Annotation:Forest of Gaick (The)

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FOREST OF GA-ICK/GAICK, THE. Scottish, Canadian; Strathspey. Canada; Cape Breton. D Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. Composed by William Marshall (1748–1833). The Forest of Ga-ick was a deer forest near Glen Feshie, owned by the Duke of Gordon for his hunting pleasure. The Duke, for whom Marshall worked as Steward of the Household, was an excellent shot, as was Marshall himself (Moyra Cowie, The Life and Times of William Marshall, 1999). The deer were protected and well-fed on the lush vegetation of the tract and reportedly grew to enormous size.

The strathspey is popular among Cape Breton fiddlers and has been recorded numerous times.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Caplan, Cape Breton's Magazine, Issue 38, 1985; p. 19. Marshall (Fiddlecase Edition), 1978; 1822 Collection, p. 52. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 240.

Recorded sources:

See also listing at:
Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recordings Index [1]
Hear the tune played by Bill Lamey at the Internet Archive [2] [3] (2nd tune in medley with "Lieutenant Howard Douglas" and "Mrs. Stewart of Garth").

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