X:1
T:Space and Compass
M:C|
L:1/8
R:Reel
B:Robert Ross – Choice Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances
B:& Strathspeys (Edinburgh, 1780, p. 4)
Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion
K:C
C3(c c)GEG|F(DD)B/c/ def(d|c)GEG cdec|eaTgf .e(cc):|
g|ecgc acgc|(fd)ad bdad|ecgc acgc|faTgf ecc(g|
ec)gc acgc|fede (fga).f|AcBd cedf|eaTgf e(cc)|]
SPACE AND COMPASS. Scottish, Reel (cut time). C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. John Glen (1891) finds the earliest appearance of the tune in print in Robert Ross's 1780 collection (p. 4). Forty years later John Anderson printed it in his Andersons Budget (1820) under the title "Guthrie Castle." "Space and Compass" refers to a Freemanson symbol of a ruler ('Space') and a compass (spanning instrument). In Masonic symbology the square and compasses serve as a reminder that acting truly towards others and balancing one’s own needs will lead to a life of integrity.
Additional notes
Printed sources : - Robert Ross (Choice Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances & Strathspeys), 1780; p. 4.
