The Fiddler’s Companion

© 1996-2008 Andrew Kuntz

 

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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]

 

 

 

NÍ AR CHNOC NÁ AR OSLEACHT. Irish, Air. Piper Brian McNamara says the tune is associated with the Ranafast region of County Donegal. It was one of many Donegal tunes collected by the late Brother Jim Forristal of Dublin (though originally from County Wexford). Drumlin Records, Brian McNamara – “A Piper’s Dream” (learned from tin whistle player Dooncha Briain). [COMMENT1] [COMMENT2] 

[COMMENT3] [COMMENT4]                                       

NI-BEID ME AG SNIOM NO FIGEAD. AKA and see "I'll Neither Spin Nor Weave."

                       

NI BEID MO AIGNE SUAIMNEAC GO DEO. AKA and see "My Mind Will Never Be Easy/'Aisy'."

                       

NI CHOISCFIDH ME CHOICHE DEN DEOL I. AKA and see "I ne'er shall wean her," “Mrs. O’Sullivan’s Jig.”  Irish, Double Jig. A Dorian. Standard tuning. AABB. The tune was recorded by the band Patrick Street under the title “Mrs. O’Sullivan’s Jig.” Source for notated version: fiddler Mrs. Murphy, 1967 (Co. Cork, Ireland) [Breathnach]. Breathnach (CRÉ II), 1976; No. 30, pg. 18. Dervish – “Midsummer Night.”

                       

NI MAIT LIOM POG! AKA and see "(A) Fig for a Kiss [1]."

                       

NI MIAM LIOM. AKA and see "I do not intend."

                       

NI MIAN LIOM. AKA and see "I do not incline."

 

NIAGARA HORNPIPE. American, Hornpipe. B Flat Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Howe prints contra dance instructions along with the tune. Source for notated version: Tom Doucet (Nova Scotia/eastern Mass.) [Phillips]. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 103. Howe (1000 Jigs and Reels), c. 1867; pg. 89. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes), vol. 2, 1995; pg. 210. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 138. White’s Unique Collection, 1986; No. 102, pg. 18. Fiddler FRLP001, Tom Doucet - “The Down East Star.”

X:1

T:Niagara Hornpipe

M:2/4

L:1/16

Q:122

C:Trad.

R:Reel

A:Missouri

B:included in Cole's One Thousand Fiddle Tunes

D:Taken from the recording of Cyril Stinnett in June '80.  Recorded on

D:Fiddler Records 001, Tom Doucet, The Down East Star.

Z:B. Shull, trans.; R.P. LaVaque, ABC

K:Bb

(ga|b)fdB (ed)c(A|BA)B(c d)BF(A|BA)B(c d)(cB)d|(gf)g(a ba)gf|!

(bf)dB (ed)c(A|BA)B(c d)B(F2|EF)A(c dA)cA|B2 (3(cBA) B2:|!

(ga|b)fdf (bf)df|(bf)b(f gf)d(f|af)cf (af)c(e|f=e)f(g af)c(A-|!

-BA)B(c d)BF(D|ED)E(F G2)GD|FFA(c ec)Ac|B2 (3(cBA) B2:|!

           

NIALL BROCHDAIR. AKA and see "Glengarry's Fox‑Hunter."

           

NICHOLAS McAULIFFE’S.  Irish, Slide (12/8 time). G Major. Standard tuning. AA’BB’. Source for notated version: accordion player Johnny O’Leary (Sliabh Luachra region of the Cork-Kerry border) [Moylan]. Moylan (Johnny O’Leary), 1994; No. 244, pg. 141.

           

NICK-NACK, PADDY WACK. AKA ‑ "This Old Man (He Played One)." English, Morris Dance Tune (4/4). G Major. Standard tuning. AA. Tune for either a polka or a single step in the North‑West England morris dance tradition. Wade (Mally’s North West Morris Book), 1988; pg. 15.

           

NICKELY HOOD.  English. EFDSS CD13, Geckoes – “Hardcore English” (2007. Various artists). Ock Records CK060, Geckoes – “The Red Horse.”

 

NICKERSON’S REEL. American (?), Reel. A Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Howe (1000 Jigs and Reels), c. 1867; pg. 62.

X:1

T:Nickerson’s Reel

M:2/4

L:1/8

R:Reel

S:Howe – 1000 Jigs and Reels (c. 1867)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

E | A>B ce | d/c/d/e/ fa/f/ | ec c(B/A/) | F<B B(c/B/) | A>B ce | d/c/d/e/ fa/f/ | ec/A/ EF/G/ | A2A :|

|: a/g/ | fe fg | (ac) ca/g/ | (fe) (ac) | B2 B{d}(c/B/) | A>B ce | d/c/d/e/ fa | ec/A/ EF/G/ | A2A :|

 

NICOLE FAKOORY.  Canadian, Jig. Canada, Cape Breton. Composed by John Morris Rankin, in honor of his niece and goddaughter. Rounder Records 7052, Buddy MacMaster – “The Cape Breton Tradition” (2003). 

 

NICKY’S ARCHIVE. AKA and see “Teelin Polka [1].” Irish, Barndance. The tune was named “Nicky’s Archive” by fiddler Patrick Orceau because he obtained it from Kerry fiddler Nicky McAuliffe and he had no name for it. The tune goes by the name of “Teelin Polka,” named for Teelin, County Donegal. Celtic Crossings CD0299-02, Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin & Patrick Ourceau – “Tracin” (1999). Chieftains – “Water from the Well” (appears as unnamed tune following “Dowd’s No. 9”). 

X:1

T:Nicky's Archive

D:O hAllmhurain and Orceau, Tracin'

N:Orceau learned it from Kerry fiddler Nicky McAuliffe

Z:Michael Reid

M:C|

L:1/8

R:Barndance

K:D

B|:~A2F2A3B|~A2G2GFEd|~c2E2c2cB|A2de fedB|

~A2F2A3B|~A2G2GFEd|~c2E2c2cB|AGFE DEFG:|

|:A2f2f3c|e2d2 dcBA|B2g2g3f|edfd AGFG|

A2f2f3c|e2d2 dcBd|c2E2c2cB|[1 AGFE DEFG:|[2 A2de fed|]

 

NICODEMUS JOHNSON'S REEL. American, Reel. G Major. Standard. AB. A blackface minstrel tune printed c. 1865. Don Meade finds the tune reprinted in Ditson’s Minstrel Songs Old and New,  1883, the same year Ryan’s Mammoth was published. Cole (1000 Fiddle Tunes), 1940; pg. 35. Ryan’s Mammoth Collection, 1883; pg. 62.

X:1

T:Nicodemus Johnson’s Reel

M:2/4

L:1/8

R:Reel

S:Ryan’s Mammoth Collection  (1883)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

G,/G,/G G,/G,/G | F/G/A/G/ F/D/E/F/ | G/F/G/E/ D/G/B/e/ | d/c/A/F/ G/E/D/B,/ |

G,/G,/G G,/G,/G | F/G/A/G/ F/D/E/F/ | G/F/G/E/ D/G/B/e/ | d/c/A/B/ c/d/e/f/ ||

g>f ef | .g(3f/g/a/ gB | g>f ef | g>f g/a/b | g>f e>f | gfga | b B/B/ BB |

B2z A/c/ | B/G/A/F/ G/E/D/B,/ ||

           

NICOLE FAKOORY’S.  Canadian, Jig. Canada, Cape Breton. Composed by Cape Breton fiddler John Morris Rankin. CAT-WMR004, Wendy MacIssac - “The ‘Reel’ Thing” (1994).

                       

NIEL GOW... See also spellings "Neil Gow" and "Neal Gow." Gow himself insisted on the spelling 'Niel' for his name.

 

NIEL GOW. AKA – “Neil Gow.” AKA and see "Irish Jig", "Keep Your Country Bonnie Lasses" (Shetland) {?}. Scottish (originally), English; Strathspey. England, Northumberland. A Major (most versions): G Major (Surenne). Standard. AB (Surenne): AAB (Athole): AABB (Gow, Honeyman, Kennedy, Kerr, Peacock). Composed by the most famous of Scots fiddlers, Niel Gow (1727-1807). It is worth remembering Gow’s epitath, inscribed on his gravestone:

***

Gow and Time are Even Now,
Gow Beat Time and Time Beat Gow.

***

Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 482. Honeyman (Strathspey, Reel and Hornpipe Tutor), 1898; pg. 34. Kennedy (Traditional Dance Music of Britain and Ireland: Reels and Rants), 1997; No. 149, pg. 35. Kerr (Merry Melodies), Vol. 2; No. 9, pg. 4. Peacock (Peacock’s Tunes), c. 1805/1980; No. 7, pg. 2. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 15. Surenne (Dance Music of Scotland), 1852; pgs. 20-21.

X:1

T:Neil Gow

M:C|

L:1/8

S:Strathspey

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

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

f|e<c a>e f<B B>f|e<c a>e f2 f>g|a/g/f/e/ a>e f<B B>g|a>fe>c A2A:|

E|A<A c>A B<F F>B|A<A c>e a>ef>a|e>a c<a B<F F>f|a>fe>c A2 A>E|

A<A c>A B<F F>B|A<A c>e a>ef>g|a/g/f/e/ a>e f<B B>g|a>fe>c A2A||

X:2

T:Niel Gow

M:C

L:1/8

R:Strathspey

S:Surenne – Dance Music of Scotland, pgs. 20-21   (1852)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

e | (d<B)({B}f>)d (e<A)A>e | (d<B)({B}f>)d e3f | (g/f/e/d/) g>d (e<A)A>f | ({e/f/}g>)ed>B G3e |

(d<B)({B}g>)d (e<A)A>e | (d<B)({B}g>)d e3f | (g/f/e/d/) g>d (e<A)A>f | ({e/f/}g>)ed>B G3 || D|

G<G ({G/A/}B>)G (G<E)E>A | G<GG<G ({f}g>)d(e<g) | (d<g)(B<g) (A<E) E(e/f/) |

(g/f/e/d/) ({f}g>)B G3D | G<G ({G/A/}B>)G (G<E)E>A | G<GG<G ({f}g>)d(e<g) | (d<g)(B<g) (A<E) E(e/f/) |

(g/f/e/d/) ({f}g>)B G3 ||

 

NIEL GOW AND HIS 2nd WIFE. AKA and see "Niel Gow's Second Wife [1]," "Niel Gow's Wife [1]," "Loch Erroch Side."


 

NIEL GOW'S. See “Niel Gow’s Strathspey.”

 

NIEL GOW'S COMPLIMENTS (RETURNED) TO MR. MARSHALL. Scottish, Strathspey. A Major. Standard tuning. AAB. Composed by the great Perthshire fiddler Niel Gow (1727-1807). Gow (Second Collection of Niel Gow’s Reels), 1788; pg. 13 (3rd edition). Gow (Beauties of Niel Gow), 1819. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 153.

X:1

T:Niel Gow’s Compliments to Mr. Marshall

M:C

L:1/8

R:Strathspey

Q:90

S:MacDonald – Skye Collection  (1887)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:A

A,AcA eAcA|A,A (d/c/)(B/A/) GB B2 {AB}|A,AcA eAcA|f/e/f/g/ ac EA A2:|

f>a e>a d>a c>a|(B/A/B/c/) (d/c/B/A/) GB B2|f>a ea d>a c>a|(B/A/B/c/) (d/c/B/A/) EA Ag|

f>a ea d>a ca|(B/A/B/c/) (d/c/B/A/) GB B2 {AB}|CEA,A FA df|(ed/c/) (d/c/)B/A/ EA A2||

 

NIEL GOW’S DAUGHTER. Scottish, Reel. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Kennedy (Traditional Dance Music of Britain and Ireland: Reels and Rants), 1997; No. 150, pg. 36.

 

NIEL GOW'S FAREWELL TO WHISKEY. AKA and see "Farewell to Whiskey [1]."

 

NIEL GOW'S FAVORITE. AKA and see "Athole Brose," "Buckingham House." See also spellings "Neil" and "Neal." The tune has often been attributed to Niel Gow because of the title, though it was never claimed by him. It was in fact the composition of Abraham Mackintosh who titled it "Athole Brose."

 

NIEL GOW'S FIDDLE. Scottish, "Slowish" Strathspey. D Mixolydian. Standard tuning. AB. Composed by Nathaniel Gow (1763-1831) in honor of his father. The tune features a double‑tonic modality and contrasting major triads, "a sly allusion to his father's style" (Collinson, 1966). The following story of Niel Gow’s fiddle is told by William C. Honeyman in his Strathspey Players Past and Present (1922):

***

Niel used a violin by Gasparo da Salo, of Brescia, which from its large tone was particularly

Suitable for his work, and which according to Mr. Kippen came into his possession thus:--

***

A very musical Scottish lady, the wife of Colonel MacQuarrie, wished to give a party at her Edinburgh

house in George Square, and at which only the greatest musicians in the land should assist. She accordingly

wrote to the Duke [of Atholl] for leaveof absence for the great fiddler. The request was at once granted,

and Niel and his brother arrived at Edinburgh in good time, but had some difficulty finding the house. The

servant led them into the kitchen, and then told her mistress that a queer-looking pair of country men were

asking for her. While the girl was absent, Niel took down an old violin, hanging on the wall, touched the

strings, found the tone good and then taking down the bow started to test its tone thoroughly. Never in his

life had he heard such a grand tone come out of a violin.

***

“Save us a’, Donald! Was there ever in the warld sic a fiddle? It sounds like an organ!” he cried, and continued to

pour forth his best music from the wonderful violin. The servant returned to take him upstairs, but he saw her not;

he was lost to all but the music. The company upstairs began to creep down and stood staring at the absorbed

performer. She asked him to stop, but I was only by holding his arm that they got him to obey, and the Niel,

wiping the sweat from his brow, said to his hostess, “Lord mem, what a fiddle! What a fiddle! All that night Niel

continued to use that strange violin instead of his own, and at every pause gazed at it and exclaimed, “Sic a fiddle!

Sic a fiddle!” His whole soul was wrapped up in it. When about to part with him Colonel MacQuarrie, who as eagerly

desired a memento of the great player, jocularly said to Gow, “When ye think sae muckle o’ the fiddle what do ye

say to niffering it for your ain?”

***

Niel said not a word but in eager haste pulled his own fiddle out of its bag and rammed it into the Colonel’s hands,

snatched at the Italian instrument, shoved it into the bag, and made for the door, so excitedly as to even forget to

thank the donor.

***

“Come awa, Donald,” he anxiously said to his brother, “Come awa, for fear he may rue it and want his fiddle back.”

***

Some time later, in the 1784, Niel was returning from a ball at Dunkeld House on a frosty morning with this violin when

he slipped on the ice at Stairdam and fell, the concussion fracturing seriously the breast of the violin. Aberdeen was the 

nearest town containing a skilled violin repairer, and Niel went straight thither and handed the treasured fiddle to a violin

maker named Joseph Ruddiman, who easily made it as sound as it had been before. This great violin, with another, and a

violincello, all Niel’s property , came into the possession of a gentleman in central Perthshire. Seeing that they had been

neglected and were out of order, he took the violin with him to Dresden in 1880, and handed it to Moritz Hamming who

took off the breast and found written inside, “Broken on the ice at Stairdam in 1784 and mended in Aberdeen—N. Gow.”

After careful examination, Hamming pronounced it to be a genuire Gasparo da Salo. The violin has a full rich tone, that

of the fourth string being particularly grand.

***

The story doesn’t quite end there, for later Honeyman writes:

***

The exchange of Colon MacQuarrie’s Gasparo da Solo for Niel’s old fiddle took place in the year 1783, but the adventures

Of the latter werenot yet over, indeed they might be said to have been only begun, for Colonel MacQuarrie took the violin

With him when he went abroadon active service, and had it with him at the taking of the Balearic Isles in Egypt in 1801,

And at the siege and capture of Burgos at Orthes, Toulouse, Salamanca, and Vittoria, at the siege and capture of Badajos

(where the Colonel was wounded), at the battle of Corunna, whence it retreated with the army, being carried on the Colonel’s

back under his military cloak in defiance of General Sir John Moore’s order to abandon everything that could impede the

flight. At last it reached its native Scottish hills, again in perfect safely, and has been so well cared for by the Colonel’s de-

scendants that it was played upon by his grandson at a concert given on the 12th of January, 1893, at Tobermory. The special

providence which is said to watch over bairns and drunk men must surely have been hanging over that fiddle.

***

Source for notated version: Peter Chaisson, Jr. (b. 1942, Bear River, North-East Kings County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]. Alburger (Scottish Fiddlers and Their Music), 1983; Ex. 84, pg. 134. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 197. Gow (Collection). Perlman (Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 191. Atlantic Music 02 77657 50222 26, Carl MacKenzie - “Atlantic Fiddles” (1994). CLM Records, Carl MacKenzie - “Celtic Ceilidh” (1986).

X:1
T:Niel Gow's Fiddle
C:Nathaniel Gow
B:The Gow Collection (New York 1986)
Z:Nigel Gatherer
L:1/4
M:4/4
K:D
f/e/|d>D AG/F/ E=C Cf/e/|dD B/A/G/F/ d2 df/e/|dD AG/F/ E=CC>E|
D>Fd>F A2 Af/e/|d>D AG/F/ E=C Cf/e/|dD B/A/G/F/ d2 df/e/|
dD AG/F/ E=CC>E|D>Fd>F A2 A||f/g/|af dg/f/ e=c cf/g/|
afdg fd f/g/a/f/|af dg/f/ e=c cf/g/|a>fd>A d2 df/g/|
af dg/f/ e=c cf/g/|afdA Fd AG/F/|GB/G/ Fd/F E=CCE|D>Fd>F A2 A|]

 

NIEL GOW'S LAMENT FOR ABERCAIRNY. See "Niel Gow's Lamentation for James Moray, Esq., of Abercairny."

 

NIEL GOW’S LAMENTATION FOR JAMES MORAY, ESQ. OF ABERCAIRNY.  AKA ‑ "Lament for Abercairny," "Lamentation for Jas. Moray of Abercairny," "Neil Gow's Lament for Abercairny." Scottish, Slow Air (4/4 time). G Major (most versions): A Major (Some Cape Breton settings). Standard or ADae (Cape Breton) tunings. AB (Alburger, Hunter, Skye): AAB (Athole, Gow, Martin, Neil). Composed Niel Gow on the occasion of the death of his aristocratic friend and benefactor James Moray (1705-1777), 13th of Abercairney, otherwise known as 'Auld Abercairny,' one of the local Perthshire gentry with whom Gow was quite friendly. Abercairny is an estate in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, near Crief. Moray married Lady Christian Montgomery, the daughter of Alexander, 9th Earl of Eglinton, with whom he had six children (see Gow’s “Mrs. Moray of Abercairney’s Strathspey/Reel”). Lady Christian’s sister, Lady Margaret, married Sir Alexander MacDonald of the Isles, establishing a connection between the families in Perthshire, the foothills of the Highlands, and the gaeltecht of the western Isles. The Pipe piobraireached “Abercairney’s Salute” was composed as a result, as explained by the MacArthurs of Skye website (http://www.linneberg.com/skye/smacarth.html):

***

This connexion produced a friendship and many reciprocal visits, and Abercairny became very fond of

the Pipes, and had MacArthur, his brother-in-law’s Piper, a frequent guest at his own seat. Having enlarged,

and much improved the mansion, a grand dinner was given, when every one praised the elegance of the new

buildings, particularly the dining-room, which was allowed to be in every respect perfect. (This room is in

what is now called the old castle. Its dimensions are 33 feet by 21, and 15 feet in height; and it is lighted by

four very large windows.) ‘The room and the entertainment are not,” observed the hospitable proprietor

(Abercairny), “altogether complete; one thing is wanting to render them so, to some of us perhaps—Charles

MacArthur, to animate the feast with his presence, and with the stirring notes of his great Pipe.”

***

Neil (1991) relates:

***

The story is told that Abercarney jokingly attempted to embarrass

Niel in public over a five pound loan which he had made to him

and which Niel would repay in music, but had not yet done so.

Niel, however, turned the tables on him by inferring that the

loan had been made in the opposite direction, by commenting

to the effect that, if Lord Abercarney had not brought the

matter up in the first place, then Niel would not have mentioned it.

***

This from a sketch called “Perth to Dunkeld,” originally published in 1912:

***

The (horse-racing) grand stand was but half filled, and only three carriages came. What a change

from the time when James Moray, of Abercairney, the first man who established fox-hounds in

Perthshire, drove his four-in-hand on the Inch, when he kept the ordinary in a roar by discoursing

like an old woman in the soundest Scotch, with a table-napkin round his head, and when he never

flagged with hell or jest till the morning sun had peeped into many a ball-room.

***

There is, or was, a portrait of James Moray by D.C. Stewart, from which a tartan derives.

***

Hunter (1988) remarks it is "one of the finest elegiac airs in the repertoire." It is often followed by the strathspey “Kilravock” or “Kilrack.” Gow played the piece, among others, for Robert Burns in October 1787 when the latter visited the fiddler in Dunkeld, and the poet used the tune for his song "Where, braving angry winter's storms." It is said to have been Burns’ favorite Gow air, according to Christine Martin (2002). Nigel Gatherer found the following passage in an old book called The Fiddle in Scotland (n.d.) by Alexander G. Murdoch, from an account by Peter Stewart, who accompanied Niel Gow during the Burns visit:

***

Arriving at Dunkeld, [Burns]...put up at the principal inn...[He] was
fortunate in making the acquaintance of Dr Stewart, an enthusiastic
amateur violin player. At the dinner table he quoted to his guests the
well-known local ditty-
.
     Dunkeld it is a little toon,
.        An' lies intil a howe;
.     An' if ye want a fiddler loon,
.        Spier ye for Niel Gow.
Burns expressed much delight at the proposal...a visit was at once
agreed to.
***
The greeting was a cordial one on both sides, and the meeting of Burns
and Gow - both geniuses of the first order in their respective lines -
was mutually worthy of each other. The magician of the bow gave them a
selection of north-country airs mostly of his own spirited composition.
The first tune was "
Loch Erroch Side" which greatly delighted the poet,
who long afterwards wrote for the same melody his touching lyric "Oh,
stay, sweet warbling woodlark, stay!"

At Burns's request, Niel next gave them his pathetic "Lament for
Abercairney" and afterwards one of the best-known compositions in the
Highlands, "McIntosh's Lament". "Tullochgorum" was also duly honoured,
after which the whole party adjourned to the little old-fashioned inn
at Inver, where there was a famous deoch, or parting friendly drink.

***

Cape Breton fiddlers sometimes play the tune in the key of ‘A’ major, in “high-bass” tuning, or scordatura ADae.

***

Source for notated version: Peter Chaisson, Jr. (b. 1942, Bear River, North-East Kings County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]. Alburger (Scottish Fiddlers and Their Music), 1983; Ex. 62, pg. 101. Carlin (Gow Collection), 1986; No. 110. Collinson (The Traditional and National Music of Scotland), 1966; pgs. 217‑218. Gow (First Collection of Strathspey Reels), 1784; pg. 3. Henderson (Flowers of Scottish Melody), 1935. Hunter (The Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 9. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; pg. 157. Martin (Traditional Scottish Fiddling), 2002; pg. 112. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 97, pg. 131. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 205. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; pg. 184. Rounder Records, Donald Maclellan – “The Dusky Meadow” (2003). Rounder 7057, Jerry Holland – “Parlor Music” (2005). Rounder 82161-7032-2, Bill Lamey – “From Cape Breton to Boston and Back: Classic House Sessions of Traditional Cape Breton Music 1956-1977” (2000). Scots Disc SDL-001, Ron Gonnella – “Scottish Violin Music” (1966). “Natalie & Buddy MacMaster” (2005).

See also listings at:

Alan Snyder’s Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index

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

X:1

T:Neil Gow’s Lament for Abercairny

M:C

L:1/8

R:Slow Strathspey

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

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:G

B,|G,>B,D>G E>GD>G|A>B c/B/A/G/ ~E2 E>G|G,>B,D>G EG Dg/e/|

d>G d/c/B/A/ G2G||B/c/|de/f/ ~g>d e>dg>B|ca/c/ Bg/B/ A2 A>B|G,>B,D>G E>G Dg/e/|

d>G d/c/B/A/ G2 G/A/B/c/|de/f/ ~g>d e>dg>B|ca/c/ Bg/B/ A2 AB/c/|

e/d/c/B/ d/c/B/A/ c/B/A/G/ B/A/G/F/|A/G/F/E/ D/E/D/B,/ G,2 G,/C/B,/A,/||

                       

NIEL GOW'S LAMENT FOR (THE DEATH OF) HIS BROTHER. AKA and see "The Gallowglass," "Lumps of Pudding(s) [2]." Scottish, Air (6/8 time). G Dorian (Jones): A Minor (Johnson): E Minor (Gow). Standard tuning. AB (Jones): AAB (Gow, Johnson). Attributed by some to Niel Gow, perhaps because his name appears in the title in the Gow’s 2nd Collection (1788). It was, however, composed by Niel’s son Nathaniel (1763-1831), and published by the Gows in 1788. It was confusing even at the time, for poet Robert Burns demurred on the question of Niel’s authorship, and wrote: "This air is claimed by Niel Gow, who calls it 'Lament for His Brother'. The first half‑stanza of the song is old, the rest is mine.' Burns, according to Dick, instructed that the tune's name be left out of the (Scots Musical) Museum and instead (generically) called a Gaelic air" (Alburger, 1983). Niel’s brother Donald (whose birth and death dates are unknown) played the cello and often accompanied Niel for performances; when he died his place on the instrument was taken by Malcom McDonald (who published a famous collection of his own). Gow (Second Collection of Niel Gow’s Reels), 1788; pg. 18 (3rd edition). Johnson (The Kitchen Musician No. 5: Mostly Irish Airs), 1985 (revised 2000); pg. 19. Jones [ed.] (Complete Tutor Violin), c. 1815; pg. 20. Claddagh Records CC34, “The Whistlebinkies 3” (1981). SMD615, Pete Clark – “Even Now.”

X:1

T:Niel Gow's Lament for his Brother.

M:6/8

L:1/8

B:Complete Tutor Violin (c. 1815)

Z:Dr. Evan Jones [Ed.], 2005

K:Bb

U:T=!trill!

U:w=!wedge!

F | DGG  TG2 F | GBc dgf | Td2 c (B/c/d)wc | BFF F2 F | DGG G2 F | GBc dgf | dbg fdc | BGG G2 || f |

g2 b fdB | cdf g2 b | f2 d cdc | BFF F2 F | (GB)wF (GB)wF | (GB)wc (dg)wf | (db)wg (fd)wc | wBwGwG G2 ||

X:2

T:Niel Go’w Lament for the Death of his Brother

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Slow Air

B:Gow – 2nd Collection of Niel Gow’s Reels, 3rd edition, pg. 18  (orig. 1788)

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:E Minor

“tr”E/D/|B,EE “tr”E>DE|FEF {F}d2B|AFA dB/^c/d/B/|(AF).D D2 “tr”E/D/|B,EE “tr”E>DE|

~FEF e2d|”tr”B>AG “tr”A>GF|(BG).E “tr”E2:||(B/4^c/4^d/2)|eBe/f/ ({e/f/}g>)fe|

(de).f “tr”g2 f/e/|({^c/4d/4e/4}d>)^cB AFd/B/|(AF).D “tr”E/D/|B,EE “tr”E>DE|

“tr”FEF e2d|”tr”B>AG “tr”A>GF|(BG).E “tr”E2||

                       

NIEL GOW'S LAMENT FOR THE DEATH OF HIS SECOND WIFE. AKA and see “Miss Graham’s Delight.” Scottish, Slow Air (6/8 time). D Major. Standard tuning. AAB (Carlin/Gow, Hunter, Johnson, Neil): AABB’ (Perlman). This air is one of the most celebrated compositions of the famous Scots fiddler and composer Niel Gow (1727-1807). His second wife was Margaret Urquhart of Perth, to whom he was happily married for three decades. A note in Gow's Collection reads "They lived together upwards of 30 years. She died 2 years before him; she had no issue." Pulver (1992) is of the opinion that “it is one of the loveliest tunes ever written...it is full of tenderness, and grace, and beauty.” Gow composed the tune with three turns of the second part, each with a different ending, “the last one overflowing sorrowfully into the repeat of part of the first half as though reluctant to relinquish her memory” (Purser, 1992). Charles Gore points out that the melody is closely related to the Irish air “Ketty Tyrrell,” published several times in Scottish collections under its Irish title and labelled as “Irish.” Perlman (1996) notes that Prince Edward Island fiddlers play the second part with a condensed ending on the first repeat. Source for notated version: Peter Chaisson, Jr. (b. 1942, Bear River, North-East Kings County, Prince Edward Island) [Perlman]. Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 551. Gow, Fifth Collection of Strapthspeys. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 19. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician No. 5: Mostly Irish Airs), 1985 (revised 2000); pg. 19. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 98, pg. 133. Perlman (The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island), 1996; pg. 207. Purser (Scotland’s Music), 1992; Ex. 7, pg. 205. CAT-WMR004, Wendy MacIssac - “The ‘Reel’ Thing” (1994). Culburnie Records CUL118D, Alasdair Fraser & Paul Machlis – “Legacy of the Scottish Fiddle Vol. One” (2000). Redwing Music RWMCD 5410, Abby Newton – “Castles, Kirks and Caves” (2001). Scottish Records 33 SR 135, Ron Gonella – “Scottish Violin Music from the Gow Collections” (1973).

X:1

T:Niel Gow’s Lament for the Death of His Second Wife

M:6/8

L:1/8

R:Air

N:”Slow and Pathetic”

K:D Major

D/2B,/2| A,>B,D ~D>ED| (EFA) B2 d| (AFD) (E>DE)| ({DE}F)DB, B,2 D/2B,/2|

A,>B,D D>ED| (EF)A d2 c/2B/2|(AFD) {=C} B,2  A,| B,DD D2:|

(A/4B/4c/2)| (dfd) (ecA)| (B/2A/2)(B/2c/2)({Bc}d) (B/2A/2)(G/2F/2)(E/2D/2)|

E>DE {DE}F>ED|(FD)B, B,2|(A/4B/4c/2)|(df)d (ec)A|

(B/A/)(B/c/){Bc}d (B/A/)(G/F/)(E/D/)|E>DE {DE}FDB,|A,DD ~D2 (A/4B/4c/)|

(df)d (ec)A|(B/2A/2)(B/2c/2)({Bc}d)  (B/2A/2)(G/2F/2)(E/2D/2)|

(F/2D/2)(A/2F/2)(d/2A/2) (B/2A/2)(G/2F/2)(E/2D/2)| ({DE}F)EE E2 D/2B,/2|

A,>B,D D>ED| (EF)A d2 c/2B/2| (AF)D {=C} B,2  A,| B,DDD2||

                       

NIEL GOW’S LAMENT FOR WHISKEY. AKA and see “Farewell to Whiskey [1].”

                       

NIEL GOW'S RECOVERY. Scottish, Strathspey. C Major (Kerr): B Flat (Gow, Surenne). Standard tuning. AB (Surenne): AAB (Gow): AABB' (Kerr). Composed by Neil Gow (1727-1807) and published on a sheet c. 1804. The first strain of this tune compares with "This is no my ain house," according to John Glen (1895). Published on a single sheet by Gow and Shepherd in 1804, accompanied by the Earl of Eglinton’s “Lady Montgomerie’s Reel,” with the note: “Danced as a medley at the Queen’s Assembly in George Street the 18th of January, 1804...” Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 2; No. 100, pg. 13. Surenne (Dance Music of Scotland), 1852; pgs. 110-111. Ron Gonella – “A Triburte to Niel Gow.”

X:1

T:Niel Gow’s Recovery

M:C

L:1/8

R:Strathspey

S:Gow & Shepherd single sheet c. 1804

Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion

K:B_

E | (D/E/F) (.F.d) (d/c/B/A/) “tr”B2 | (G/A/B) “tr”F>D ECCE | .D.F .F.d (d/c/B/A/) B>F |

(G/A/B) “tr”F>D DB,B, :| (f | d)fBf dBB(_a | g>)ef>d ecc(f | d)fBf dbb(_a | g>)ef>d dBB(f |

d)fBf dBB(_a | g>)ef>d ecce | d<f c<d B<e “tr”d>c | B>G”tr”F>E DB,B, ||