Countess of Cassillis (1)

 COUNTESS OF CASSILLIS [1]. Scottish, Strathspey. A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. Composed by Nathaniel Gow (1766-1831). The ballad "Johnnie Faa" tells of the abduction of the Countess of Cassillis by the gypsy chieftain Faa, and his subsequent execution by the enraged Earl. She was then imprisoned for the remainder of her life in Cassilis Castle, Maybole, Ayrshire. The Countess of Cassillis in Gow's time was Margaret (1772-1848), daughter and heiress of John Erskine, who married Archibald Kennedy, the 12th Earl of Cassillis, in 1793. They had six children, all of whom survived to adulthood. She also became the Marchioness of Ailsa in 1831, after her husband was raised Marquess. Printed sources: Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 29. Gow (Fourth Collection of Niel Gow's Reels), 2nd ed., originally 1800; p. 2. Köhlers’ Violin Repository, Book 2, 1881-1885, p. 122.

X:1 T:Countess of Cassillis's Strathspey [1] M:C L:1/8 N:"Slow" R:Strathspey B:Gow - Fourth Collection of Niel Gow's Reels (1800) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:A E|AAAA A>B {A/B/}c>B|!trill!A>B (A/F/)E/C/ !trill!B,B !trill!B{d}c/B/|AAAA A>B {A/B/}c>B|A>B (A/F/)E/C/ A,AA:|| !trill!c>d|.e.e (d/c/)!trill!B/A/ !trill!f>g (b/a/)(g/f/)|ec (d/c/)!trill!B/A/ GBB !trill!c/>d/|.e.e (e/d/)(B/A/) !trill!f>g (b/a/)(g/f/)|{^d}e>E (F/G/)(A/B/) cAA !trill!c/>d/| ef/e/ (d/c/)(B/A/) !trill!f>g (b/a/)(g/f/)|ea/e/ (d/c/)(B/A/) GBB !trill!c/>B/|A>c !trill!F>A !trill!E>F (E/D/)(C/B,/)|A,A (c/B/)(A/G/) AA,A,||

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