The Fiddler’s Companion

© 1996-2008 Andrew Kuntz

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[COMMENT1] [COMMENT2] 

MAC

 

 

Notation Note: The tunes below are recorded in what is called “abc notation.” They can easily be converted to standard musical notation via highlighting with your cursor starting at “X:1” through to the end of the abc’s, then “cutting-and-pasting” the highlighted notation into one of the many abc conversion programs available, or at concertina.net’s incredibly handy “ABC Convert-A-Matic” at

http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.html 

 

**Please note that the abc’s in the Fiddler’s Companion work fine in most abc conversion programs. For example, I use abc2win and abcNavigator 2 with no problems whatsoever with direct cut-and-pasting. However, due to an anomaly of the html, pasting the abc’s into the concertina.net converter results in double-spacing. For concertina.net’s conversion program to work you must remove the spaces between all the lines of abc notation after pasting, so that they are single-spaced, with no intervening blank lines. This being done, the F/C abc’s will convert to standard notation nicely. Or, get a copy of abcNavigator 2 – its well worth it.   [AK]

 

 

 

MAC... See also Mc...

                       

MAC A' BHAILLIDH A UIST. AKA and see "Darling of the Uist Lasses."

                       

MAC-ALLA, AN. AKA and see "The Echo."

                       

MAC AN PIOBAIRE. AKA and see "The Piper's Son."

                       

MAC AOIDH. AKA and see "Lord Reay."

                       


MAC ARDLE’S FAVOURITE. AKA and see “The Maidens of Tir Eoghain.” The tune appears in O’Neill’s Music of Ireland as “McArdle’s Favorite.”

                       

MAC DHOMHNUIL MOR NAN EILEAN. AKA and see "MacDonald, Lord of the Isles."

                       

MAC MHIC AILEIN. AKA and see "Clanranald."

                       

MAC MHIC ALASTAIR. AKA and see "Glengarry."

                       

MAC MORIN’S JIG. Canadian, Jig. Canada, Cape Breton. Composed by Inverness, Cape Breton, fiddler Jerry Holland (b. 1955), for a young piano player who visits him occasionally. Odyssey ORCS 1051, Jerry Holland – “Fiddler’s Choice” (1999).

                                   

MAC SHIMI MOR A BASACHADH. AKA and see "Lord Lovat Beheaded."

                       

MAC SUIBHNE'S REEL. Irish, Reel. Ireland, County Donegal. Caoimhin Mac Aoidh (1994) relates that the famous Donegal fiddlers, Mickey and John Doherty, spun the tale that their father (who was a fiddler also) on his death-bed asked for his fiddle and proceeded to play "Mac Suibhne's Reel." His playing was so masterful, even at the end, that the tip of his bow whistled (a mark of accomplished musicianship which the Dohertys said happened regularly in the old man's playing), and, finished with the tune, he directed the fiddle be hung back up on the wall. When he died shortly thereafter the fiddle burst into pieces, never to be played again.  Mac Aoidh points out that the shattering of the fiddle upon death is a bit of supernatural lore commonly found in the British Isles, where musicianship was once thought to have been divinely inspired.

 

MACALISTER WEARS A DIRK (Biodag Air Mac Alasdair). Scottish, Reel. E Dorian ('A' part) & A Mixolydian ('B' part). Standard tuning. AAB. MacDonald (The Skye Collecton), 1887; pg. 15.

X:1

T:Biodag Air Mac Alasdair

T:MacAlister Wears a Dirk

M:C|

L:1/8

R:Reel

S:MacDonald – Skye Collection  (1887)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

B(ee)d cA B2|cA AB =GA B2|B(ee)=g dgBd|cA A/A/A ^GEE:|

e|cA A/A/A d=GdB|cAAc dB=GB|cA A/A/A d=GdB|cAAB =GEEe|

cA A/A/A d=GdB|cAAc dB=GB|cA A/A/A (dB) B/B/B|[cf]A A/A/A =GEE||

 

MACALISDRUM'S MARCH (“Máirseáil Alasdroin” or “Máirseáil Alasdruim”). AKA and see “Allistrum’s March [1],” "Alasdruim's March," "The Church Hill [2]," "Kitty the Rag, I'm in Love with You,” "MacDonnell's March,” “Máirseáil Alasdruim [1], [2], [3],” “Ollistrum Jig" (O’Neill). Irish, Scottish; March (6/8 time). Ireland, Munster. D Major. Standard tuning. AABBCC (Bunting): ABCD (O’Neill): AABBCCDD (Johnson).

***

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 Grattan 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 assertions.

***

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). See also the Kerry variant “Micky "Cumbaw" O’Sullivan’s.” 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. Bunting (Ancient Music of Ireland), 1840 (appears as “Allistrum’s March”). Heymann (Off the Record), 1990; pgs. 10-11. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician No. 5: Mostly Irish Airs), 1985 (revised 2000); pg. 17. O’Neill (Music of Ireland), 1903; No. 1802. O'Sullivan/Bunting, 1983; No. 112, pgs. 161-162. Claddagh CC17, Sean Keane - "Gusty's Frolics" (1975. Appears as “Micky ‘Cumbaw’ O’Sullivan’s”). Island ILPS9432, The Chieftains - "Bonaparte's Retreat" (1976). RCA 09026-61490-2, The Chieftains - "The Celtic Harp" (1993). Temple Records 013, Ann Heymann & Alison Kinnaird – “Harper’s Land” (1983).

See also listings at:

Jane Keefer’s Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources 

Alan Ng’s Irishtune.info

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

M:6/8

L:1/8

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:|


 

MACALLAN. Scottish, Strathspey. A Major. Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by J. Scott Skinner. Skinner (The Scottish Violinist), pg. 10.

X:1

T:MacAllan

M:C
L:1/8

R:Strathspey

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

D | C<E {G}(A>B) (c/B/).A/.G/ ({G}A>)c | d>ef>e (d/c/).B/.A/ G<B |

(C<E) [AA>]B (c/B/).A/.G/ A>a | f/g/a/f/ ea {c/d/}cA[EA] :|

|| g | ({g}a>)A .c/.d/.e (f>a)(e>a) | (d>a)(c>a) ({B/c/}B>)A G<B |

({g}a>)A .c/.d/.e (f>a)(e>a) | d>fB>e ({B/c/}c>)A[EA>]g |

({g}a>)A .c/.d/.e (f>a)(e>a) | (d>a)(c>a) ({B/c/}B>)A G<B |

(3.A/.B/.c/ (3.d/.e/.f/ (3.c/d./e/ ({g}a>)g | (f/g/a) (e>a) ({c/d/}c)A[EA] ||

                       

MACALLISTRUM'S MARCH (Mairseail Alasdroim). See "Mac Alisdrum's March." 

                       

MACANIRISH. AKA and see “Innis Dhombs’ Ca’l Cadal.” Scottish, Strathspey.

                       

MACARTHUR ROAD. English, Reel. E Major. Standard tuning. AA’BB’. Composed by Boys of the Lough member Dave Richardson, originally from Northumberland (see also his jig “Calliope House”). Culburnie Records CUL 121D, Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas – “Fire and Grace” (2004).

X:1
T:MacArthur Road
R:reel
D:Four Men and a Dog: Barking Mad 

C: Dave RIchardson
Z:id:hn-reel-497

Z:transcribed by henrik.norbeck@mailbox.swipnet.se
M:C|
L:1/8
K:E
B2GB Bcef|~g3e fece|~f3e fece|fage fece|
B2GB Bcef|~g3e fece|~f3g fece|[1 Beef ~e3c:|[2 Beef e2ga||
|:be~e2 bec'e|be~e2 fece|~f3g fece|fage fece|
|[1 be~e2 bec'e|be~e2 fece|~f3g fece|Beef efga:|
|[2 ~B3G Bcef|~g3e fece|~f3g fece|Beef e2ec||

           

MACARTHUR’S TUNE (Port ‘ic Artair). AKA and see “Arthur Murray’s Reel,” “Hills of Cape Mabou,” “Lord Murray’s Strathspey.”

                       

MACBETH. English? Scottish?. Chappell (1859) says that, while the air is sometimes claimed as Scottish, it is in fact of English composition. It appears in the Leyden Manuscript of c. 1692.

                       

MACBETH’S STRATHSPEY. AKA and see “Lady MacKenzie of Seaforth.” Scottish, Strathspey. A Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AA’B. A traditional pipe tune known under the above title by pipers. Source for notated version: learned by fiddler Jerry Holland (Inverness, Cape Breton) from a 78 RPM recording of Little Jack MacDonald [Cranford]. Cranford (Jerry Holland’s), 1995; No. 30, pg. 9.

                       

MACCALLUM’S. AKA and see “The Chapel Bell.” Irish, Jig. Bulmer & Sharpley (Music from Ireland), 1974, vol. 3, No. 66.

                       

MACCRAE’S FANCY. Scottish, Country Dance Tune (cut time). D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Aird (Selections), vol. 2, c. 1786; Pg. 5, No. 12.

X:1

T:MacCrae’s Fancy

M:C|

L:1/8

S:Aird, vol. II  (1786)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:D

A/G/ | FA dd d2 cB | cdec A2 AG | FG dg fedc | d2 AF D3 :|

|: G | GFED FAAF | GFGA B3A | dcde gfed | fgab a2A2 |

GFED FAAF | GFGA B2d2 | AFdA BGFE | D2 DD D3 :|

                       

MACCRIMMONS LAMENT [1] (Cumha MhicCriomain). AKA and see "Cha Till Mi Tuille" (Never More Shall I Return), "Cha Till MacCruimen (Macrimmon Will Never Return)." AKA and see "Cha Till MacCruimen." Scottish, (very) Slow Air (4/4 time). Scotland, Isle of Skye. A Dorian. Standard tuning. AA'BB'. A note in Keith MacDonald's Skye Collection notes the setting of this tune is particular to the Island of Skye. Neil (1991) identifies the air (which originally was in Gaelic, though has a rhyming English version also) as a bagpipe lament and a pibroch (píobaireachd) theme which can be found in numerous versions, originally composed to honor the head of the legendary Macrimmon family. One story (related by Neil) goes that it was the work of a Macrimmon sister, written on the eve of her brother’s departure for the camp of Bonnie Prince Charlie in the mid‑18th century. Another story (from Pulver and Collinson, 1975) is that the MacCrimmons did not support the Jacobite cause and that “MacCrimmon’s Lament” was composed by Domhnall Bàn MacCrimmon when he left Skye, the chorus of the song predicting that he would never return. The luckless piper was the only person on either side killed at the rout of Moy in 1745, when he was travelling in the company of the MacLeods and Lord Loudon who had hoped capture the Prince. The story goes that their plan, well executed up to a point, was foiled by the bravery and cunning of five or six men who were retainers of Lady MacKintosh of Moy Hall, with whom the Bonnie Prince Charlie was staying.  It came to the Lady’s attention that a body of men were moving to waylay him, and she entrusted Charlie’s defense to this nameless smith, who stationed his few comrades in concealed stations along the line of advance. The men would in turn fire their muskets and call upon the (non-existent) Camerons, Frasers, MacDonalds and other clans to advance, sending Loudon’s forces into a panic. The luckless MacCrimmon (sometimes spelled McCrummen) was the only casualty.

***

Donald Báin was one of the two sons of Patrick Og MacCrimmon, the other being Malcolm MacCimmon, also a famous piper. So great was Donald Bain’s reputation, however, that when he was captured by the Jacobites at the Battle of Inverurie, two months before his death, pipers in the Jacobite army (many of whom had been trained by Donald himself) went on strike and refused to play until he was given his freedom.

***

The Macrimmon family, through several generations, achieved the inherited position of pipers to the lairds of MacLeod of Dunvegan in the Isle of Skye, from 1570 to 1825. They were famous as composers and exponents of the art of pibroach playing, and some say the form originated with them, though the origins of piobraireachd are obscure. They were also associated with a school of piping whose founding has been credited to Patrick Macrimmon (Padruig Mor) around 1664, and which existed until 1770. It was situated in Boreraig in Skye (where the MacCimmons held land, just across the water from Dunvegan castle) and attracted pipers from all over the Highlands. The story is told that the course at one time lasted seven years (Collinson, 1975; Neil, 1991).

***

Source for notated version: Miss Jessie Macleod Gesto (Isle of Skye) [Skye]. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 182. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 160, pg. 207 (appears as "Cha Till MacCruimen").

X:1

T:MacCrimmon’s Lament

M:4/4

L:1/8

R:Air

S:MacDonald – Skye Collection  (1887)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A Dorian

A>A e2 d2 {d}e2 | A2 {bag}f2 e>deA |1 G2 (3GBd {e}dB dA :|2

G2 (3GBd e2 dB | G>G B2 e2 d>A |: g>feA g>feA | g>feA g>feA |1 g>edG g>edG |

g>edG d>B A2 :|2 G2 (3GBd e2 dB | G2 (3GBd e2 dA ||

 

MACCRIMMON'S LAMENT [2] (“Cumha Mhic Criomain” or “Cha tìl Mac Crimman”). Scottish, Slow Air (6/8 time). A Minor. Standard. One part (Martin/1988): AB (Martin/2002): AABBCCDD (Morison). The melody is a 6/8 setting of version #1. Martin (Ceol na Fidhle), vol. 2, 1988; pg. 37. Martin (Traditional Scottish Fiddling), 2002; pg. 62. Morison (Highland Airs and Quicksteps, vol. 1), c. 1882; No. 31, pg. 16.

X:1

T:MacCrimmon’s Lament [2]

T:Cha tìl Mac Crimmnan

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:March

N:”Slowly”

S:Morison – Highland Airs and Quicksteps, vol. 1 (c. 1882)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A Minor

A | e2d e2A | e2d e<AB | d2G d2G | B2d BAA :: A{A}a2g a2A | a2g aAB |

d2G d2G | B2d BAA :: {A}eA (3f/e/d/ eA (3f/e/d/ | eA (3f/e/d/ eAB |

dG (3e/d/B/ dG (3e/d/B/ | dGB BAz :: e2 d/B/ A2 ^f/d/ | e2 d/B/ eAB |

B2 e/A/ G2 e/d/ | B2 e/d/ BAz :|

                       

MACDERMOT ROE. Irish, March (6/8 time). F Major. Standard. AB. Credited to Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738) by O’Neill. The MacDermot Roes were a powerful family from County Roscommon. Donal O’Sullivan records that the MacDermott Roe family, were, "one of the two branches of the ancient Connacht clan, the MacDermotts, Princes of Moylurg. They were also Catholic. O’Neill (1922) remarks: “Among Carolan's many distinguished friends and patrons, no one was more generous and loyal than Mrs. McDermot Roe, of Alderford House, County Roscommon. At the outset of his professional career in 1693, it was she who equipped him with a horse and an attendant harper; and it was to her hospitable home he directed his feeble footsteps in his declining days. Exceptionally honored in death, Carolan's remains were interred near the family vault of his benefactress.” A later MacDermot Roe figures in a story related by the blind harper Arthur O’Neill (1734-1818). O’Neill related in his memoirs meeting many different itinerant harpers in his wanderings, one of whom was named Andrew Victory, a blind harper from County Longford. “He told me once in the County of Roscommon at the house of a Mr. MacDermot Roe, who said to him one day, ‘Th’anam ‘un deabhail’ [damn you], where were you the day the Battle of Culloden was fought?’ (an allusion the harper’s name, Victory, juxtaposed with the defeat of the Jacobite Bonnie Prince Charlie, an Irish and Scottish hope). ‘Och sir,’ says Andrew, ‘it was well for the Duke of Cumberland I was not, otherwise he would not have the honour of being called Billy the Butcher.” The Duke of Cumberland, William, son of George III, was indeed called Butcher Cumberland for his harsh repression of the Jacobite rebels, and Andrew boasts had he been there the outcome would have been different. Source for notated vesion: copied from the Hibernian Muse (1787) [O’Neill]. O’Neill (Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody), 1922; No. 72.

X:1

T:McDermot Roe

M:6/8

L:1/8

S:Carolan - Hibernian Muse 1787

Z:Paul Kinder

R:Air

K:F

c|AFF Acc|f2 F fed|e/2f/2gc dcB|Acc f2 g|

ab/2a/2g ab/2a/2g|fdd d2 e/2f/2|gcg ga/2g/2f|ec/2d/2e f2 c|

AFF cA/2B/2c/2A/2|FA/2B/2c/2A/2 F2 f|ecc dB/2c/2d/2B/2|

c/2B/2A/2B/2c/2A/2 G>AG|FAf fFf|gcg afa|agf ece|fFF F3||

GCC GCC|AF/2G/2A/2F/2 BGG|A/2B/2cc d/2e/2ff|e/2f/2gg ece|

fc'b a/2b/2c'/2b/2a/2g/2|fcf fcf|bg/2a/2b/2g/2 fd/2e/2f/2d/2|

Bc/2d/2g ece|f2 F fed|c2 A BAG|A/2B/2cc fg/2f/2e|f3-f2||

                       

MACDONAHUE'S HORNPIPE. American, Hornpipe or Reel. D Major. Standard tuning. AB. Source for notated version: Mrs. Sarah Armstrong, (near) Derry, Pennsylvania, November 18, 1943 [Bayard]. Bayard (Hill Country Tunes), 1944; No. 73.

                       

MACDONALD. Scottish, Strathspey (Slow when not danced). C Minor (Gow): E Minor (Johnson). Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by Scottish fiddler-composer Niel Gow (1727-1807). Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 127. Johnson (Kitchen Musician No. 10: Airs and Melodies of Scotland’s Past), 1991 (revised 2001); pg. 11.

X:1

T:MacDonald

M:C

L:1/8

R:Strathspey

S:Gow

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:C Minor

E/D/|CGEc GCEc|B<dF<B D>B, D/E/F/D/|CGEc GCE>g|e>c (e/d/)c/B/ “tr”c2 c:||

e/f/|g<c e>c gceg|f>B (e/d/)c/B/ fBdf|g<c e>c gcf(a|g>ef>d ({=B}”tr”c2) (c/d/)e/f/|

g<c e>c gceg|f<B (e/d/)c/B/ fBd(f|g>ef>d e>cd>B|G>c =B/c/d/B/ “tr”c2 c||

                       

MACDONALD MARCH, THE. Canadian, Scottish; March (2/4 time). A Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AABBCC. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 3; pg. 47. Messer (Way Down East), 1948; No. 98 (appears as "The MacDonalds"). Messer (Anthology of Favorite Fiddle Tunes), 1980; No. 180, pg. 124.

X:1

T:Macdonald's March

M:2/4

L:1/16

Z:Transcribed by Bruce Osborne

K:A

ed|c2Bc A2A2|cAce a2ef|=g2ae =g2de|=gdBA =GAB=G|

c2Bc A2A2|cAce a2ef|=gdBA =GABd|c2A2 A2:|

|:e2|AAa2 =g2ea|=gefe a2ef|=g2ae =g2de|=gdBA =GAB=G|

AAa2 =gea2|=gefe a2ef|=gdBA =GABd|c2A2 A2:|

|:E2|ABcd eaec|ABcd ecA2|=GABc d=gdB|=GABc dB=G2|

ABcd eaea|=gefe a2ef|=gdBA =GABd|c2A2 A2:|

           

MACDONALD, LORD OF THE ISLES (Mac Dhomhnuill mòr nan Eilean). Scottish, Slow Air (3/4 time). B Minor. Standard tuning. AB. This tune "is, perhaps, the most ancient air in this volume, and was communicated through the gentlemen mentioned in the Prospectus. It is remarkable that the first measure of it is the air sung in the North to the very ancient Scottish ballad of 'Sir James the Rose'" (Fraser). Fraser (The Airs and Melodies Peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles), 1874; No. 217, pg. 89.

X:1

T:MacDonald Lord of the Isles

T:Mac Dhomhnuill mòr nan Eilean

M:3/4

L:1/8

R:Slow Air

S:Fraser Collection  (1874)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:B Minor

F B>d|[^A2c2] F/z/ A B>d|c2 zf d>c|(B2 c/)z/ d c>B|A F>z A F>E|

(F B/)z/ c d>B|(c B>)z||c d>e|(f2 g/)z/ f e>d|c2 zf d>c|(B2 c/)z/ d c>B|

A F>z A F>E|(F2 A/)z/ B A>E|F2 zA F>E|F2 zA F>E|(F2 B/)z/ c d>c| (c B>)z||

           

MACDONALD OF THE ISLES MARCH TO HARLAW. AKA and see “March of Donald Lord of the Isles to the Battle of Harlaw (1411).” Scottish, March (6/8 time). A Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AABBCCDD. The melody commemorates the Battle of Harlaw, fought in 1411, and is popular as both a pipe and fiddle tune. Martin (Ceol na Fidhle), vol. 4, 1991; pg. 17. Martin (Traditional Scottish Fiddling), 2002; pg. 70. WMT002, Wendy MacIsaac – “That’s What You Get” (1998?).

                       


MACDONALD OF THE ISLES' SALUTATION. Scottish. From Daniel Dow's 18th century publication "Ancient Scots Music". "MacDonald of the Isles is a poetic title for  the MacDonalds of Sleat, the southerly part of the Isle of Skye" (Williamson). Flying Fish FF 358, Robin Williamson ‑ "Legacy of the Scottish Harpers, vol. 1."

 

MACDONALDS, THE. See "MacDonald March."

 

MACDONALD'S MARCH, THE. Scottish, March (2/4 time) or Reel. A Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AABB’ (Perlman): AABBCC (Kerr): AA’BBCC’ (Hart & Sandall). The melody entered French-Canadian tradition through Cape Breton sources, especially fiddler Joseph Cormier. Hart & Sandall call it “a recent arrival.” Sources for notated versions: Johnny Morrissey (1913-1994, Newtown Cross & Vernon River, Queens County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]; accordion and piano player Denis Pépin {Breakeyville, near Québec City} [Hart & Sandell]. Hart & Sandall (Danse ce Soir), 2000; No. 69, pg. 104 (appears as “MacDonald’s”). Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 3; No. 423, pg. 47. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 93. La Bottine souriante – “Tout comme au jour de l’an” (1987). Nightingale – “Sometimes when the Moon is High” (1996). Maggie's Music MM107, "Music in the Great Hall" (1992).

X:1

T:MacDonald’s March, The

M:2/4

L:1/8

R:March

S:Kerr – Merry Melodies, vol. 3, No. 423  (c. 1880’s)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

(e/A/)|c(B/c/) AA|c/A/c/e/ a(e/f/)|=g(a/e/) g(d/e/)|=g/d/B/A/ =G/A/B/G/|c(B/c/) AA|

c/A/c/e/ a(e/f/)|=g/d/B/A/ =G/A/B/d/|cAA::e|A/A/a =ge/a/|=g/e/f/e/ a(e/f/)|

=g(a/e/) g(d/e/)|=g/d/B/A/ =G/A/B/G/|A/A/a =g/e/a|=g/e/f/e/ a(e/f/)|=g/d/B/A/ =G/A/B/d/|

cAA::E|A/B/c/d/ e/a/e/c/|A/B/c/d/ (e/c/)A|=G/A/B/c/ d/=g/d/B/|=G/A/B/c/ (d/B/G)|

A/B/c/d/ e/a/e/a/|=g/e/f/e/ a(e/f/)|=g/d/B/A/ =G/A/B/d/|cAA:|

 

MACDONALD'S MARCH TO THE WAR. Scottish, March (6/8 time). A Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AAB. Gatherer (Gatherer’s Musical Museum), 1987; pg. 45. Scottish Pipers' Society Book of Tunes (1912).

 

MACDONALDS OF HAMILTON, THE. Canadian, Jig. Canada, Cape Breton. F Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Composed by fiddler Jerry Holland (Inverness, Cape Breton). Cranford (Jerry Holland’s), 1995; No. 255, pg. 73.

 

MACDONALD’S OF CLANRANALD’S GATHERING TO SHERIFFMUIR. Scottish, Pipe Pibroch. The tune was composed following the Jacobite rising of 1715.

 

MACDONALD’S QUICKSTEP. AKA and see "Charlie, If You Would Only Come,“ “Charlie’s Welcome [2],” “Flora MacDonald,” “MacDonald’s Reel [2],” “Miss Flora McDonald’s Reel,” “Miss Macdonald’s (Reel) [4],” “Thearlaich! Nan Tigeadh Tu [1],"

 

MACDONALD'S RANT. Scottish, Country Dance Tune (4/4 time). This melody appears in the Bodleian Manuscript (in the Bodelian Library, Oxford), inscribed "A Collection of the Newest Country Dances Performed in Scotland written at Edinburgh by D.A. Young, W.M. 1740."

 

MACDONALD'S REEL. See "Lord MacDonald('s Reel) [4]." Canadian, Shetland; Reel. G Major. Standard tuning. AAB. This reel was originally Scottish and imported to other areas, where the "Lord" part of the title was often dropped. Jarman (The Cornhuskers Book of Square Dance Tunes), 1944; pg. 15. Olympic 6151, The Shetland Fiddlers' Society ‑ "Scottish Traditional Fiddle Music" (1978). Rounder 7004, Joe Cormier ‑ "The Dances Down Home" (1977).

 

MACDONALD’S REEL [2].  AKA and see "Charlie, If You Would Only Come,“ “Charlie’s Welcome [2],” “Flora MacDonald,” “Miss Flora McDonald’s Reel,” “Miss Macdonald’s (Reel) [4],” “Thearlaich! Nan Tigeadh Tu [1].” Scottish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The melody appears under this title in the 1770 music manuscript of Northumbrian musician William Vickers, about whom unfortunately nothing is known.

X:1

T:MacDonald’s Reel [2]

M:C|

L:1/8

R:Reel

S:William Vickers’ music manuscripts (Northumberland, 1770)

K:D

D|E2 EF BEEF|E2 EF dFDF|E2 EF EFGA|Bc/d/ AF dDD:|

|:F|Eeef eEEF|Eeef dDDF|Eeed Bcde|fg/a/ ec dDD:|

 

MACDONNELL'S MARCH (Mairseail Alasdroin). AKA and see "MacAlisdrum's March."

 

MACDOUGALLS (POLKA), THE. Canadian, Polka. A Major ('A' part) & E Major ('B' part). Standard tuning. AABB. Messer (Way Down East), 1948; No. 58. Fretless Records 132, "Ron West: Vermont Fiddler." RCA Victor LCP 1001, Ned Landry and his New Brunswick Lumberjacks ‑ "Bowing the Strings with Ned Landry."

X:1

T:Macdougall's Polka

R:Polka

M:4/4

L:1/8

Z:Transcribed by Bruce Osborne

K:A

E2|AAEA c2Ac|eece a3e|g2f2 fede|f2e2 edcB|

AAEA c2Ac|eece a3e|g2f2 edcB|A2c2 A2:|

K:E

GA|B2g2 g3B|A2f2 f3e|e2d2 d2A2|c2B2 BAGA|

B2g2 g3B|A2f2 f3e|e2d2 a2d2|e4 e2:|

 

MACDOUGALL'S JIG. Scottish, Jig. A Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AABB. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 140, pg. 179.

 

MAC EOGHAN SHEAIN AGUS INION JOHN CHIT. Polka.

 


MACFARLANE'S RANT. See “MacFarlane’s Reel [1].”

MACFARLANE'S REEL [1]. AKA – “MacFarlane’s Rant.” Scottish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning. AB (Surenne): AABB (Stewart-Robertson): AABBCDE (McGlashan). The melody appears in the 1734 Drummond Castle Manuscript (in the possession of the Earl of Ancaster at Drummond Castle), inscribed "A Collection of the best Highland Reels written by David Young, W.M. & Accomptant.” McGlashan (A Collection of Reels), c. 1786; pg. 17. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 105 (appears as “MacFarlane’s Rant”). Surenne (Dance Music of Scotland), 1852; pg. 43 (appears as “The M’Farlane Rant”).

X:1

T:MacFarlane’s Reel

M:C|

L:1/8

R:Reel

S:McGlashan – Reels (c. 1786)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:D
e|fA AA/A/ e>dBe|fA A/A/A e2 de|fA A/A/A e>dBg|aefd e2d:|

|:e|fdfd e>dBe|fdfd e2 de|fdfd e>dBg|a>efd e2 d:|

g|b/a/g/f/ gd BGGB|c>AB>G A>GEg|b/a/g/f/ gd BGGB|c>Ad>B G/G/G Gg||

b/a/g/f/ gd B>GGB|c>aB>g A>GEg|b/a/g/f/ gd B>GGB|c>Ad>B G/G/G G||

g|dgg>e dgb>a|g>edB A>GEA|Ggge dgb>a|g>ed>B G/G/G Gg|Ggg>e dgb>a|

ge/g/ dB/d/ A>GEg/a/|b/a/g a/g/e dg/a/b>a|gedB G/G/G G2||

X:2

T:MacFarlane’s Rant

L:1/8

M:C|

R:Reel

B:Stewart-Robertson – The Athole Collection  (1884)

K:D

e|fA A/A/A edBe|fA A/A/A e2de|fA A/A/A edBg|aefd e2d:|

|:e|fdfd edBe|eded e2de|fdfd edBg|aefd e2d:|

 

MACFARLANES (REEL) [2], THE. Scottish, Reel. Composed by Pipe Major Donald MacLeod. Piper Major Donald MacLeod Collection. Green Linnet GLCD1182, The Tannahill Weavers - “Choice Cuts 1987-1996.”

 

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