Product Number:
22250
Format:
Book
Skill Level:
Beginning-Intermediate
Notation Type:
Standard Notation
Pages:
32
Binding:
Saddle Stitched
Size:
8.75 x 11.75
ISBN:
0-7866-8338-4
ISBN13:
978-07866-8338-3
Publisher:
Mel Bay Publications, Inc.
Date Published:
6/28/2011
The twenty-five pieces in this collection date back to eighteenth and nineteenth century Scotland. Music was passed around among professional and amateur musicians, hand copied, and ended up in slightly different versions in many collections. The Airs were originally songs or for solo violin. The Dances - strathspeys, reels, jigs, a hornpipe, and the sword dance - were originally for fiddle or bagpipe. The book is arranged as a program from beginning to end - from sunrise, with "Ossian's Hymn to the Sun," to sunset, with the lullaby "O, Can Ye Sew Cushions." And no Scottish evening is complete without "Auld Lang Syne" as a finale. But one can, of course, choose to play a selection.
Three of the airs are Gaelic songs. Others are tunes for which Robert Burns and other poets wrote lyrics. Two airs were composed for the violin - "Neil Gow's Lament for the Death of His Second Wife" and the anonymous "Killiecrankie." The dances were played by fiddlers or pipers. They played (and still play) many of the same pieces. One example is "Gillie Callum," the sword dance. Originally a bagpipe tune, its range was expanded beyond the pipes' nine notes and it became a fiddle tune.
The composers are anonymous except for pieces by Niel Gow (1727-1807), his son, Nathaniel Gow (1763-1831) and William Marshall (1748-1833). Niel Gow was the preeminent violinist of his day. All three composed many fiddle tunes for Scottish country dancing.
Most of the pieces are presented in sets of two, and they should be played without stopping in-between, as they would be performed at a country dance. Metronome markings are given as a guideline. Guitar chords are included ad libitum. Since the first violin generally has the melody, the pieces can also be played by solo violin.
The music of Scotland is unique. The airs have their own special beauty. The dances are fun to play, with lively tempos, dotted rhythms and sudden key changes. This music has long been the pleasure of country fiddlers and pipers. These new arrangements for two violins are perfect for student and teacher as well as violin colleagues.
About Scottish Airs and Dances
About the Arranger
Ossian’s Hymn to the Sun (Laiodh Oisein Do’n Ghrian)
Wantonness
Steer Her Up and Had Her Gawn
Jamie Come Try Me
Ye Shepherds
The Banks of Doon
Gillie Callum
Gloomy Winter
Whistle an’ I’ll Come to Ye, My Love
Logan Water
The Haughs of Cromdale
Niel Gow’s Lament for the Death of His Second Wife
I Ha’e a Wife o’ My Ain
Killiecrankie
Jenny’s Lamentation
Alas for Me (Oich Mar Tha Mi)
Miss Admiral Gordon’s Strathspey, by William Marshall
Lady Glenorchy
Lady Charlotte Campbell, by Nathaniel Gow
A Hundred Pipers
Loch Torridon
Muirland Willie
The Lay of Fraoch (Laiodh Fraioch)
O, Can Ye Sew Cushions
Auld Lang Syne
Notes
The Lay of Fraoch, poem
Get the extra files for your Mel Bay book by clicking the "Download Extras" button below.
The .zip file contains all of the extras you will need to help you learn from your Mel Bay book. Once it is downloaded to your computer, double-click the file to open.
You can find out more about
.zip files here.
If you are having trouble opening or downloading this file,
please contact us.