564 by Queen Mary who attended a deer drive there while at Blair Castle at Atholl. Source for notated version: John Campbell (Cape Breton) [Dunlay & Greenberg]. Dunlay & Greenberg (Traditional Celtic Violin Music of Cape Breton), 1996; pg. 28. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 4; No. 26, pg. 5. DMP 6-27-1, Doug MacPhee (appears as "Traditional Strathspey" in Program II).
JOE CASSIDY'S HORNPIPE. Irish, Hornpipe. Ireland, County Donegal. A close version of "The Humours of Castle Bernard," which also shows some similarities with James Hill's famous hornpipe "The High Level Bridge," according to Caoimhin Mac Aoidh (1994). Joe Cassidy, whose hey-day with in the mid-20th century, was a grandson of Jimmy Peoples, master fiddler and scion of the famous fiddling family, from whom he learned to play.
KINRARA (STRATHSPEY) [1]. AKA and see "Countess of Dalkeith." Scottish, Strathspey. B Flat Major. Standard. AB (Marshall): AAB (Athole, Hunter). Kinrara was the summer residence "where the Duchess of Gordon resided in Badenoch" (Marshall). The strathspey was composed by William Marshall (1748-1833) on short notice, at the request of Jane, Duchess of Gordon, wife of his patron and employer, Alexander, the fourth Duke of Gordon. Moyra Cowie (1999) writes that Jane had become estranged from Alexander because of his liason with Jean Christie, the daughter of the housekeeper at Gordon Castle, and since she would not abide long in the same house, she had Kinrara built on the banks of the Spey in Badenoch, below the hill of Tor Alvie. The tune was first published in 1800 by Pietro Urbani and Liston (Edinburgh), alongside a piece by the Duke (who was an amateur fiddler) called "Brodie House." It was republished by the Gows in their Fourth Collection (1800) under the title "The Countess of Dalkeieth," althought without crediting Marshall. Jane Gordon died in 1812 and is buried on the Kinrara estate, overlooking a broad curve in the Spey.
***
Elizabeth Grant of Rothiemurches describes her experiences of Kinrara:
***
We are often over at Kinrara, the Duchess having perpetual dances, either in
the drawing room or the servants hall and my father returning these entertainments
in the same style. A few candles lighted up bare walls, at short warnings fiddles
and whisky punch were always at hand and then gentles and simples reeled
away in company till the ladies thought the scene becoming more boisterous
that they liked remaining in; nothing more however, a highlander never forgets his
place, never loses his native inborn politeness, never presumes upon on favour.
***
Hunter (The Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 170. Marshall, Fiddlecase Edition, 1978; 1822 Collection, pg. 2 and the Kinrara Collection (1800), pg. 25. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 293.
T:Kinrara
L:1/8
M:C
R:Strathspey
B:The Athole Collection
K:B_
F|B>cB>d F<B G/F/E/D/|B<F B>d c<C C>A|B>cB>d F<B G/F/E/D/|
E<g f>e d<BB:|
f|d>f e/d/c/B/ b>Be>g|f>g e/d/c/B/ d<c cd/e/|f>Bd>B g>Be>g|
F>B cB/c/ d<B ~B>d|fg/a/ b>B g>Bf>B|e>cd>B A>cc>d|
B<F G<BF<B G/F/E/D/|E<g f>e d<B~B||
LADYHILL. Scottish, Reel. E Flat Major. Standard. AAB. Composed by William Macpherson. Neil (1991) explains that Ladyhill is situated at the northern extremity of the High Street in the town of Elgin, and was named after the chapel of the Virgin Mary which was originally in the bounds of the old Royal Castle, now a ruin. A column and statue is situated at the top of the hill, erected to the memory of the last Duke of Gordon. The old castle dates from the 11th century and was originally erected to protect the region from pirates and marauders, and against the opposition of neighboring towns. "A curious tradition, which is also told of the Castle of Lochindorb in Cromdale, preserves the memory of its English occupation under Edward I and its recovery by the Scots. It is said that the 'pestilence long hovered over it' in the shape of 'a dark blue vapour' until it was 'by one sudden great exertion pulled down and buried in the hill'" (Neil, 1991). Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 73, pg. 97.
MACALISDRUM'S MARCH ("Máirseáil Alasdroin" or "Máirseáil Alasdruim"). AKA and see "Alastrum's March," "Alasdruim's March," "The Church Hill," "Kitty the Rag, I'm in Love with You," "MacDonnell's March," "Ollistrum Jig" (O'Neill). Irish, Scottish; March (6/8 time). Ireland, Munster. D Major. Standard. AABBCC (Bunting): ABCD (O'Neill).
***
Alaster or Alexander MacDonnell, also known as Alasdair Mac Allisdrum/MacAllistrum or Colkittu (Colkitto), was a commander who was killed at the battle of Knockinoss (Cnoc na nDos, or Shrub Hill), near Mallow, County Cork, in the south of Ireland, in September, 1647. The famous martial hero was a Scotsman, a brave and skilful warrior who commanded Lord Antrim's Irish in Scotland under Montrose, and when Montrose's army was broken up he and his Irish returned to Ireland, joining the confederation of Catholics under Lord Taaffe in Munster. At the battle of Cnoc na nDos (Knockinoss) one account (quoted by Flood, 1906) gives that he was assassinated while parlaying with the English Parliamentary forces under Lord Inchiquinn, while Bunting (1840) states that "after the rout of the main body of the Irish, Macdonnell and his people held their ground till they were cut to pieces by the English. It is said that none escaped." MacDonnell's sword, which had a steel apple running in a groove on the back supposedly to increase the striking force, was in Bunting's time said to still have been preserved in Loghan Castle, County Tipperary. Bunting (1840) states Allisdrum was the son of Coll Kittogh (Ciotach) or Left-handed Coll, also a famous warrior whose name has been preserved by Milton in the lines:
***
Why, it is harder, Sirs, than Gordon,
Colkittor, or MacDonnall, or Galasp.
***
Flood (1906) states: "We may form some idea of the desperate courage which inspired these men from the impetuous energy and wild shrilly fervour of this strain, which is undoubtedly the same pibroach (pipe tune) that they marched to on the morning of their last battle...This march was played at his funeral by war-pipers when his remains were interred in the ancestral tomb of the O'Callaghans at Clonmeen (near Kanturk), County Cork, and ever since has been called "Máirseáil Alasdroim." Breathnach (1966) believes that Flood's statement that the piece was a death-march especially composed by the Irish warpipers at the time is almost certainly untrue, and notes Flood now has a reputation for repeating some extremely questionable facts.
***
In 1750 Dr. Charles Smith (in his History of Cork, volume II, pg. 159) noted the tune was "well-known in Munster...a wild rhapsody...much esteemed by the Irish and played at all their feasts" (Flood, 1906; Bunting, 1840). Despite its supposed age, however, the oldest appearance of the noted music is to be found in a MS collection from Lisronagh (near Clonmel), County Tipperary, dating from 1784, and Crofton Croker's 1824 Researches in the South of Ireland also contains a printing of the piece. According to O'Neill (1913), Croker acknowledged its popularity in the south of Ireland but thought that "Ollistrum's March" (as he called it) should not be considered an Irish air, but rather Scottish due to its stylistic similarity to the pibroch of that country. Again, Breathnach (1966) demures, saying that there is no good grounds for Croker's assertion that "Allasdrum's March" is not Irish. Paddy Moloney of the Chieftains seems to split the difference when he states the tune reflects the "rich fertilisation between Irish and Scottish harpers and pipers."
***
Croker goes on to say: "The estimation in which it is held in Ireland is wonderful. I have heard this march, as it is called, sung by hundreds of the Irish peasantry who imitate the drone of the bagpipe in their manner of singing it. On that instrument I have also heard it played and occasionally with much pleasure from the peculiar and powerful expression given by the performer." O'Sullivan (1983) notes the piece is printed by Bunting (1840) but that his version is only a section of a longer descriptive piece for pipers called "Máriseáil Alasdruim." It is a relatively complicated programmatic tune, in its entirety. Goodman, writing in 1861, described the piece as he heard it from Kerry pipers:
***
...(It) contains in addition to the March, the Gathering, the Battle,
the shouts on the fall of Allisdrum, and the cries, first of the mother,
the Munsterwoman, then that of his nurse, a Leinsterwoman, with
the lament of his wife, the Ulsterwoman, and the piece concludes
with the old jig 'Cnocán an Teampuill' which she is said to have
struck up so soon as she ascertained that her husband was really dead.
***
A variant of the piece is called "Sarsfield's Quickstep" and appears in Haverty's Three Hundred Irish Airs (1858-1859). Sources for notated versions: Bunting noted the piece from "a piper at Westport (Co. Mayo), 1802"; Willie Clancy (Miltown Malbay, County Clare), who had his version from an old piper, Mickey McMahon, who lived at Kilcororan (County Clare) and called it "Alexander's March" [Breathnach]. O'Neill (1913), pg. 124 (appears as "Allistrum's March"). Breathnach (Ceol II, 3), 1966. Breathnach (The Man and His Music), 1997; pg. 18. O'Sullivan/Bunting, 1983; No. 112, pgs. 161-162. Claddagh CC17, Sean Keane - "Gusty's Frolics." Island ILPS9432, The Chieftains - "Bonaparte's Retreat" (1976). RCA 09026-61490-2, The Chieftains - "The Celtic Harp" (1993).
X:1
T:MacAllistrum's March
R:march
D:Chieftain's - Celtic Harp
Z:Michael Hogan
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:D
|:Fdd fee|fdd dBA|Fdd fee|fdd B2A:|
|:~F2E FDD|Fdd dBA|~F2E FDD|Fdd B2A:|
|:d2f e2f|ded dBA|d2f e2f|ded B2A:|
|~B2A B2E|~B2A BAF|(3Bcd B c2F|(3Bcd B cAF|
~B2A B2E|~B2A BAF|BdB c2F|Bdc BAG||
X:2
T:Máirseáil Alasdruim
L:1/8
M:6/8
S:Breathnach (Man and His Music, 1997)
K:G
c|ABG AGF|G2g fdc|ABG AGF|Ggf d2c|
ABG AGF|Ggg fdc|ABB cBc|dgf d2c:|
|:Aff Agg|age fdc|Aff Agg|age (3dedc|
Aff Agg|bag fde|fef g3|age d2:|
NED OF THE HILL [1] (Eamonn/Eadmun an Cnuic). AKA - "Edmund of the Hill." AKA and see "As a Beam O'er the Waters," "Captain Carswell," "Col O'Gara," "Eamonn a Chnuic," "The Young Man's Dream." Irish, Slow Air (3/4 or 6/8 time). G Major/E Minor. Standard. AB. An Irish ballad of the period 1698-1704 written in memory of Edmond (O')Ryan, of Knockmeill Castle, Co. Tipperary, who was an outlaw under King William. Edmond, or Ned, was the scion of an old family, the O'Ryans of Kilnelongurty, County Tipperary, who "was forced to become a Rapparee, and to do a man's part in spoiling the spoiler" (Flood, 1906). O'Ryan "took to the hills" after the capitulation of Limerick, and was murdered in one of the first years 18th century by one Dwyer for the reward of 200 Pounds set by the British on his head. He is burried in Curraheen, near Hollyford. The air itself dates from the close of the 16th century (though the first printed version appeared in 1729), according to Flood, and it underwent various modifications between the years 1600 and 1760 appearing under many titles, including "The Young Man's..." and a Scotch variant (in Johnson's Scots Musical Museum, 1788) "I Dreamed I Lay" with words by Robert Burns. Another early printing of the melody appears in the appendix to Walker's Historical Memoirs of the Irish Bards (1786). O'Neill (1850), 1979; No. 133, pg. 24. Roche Collection, 1982, Vol. 1; No. 1, pg. 7. Plant Life Records PLR017, "The Tannahill Weavers" (1979).
SEAN RYAN'S JIG [1] (Port Sheain Uí Riain). AKA and see "Castle Jig" [2]. Irish, Jig. Ireland, County Sligo. A Dorian. Standard. AABB. Composed by fiddler Sean Ryan, who originally titled it "The Castle Jig." Popularized as "Sean Ryan's Jig" on De Danann's LP "Selected Jigs and Reels." Source for notated version: fiddler Peter Horan (b. 1926, Kilavil, County Sligo) [Flaherty]. Flaherty (Trip to Sligo), 1990; pg. 69. Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music), 1977; Vol. 2, No. 24. Avoca 33-AV-121, Sean Ryan - "Traditional Music of Ireland, VI" (1960) Gael Linn CEF 114, Noel Hill & Tony MacMahon - "I gCnoc na Grai." Green Linnet CSIF 3010, Kevin Burke & Michael O'Domhnaill - "Promenade."
T:Sean Ryan's
T:Castle Jig
M:6/8
L:1/8
C:Sean Ryan
R:Jig
K:EDor
g2e faf | edB AFB | ~E3 BAF | ABd edB |
g2e faf | edB AFB | ~E3 BAF | AFD E2F :|
GFE e2f | gfe dBA | DFA d2d | DFA DFA |
~G3 AGA | BAB def | edB AFD | B,CD E3 :|
TULLOCHGORUM/TULACH GORM (The Blue-Green Hill). AKA - "The Corn Bunting," "The Blue Hill," "The Green Hill." Scottish, English; Rant or Strathspey. England, Northumberland. G Mixolydian (Alburger, Athole, Cole, Emmerson, Gow, Hardie, Honeyman, Hunter, Kerr, Skinner): G Major (Peacock). Standard: F Mixolydian (Johnson). One part (Hunter): AB (Carlin/Gow, Cole, Hardie, Johnson/Emmerson, Skinner): AAB (Athole, Emmerson, Honeyman, Kerr): AA'B (Carlin - Master): AABB (Alburger): AABBCCDD (Peacock). The title means "Blue-Green Hill" in Gaelic, and port-a-beul words have been set to "Tulach Gorm." The tune and song appear to be quite old; music historian Francis Collinson finds that a tune in the Rowallan lute manuscript (c. 1612-1628) called "Ouir the Deck Davy" has a "distinct resemblance" to "Tullochgorum." The earliest record of this tune appears in David Young's Duke of Perth MS (AKA the Drummond Castle MS) of 1734; it is also found in the Gillespie Manuscript of Perth (1768), and John Glen (1891) finds it in Robert Bremner's 1757 collection (2nd part, pg. 16); these early versions show little of the later strathspey rhythm, at least as noted, and appear as rants. Tullochgorm is also the name of a Scottish dance of twelve steps, and was one of several taught by Cape Breton fiddler Donald "the Tailor" Beaton of South West Margaree (who was an itinerant tailor). The title appears in Henry Robson's list of popular Northumbrian song and dance tunes ("The Northern Minstrel's Budget"), which he published c. 1800. "Tullochgorum" was one of the tunes Niel Gow played for Robert Burns in October, 1787, when Burns visited the fiddler at his home in Dunkeld (see also "Loch Erroch-side," "Lament for Abercairney"). In fact, it is one of the most famous tunes in the repertoire, and must be mastered by every serious strathspey player, according to Hunter (1979); Niel Gow and J. Scott Skinner "built their reputations on the performance of it." Skinner wrote a set of six famous variations on the tune, though those printed in the McGlashan Collection may be the earliest. Words were set to it by the Rev. John Skinner (1721-1807), pastor of the Episcopal Chapel at Langside near Peterhead, which begin:
**
There needsna be sae great a phrase,
Wi' dringing dull Italian lays,
I wadna' gi'e our ain Strathspeys,
For half a hundred score o' 'em.
They're douff and dowie at the best
Douff and dowie, douff and dowie,
They're douff and dowie at the best
Wi' a' the variorum:
They're douff and dowie at the best,
Their allegros and a' the rest,
They canna please a Highland taste,
Compar'd wi' Tullochgorum. (The Songs of Scotland, 1887)
**
Hunter (1979) remarks that Rev. Skinner came to the defense of Scottish folk music at a time when fashion ran to the Italian musical influence among the middle and upper classes of Scotland. Robert Burns ("Amang the trees") and Robert Fergusson (1750-1774), in "Daft Days" (in Scotland the 'daft days' are the Christmas-New Years holiday period), also joined his fight. "Daft Days" includes the following excerpt:
**
Fiddlers! your pins in temper fix
And roset weel your fiddlesticks;
But banish vile Italian tricks
Frae out your quorum;
Nor fortes wi' pianos mix----
Gie's Tullochgorum.
**
Source for notated version: Mary MacDonald, who learned her setting from fiddler Sarah (Mrs. John Angus) MacArthur of Mabou Coal Mines, Cape Breton [Dunlay & Greenberg]. Alburger (Scottish Fiddlers and Their Music), 1983; Ex. 15, pg. 36. Carlin (Master Collection), 1984; No. 137, pg. 84. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 226. Cole (1001 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 3. Dunlay & Greenberg (Traditional Celtic Violin Music of Cape Breton), 1966; pg. 89. Emmerson (Rantin' Pipe and Tremblin' String), 1971; No. 58, pg. 149. Hardie (Caledonian Companion), 1992; pg. 109. Honeyman (Strathspey, Reel and Hornpipe Tutor), 1898; pg. 31. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 86. Johnson (Scots Musical Museum), 1790; No. 289. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 1; Set 15, No. 1, pg. 10. McGlashan (Collection of Strathspey Reels), Vol. 3, 1786; pg. 4. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 87. Peacock (Peacock's Tunes), c. 1805/1980; No. 38, pg. 17. Skinner (The Scottish Violinist, with six variations), pg. 26-27 {also appears in his collection Harp and Claymore}. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 158. Celtic CX 24, Alexander MacLean - "Piano Stylings of the Cape Breton Scott." CLM 1000, Carl MacKenzie - "Tullochgorum" (1979). Topic 12TS280, J. Scott Skinner (originally recorded in 1905). Topic 12TS354, Mary MacDonald - "Cape Breton Scottish Fiddle" (1978). NQD-5447, Doug MacPhee - "Cape Breton Master of the Keyboard."
T:Tullochgorum
L:1/8
M:C
R:Strathspey
B:The Athole Collection
K:G
d/c/|:B<Gd<G c<=F A>c|B<Gd<G B>c d<g|B<Gd<G c<=F A>c|
B<Gd<G A/B/c BA:|
G>gd>g =f<=F A2|G>gd>g B>gd>g|G>gd>g =f<=F A2|
G>gd>B ~c2 BA|G>gd>g =f<=F A2|G>gd>e !=f<c f>g|
A/g/f/e/ =fd c<=FA<a|g>d g/a/b e>gd>g||
T:Tulloch Goirm
L:1/8
M:C
S:McGlashan - Strathspey Reels
K:C
G>gd>e f>cA>F|G>gd>g B>gd>g|B>gd>e f>cA>F|G>gd>g B>GA>G|
G>gd>e f>cA>F|G>gd>e f>cf>a|g>efd cFAf|gdgb g2 de||
|:B>Gd>G c>Fc>A|B>Gd>G e>Gd>(g|g)>Gd>G c>Fc>A|B>Gd>G B2 AG:|
|:G>g a/g/f/e/ f>c d/c/B/A/|G>gd>g B>gd>g|G>g a/g/f/e/ f>c d/c/B/A/|
G>gd>g B>GA>G|G>g a/g/f/e/ f>c d/c/B/A/|B>g a/g/f/e/ f>cf>a|gefd cFA^f|
g>dg>b g2 de:|
|:BG B/c/d/B/ cF A/B/c/A/|BGGA B/A/B/c/ dg|BG B/c/d/B/ cF A/B/c/A/|1
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|:B,>GD>G, C>B,A,>C|B,>GD>G, E>G,D>G|G>G,D>G, C>B,A,>C|
B,>GD>G, D2 C>B,:|
YANKEE DOODLE DANDY. English (originally), American; Country Dance Tune (2/4 time) or March. D Major (Bayard, Kennedy, Kidson, Raven, Sweet): G Major (Linscott): C Major (Kerr). Standard. AB (Bayard, Johnson, Linscott): AAB (Kerr): AABB (Johnson, Kidson, Raven, Sweet): AABBA'A'B'B' (Kennedy). There is some mystery and controversy about the exact origins of one of the most famous tunes in American tradition, "Yankee Doodle." Elson (The National Music of America, 1899) finds that the first period of the melody was once quite familiar to Dutch musicians and "has been used in Holland from time immemorial as a children's song," however, the second part was not known. The Irish musicologist Flood (1906) maintains "Yankee Doodle" derives from a Jacobite era (early 18th century) song called "All the Way to Galway." Claims have also been made for Spanish and even Hungarian musical origins. The earliest appearance of the complete melody was claimed by Dr. Rimbault (1876) to have been a printing in Walsh's Collection of Dances for the year 1750 where it he said it appears as "Fisher's Jig" (a reference to the 'notorious lady', Kitty Fisher, who died in 1771). Rimbault later wrote that it was a country dance found under the title "Kitty Fisher's Jig," written in triple time, but that it was afterwards altered to common time, although the title remained the same (he printed what he said was the Walsh tune in the magazine Leisure Hour, see abc below). The problem is that no one has been able to locate the melody in either Walsh's publication or in any of Thompson's Country Dance Books of the same era. "Kitty Fisher" does exist in Thompson and Son's Twenty-four Country Dances for 1760 but it is a different, duple-time tune, unlike anything resembling what we know as "Yankee Doodle." A nursery rhyme exists that goes:
**
Lucy Locket lost her pocket,
Kitty Fisher found it,
Not a bit of money in it,
Only binding round it.
**
This contains Fischer's name (misspelled, while Lucy Locket was presumably a name taken from a character in The Beggars Opera of 1727) and scans to the "Yankee Doodle" tune, but any direct relationship remains speculative.
**
If one discounts Rimbault's claims, the earliest corroborated appearances of the "Yankee Doodle" tune are in James Aird's Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs Selections Vol. 1 (1782, sometimes dated 1775-76), and George Colman's opera Two to One (1784) as a song entitled "Adzooks, Old Crusty, Why so Rusty?" The tune's mocking connotations with at least a portion of the American colonial population were apparently well-established somewhat before that time.
**
Regarding the lyrics, there is little hard evidence for the derivation of the word Yankee, although it was in use as a term to identify New Englanders since the early 18th century. Doodle, on the other hand, has been traced to the Lancashire dialect, and means a trifler or shiftless individual. Of the song itself, Winstock (1970) writes "It is generally accepted that the words were written by (the Englishman) Dr. Richard Shuckburgh around 1755 in derision of the odd-looking colonials who had come to help the British regulars fight the French, and the redcoats continued to use it in contempt...". Elson (The National Music of America, 1899) traces this claim to an early 19th century publication called Farmer & Moore's Monthly Literary Journal, although there are other, separate attributions to Shuckburgh (whose name is spelled various ways). The good and witty doctor did not live to see his satire used in the war of rebellion for he died in August, 1773, the New York Gazetter reporting: "Died, at Schenectady, last Monday, Dr. Richard Shuckburgh, a gentleman of a very genteel family, and of infinite jest and humour." In October, 1768, the New York Journal gave the earliest notice of its performance:
**
The British fleet was bro't to anchor near Castle William, in Boston Harbor,
and the opinion of the visitors to the ships was that the 'Yankey Doodle
Song' was the capital piece in the band of their musicians.
**
Boorish British officers called for dancing after a concert in Boston on January 25, 1769, that had been performed by a group led by musician Stephen Deblois. "Yankee Doodle" was one of the tunes (along with "Wild Irishman") the Redcoats derisively demanded, according to a newspaper account of the time, and when Deblois was not forthcoming, the British rioted. Deblois cancelled further concerts, and did not reinstate them until the English general in command pledged his officers' good behavior. By 1775 the piece was played by British fifers and drummers as a way to taunt the colonial populace as, for example, they did that year when one "John Andrews complained of the field music of the (British) 4th Regiment playing that melody near a church during religious services to annoy the congregation" (Camus, 1976). Culprits were drummed out to the sound of the tune from British camps in the city of Boston.
**
"Yankee Doodle's" rapid transformation from a vehicle of derision to a famed national tune occurred at the very onset of the Revolutionary War with the attack on Lexington and Concord by forces belonging to Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn. "In 1775 the British troops who attacked Concord and Lexington needed rescuing by Lord Percy's troops. As Percy marched through Roxbury with his band jeeringly playing "Yankee Doodle," he good-naturedly asked a young American what there was to laugh about. 'To think that soon you will dance to 'Chevy Chase'', answered the boy, referring to the very old ballad about Otterbourne where Percy's great ancestor was defeated and captured" (Winstock, 1970; pg. 70). The British were indeed chased back to Boston with a one-sided loss of life, harassed much of the way by the 'minutemen.' The Americans immediately appropriated the tune, which for a long time after was called "The Lexington March." "Yankee Doodle" was played by both sides in the Battle of Bunker Hill, and thereafter continued to be performed by musicians in the American army as well as the British. Under the terms of the surrender agreement at Yorktown in 1782 the British were specifically prohibited from playing the tune. So powerful was the metaphor, that when they turned insultingly away from the Colonials to present themselves to the French forces as they piled their arms on the ground, Lafayette instructed the French bands to play it in solidarity with the Americans.
**
Morrison (1976) states the air had a number of dance figures associated with it in Colonial times, and gives two examples. Johnson (1988) prints two contra dances to the tune.
**
"Yankee Doodle" returned to Europe as an American anthem some years later. Elson (1899) relates that, in 1814, near the conclusion of the War of 1812, the American statesmen Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams met the British ambassador at Ghent to arrange the final points and to sign the treaty of peace between Great Britain and America. The burghers were proud their city was the site for so momentous an occasion and proposed a serenade to the two embassies. They knew the English tunes well enough, but were perplexed as to the American national anthem. The bandmaster was sent to Clay to inquire, and was told that, of course, America's chief melody was "Yankee Doodle." The musician begged Clay to hum it to him, that he might write it down. Clay attempted to do this but failed, as did the secretary of the legation. Attention then turned to Clay's African-American body-servant, called Bob, who was requested to whistle the tune. Bob complied, the bandmaster copied and harmonized, and the tune was heard in the serenade as planned.
**
Stories involving tin-ears, "Yankee Doodle" and American leaders do not end with Clay. A famous story about General Ulysses Grant and his 'tin-ear' has it that in order to perform his martial duty the famous Union Army warrior required a horse that could distinguish and respond to bugle commands, for Grant himself acknowledged that he himself knew but two tunes-one was "Yankee Doodle"... and other wasn't.
**
It is surprising to note that "Yankee Doodle" was used, along with "Edie Sammon's Tune," as part of the music for the ritual horn dance at Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, England in late Victorian times (see "Edie Sammon's Tune"); the playing of "Yankee Doodle" thus emphasized the whimsical nature of the dance (which features, along with the horn dancers, the characters of the hobby horse, Robin Hood, the Maid and the Fool), which is performed with such dusky solemnity at modern 'Revels' stage productions in America. The title appears in a list of tunes in his repertoire brought by Philip Goodman, the last professional and traditional piper in Farney, Louth, to the Feis Ceoil in Belfast in 1898 (Breathnach, 1997). While mostly traditional Irish in his repertoire, Goodman regularly played several novelty or 'popular' tunes (he also played "Dixie," calling it "Dicksie's Land," and thus covered all bases for Irish veterans of both sides of the Civil War). Recorded by Alabama fiddler Dr. D. Dix Hollis (1961-1927) for the Silvertone (Sears) lable, 1924. Source for notated version: Mt. Pleasant Tablatures (a fife MS from Pa., 1950's) [Bayard]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 19, pgs. 24-25. Huntington (William Litten's), 1977; pg. 27. JIFSS No. 15, pg. 18. Johnson, Vol. 8, 1988; pg. 9. Keller (Giles Gibbs Jr., His Book for the Fife...1777, 1974; pg. 31. Kennedy (Fiddler's Tune Book), Vol. 1, 1951; No. 53, pg. 26. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 2; No. 409, pg. 46. Kidson, 1890; pg. 13. Linscott (Folk Songs of Old New England), 1939; pg. 118. Morrison, 1976; pg. 43. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland), No. 999. O'Neill (Waifs and Stays of Gaelic Melody), No. 80. Stanford-Petrie (Complete Collection), No. 849 ("All the Ways to Galway"). Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 148. Reavy, No. 41. Sweet (Fifer's Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 12 (two versions, one labled "18th Century Version").
T:Yankee Doodle
L:1/8
M:2/4
S:Aird, Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, 1782
K:D
ddef|ddec|ddef|d2c2|ddef|ddec|AABc|d2d2:|
|:d2 BG|BA B2|=c2 AG|FG A2|d2 BG|BG =c2|AB^cA|d2d2:|
|:dfeg|fdec|dfeg|f2 ed|dgeg|fdec|AABc|d2d2:|
|:d2BG|Bd=cB|ABAG|FGAB|=cdcA|Bd=cA|AB^cA|d2 d>g:|
|:fdec|dBAg|fdef|B2 Ag|fdec|dBAF|A2 Bc|d2 dg:|
|:FAAd|BAAG|FAAd|B2 AG|FAAd|cAAF|A2 Bc|d2d2:|
|:af eg|fdec|faeg|f2 ed|faeg|fdec|AABc|d2d2:|
|:d/c/d/e/ dA|BAAF|d/c/d/e/ dA|B2A2|d/c/d/e/ dA|BAAF|A2 Bc|d2d2:|
|:a2 af|gfed|a2 ag|f2e2|a2 af|gfef|A2 Bc|d2d2:|
|:B/A/B/c/ Bd|A/G/A/B/ Ad|B/A/B/c/ Bd|BAGF|B/A/B/c/ Bd|
A/G/A/B/ Ad|A2 Bc|d2d2:|
X:1
T:Kitty Fisher's Jig
L:1/8
M:6/8
S:Rimbault, Leisure Hour, pg. 90, 1876
N:Supposedly from Walsh's Collection of Dances for the Year 1750
K:C
c2c d2e|c2c B2G|c2c d2e|c3 B2G|c2c d2e|f2e d2c|B2G A2B|c3 c3||
A2A A2G|A2B c3|G2A G2F|E3 G3|c2c d2e|f2e d2c|B2g A2B|c3c3||
X:2
T:Return of Ulysses, to Ithaca
L:1/8
M:2/4
S:Musical Tour of C. Dibdin, pg. 342, 1788
K:C
G|c cde|cc BG|c cde|cc BA|c cde|fedc|BGAB|c z c z|
fefg|afdc|BGAB|czcz:|
|:G|ccde|ccBG|ccde|c2 BG|cc de|fe dc|BG AB|c2c2|AA GF|
GA _BB|BA GF|c2 GG|AAGF|GA _B =B/A/|BG AB|c2c2|
feff|afdc|BGAB|c2C2:|
X:3
T:Adzooks, old crusty, why so rusty
L:1/8
M:C
S:Arnold - Two to One (1784)
K:E
B|eefg eedB|eef(g e2) dz/B/|e(efg) agfe|dBcd e2E||
|:B|ee fg ee dB|ee fg e2 dB|ee fg ag fe|BG cd e2 ez/f2e/2|
dBcd e2e2:|
|:c>d cA cd e2|B>c BA G2B2|c>d cA cd e2|
c>e df e2e2|c>edf e2E:|