Annotation:Vallafield

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VALLAFIELD. Shetland, Jig. Shetland, Unst. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The only Trowie, or fairy, tune from Unst in the Shetlands. The story goes that it was heard by a man coming home from visiting a friend. When he sat down to light his pipe under a rock face, Gullhammer (at the south end of Vallafield), he heard music coming from inside the rock. Frightened, he reached into his pocket for his knife, for in those days it was believed cold steel would ward off enchantment. The tune immediately stopped but he managed to retain the tune in his head and sang it to his daughter when he got home. She played it on her fiddle and gave the tune to others.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Anderson (Ringing Strings), 1983; p. 75. Anderson & Georgeson (Da Mirrie Dancers), 1970; p. 12.

Recorded sources:




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