Annotation:Earl of Mansfield's March (The)

Back to Earl of Mansfield's March (The)

---

EARL OF MANSFIELD('S MARCH). AKA and see "Prophet (The)." Scottish, (Pipe) March (2/4 time). USA, New England. A Major (Laufman, Miller & Perron): D Major (Martin, Neil). Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (Laufman, Miller & Perron, Neil): AABBCC' (Martin). This pipe march was composed by John McEwan (92nd Gordon Highlanders) and has become a popular and somewhat ubiquitous tune that is printed in some 20 Highland bagpipe collections. It first appears in David Glen's (1886) and William Ross's collections, first published in in 1886 and 1869, respectively (although since these collections were published in numerous editions over several decades, and each edition modified, it is difficult to tell when the very first appearance of "The Earl of Mansfield" was). Under the title "The Prophet" it was published in 1903 by Donald MacPhedran. It has been introduced to New England repertoire as a vehicle for contra dancing, perhaps through Scottish country dancing where Earl of Mansfield is a named dance. The family seat of the Earl is Scone Palace in Perthshire.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Laufman (Okay, Let's Try a Contra, Men on the Right, Ladies on the Left, Up and Down the Hall), 1973; p. 23. Martin (Ceol na Fidhle), vol. 2, 1988; p. 39. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddlers Repertoire), 1983; No. 55. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 126, p. 165.

Recorded sources: F&W Records 5, Canterbury Country Orchestra--"Mistwold." Front Hall FHR-024, Fennig's All-Star String Band - "Fennigmania" (1981. Learned from the Canterbury Country Orchestra). Topic 12TS381, The Battlefield Band - "At the Front" (1978).

---