Annotation:Earl of Hyndford

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 EARL OF HYNDFORD('S REEL). Scottish, Cape Breton; Reel. C Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. Assuming that the tune was new in Gow's time (it is unattributed in the Third Collection of 1792), then the Earl of Hyndford honored by the title would have been Thomas Carmichael (c. 1750-1811), 5th Earl of Hyndford, who acceded to the title in 1787. He lived in the estate of Mauldsley, on the River Clyde, remained unmarried, and died without issue. He appears to have devoted himself to his paternal estate, and demolished the old house of Mauldsley, replacing it with a Gothic style structure that was imposing (when seen from a distance) but ineffectual with regard to the style, and "built in the very worst possible taste", with castellated roofs, round towers and pepperbox turrets. The interior was said to be "in no way remarkable," although the extensive lawns and woody slopes which surrounded it, and the river in the background were said to be quite beautiful.  Source for notated version:  Printed sources: Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 249. Gow (Third Collection of Niel Gow's Reels), 3rd ed., 1792; p. 32. Little (Scottish and Cape Breton Fiddle Music in New Hampshire), 1984; p. 4. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; p. 187. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 268.  Recorded sources: Rounder 7004, Joe Cormier - "The Dances Down Home" (1977).  See also listing at: Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index

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