Annotation:Dunkeld House (1)

|Tune properties and standard notation

 DUNKELD HOUSE [1]. AKA and see "Frogs' Frolic." Scottish, Jig. E Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (Gow, Hunter, Jones): AABB' (Johnson). Composed in the hexatonic mode by the famous Scots fiddler-composer Niel Gow (1727-1807) around the 1770's for his patron John Murray, the Duke of Atholl -- Dunkeld House in Perthshire was one of the latter's seats, and lies "no more than a stone's throw" from Inver, the birthplace of the great fiddler. Gow's remains repose in the churchyard of Little Dunkeld. Johnson (1983) says the tune, which has "an unmistakeable air of friendship (for Murray) about it," is still popular in Scotland. It was first published in Gow's First Collection of Niel Gow's Reels (1784). The name Dunkeld means the 'fort of the Caledonians' and refers to the people that dominated the central lowlands of Scotland during the time of the Romans (Matthews, 1972). Celtic monks, driven from Iona, established themselves there in the year 729 and Kenneth Macalpin made Dunkeld the ecclesiastical capital of his combined kingdom of the Scots and Picts in 849. Dunkeld has been much fought over. It was raided by Vikings in 903 and by Malcolm of Moray in 1027; it was the site of MacBeth's victory over Crinan and Maldred in 1045. In 1689 Captain Munro massacred an army of Highland supporters of James VII there. Dunkeld House itself was a mansion built by Sir William Bruce in 1676-84 for the 1st Marquis of Atholl. It was one of the most important 17th century manors, with landscaped grounds and gardens. The house survived until 1827 when it was demolished to make room for a neo-Gothic structure that was never completed.  Source for notated version: Niel Gow's Reels [Johnson].  Printed sources: Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 328. Collinson (The Traditional and National Music of Scotland), 1966; p. 219. Gow (The First Collection of Niel Gow's Reels), 1784 (revised 1801); p. 18. Hardie (Caledonian Companion), 1992; pg. 43. Johnson (Scottish Fiddle Music in the 18th Century), 1984; No. 85, p. 229. Jones [Ed.] (Complete Tutor Violin), c. 1815; p. 8. Ryan's Mammoth Collection, 1883; p. 101.  Recorded sources: Maggie's Music MMCD222, Bonnie Rideout - "Scottish Fire" (2000).

|Tune properties and standard notation