Annotation:Captain Keeler

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 CAPTAIN KEELER. AKA - "Captain Keller." AKA and see "Black-Eyed Lassie." Scottish (originally), Canadian; Reel. Canada; Ontario, Cape Breton. B Flat Major ('A' part) & G Minor ('B' part) {most versions): A Major ('A' part) & F Sharp Minor ('B' part) {Surenne}. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB (Cranford/Fitzgerald, Kennedy, Surenne): AAB (Athole, Gow, S. Johnson, Honeyman, Kerr): AABB (Hunter, Skye, Welling). Glen (1891) finds the earliest printing of the tune in Neil Stewart's 1761 collection (p. 47), as "Captain Keller." O'Neill (1922) remarks: "The above clever tune first appeared in 1761 in A Collection of the Newest and the Best Reels and Country Dances, published in Edinburgh by Neil Stewart. As 'Capt. Keller's Reel' it has been reprinted in recent years, but without the spirited second finish."     Source for notated version: Winston Fitzgerald (1914-1987, Cape Breton) [Cranford]; fiddler Dawson Girdwood (Perth, Ottawa Valley, Ontario) [Bégin]; Gow (Complete Repository, Part First) [S. Johnson].  Printed sources: Bégin (Fiddle Music from the Ottawa Valley), 1985; No. 62, p. 71 (appears as "Captain Keller"). Cranford (Winston Fitzgerald), 1997; No. 104, p. 43. Gow (Complete Repository), Part 1, 1799; p. 9. Honeyman (Strathspey, Reel and Hornpipe Tutor), 1898; p. 29. Giblin (Collection of Traditional Irish Dance Music), 1928; No. 53, p. 28. Hunter (The Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 266. S. Johnson (A Twenty Year Anniversary Collection), 2003; p. 37. Kennedy (Traditional Dance Music of Britain and Ireland: Reels and Rants), 1997; No. 17, p. 6. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 1; Set 21, No. 4, p. 13. Köhlers’ Violin Repository, Part One, 1881-1885; p. 47. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; p. 123. O'Neill (Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody), 1922; No. 209. Ryan's Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 70. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 186. Surenne (Dance Music of Scotland), 1852; p. 42. Welling (Welling's Hartford Tune Book), 1976; p. 19 (appears as the last tune of "The F Medley"). Westrop (120 Country Dances, Jigs, Reels, Hornpipes, Strathspeys, Spanish Waltz etc. for the Violin), c. 1923; No. 106.  Recorded sources: Breton Books and Records BOC 1HO, Winston "Scotty" Fitzgerald - "Classic Cuts" (reissue of Celtic Records CX 44). Greentrax CDTRAX 9009, John 'Dancie' Reid (1869-1942) - "Scottish Tradition 9: The Fiddler and his Art" (1993). Odyssey ORCS 1051, Jerry Holland - "Fiddler's Choice" (1998. Holland cites Winston "Scotty" Fitzgerald as his source). Rounder CD 11661-7033-2, Natalie MacMaster - "My Roots are Showing" (2000).  See also listings at: Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recordings Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index.

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