Annotation:Mr. Baillie of Mellerstain

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 MR. BAILLIE OF MELLERSTON. Scottish, Strathspey. E Dorian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (Gow, Glen): AABB' (Athole). Composed by Nathaniel Gow (1763-1831), Scottish fiddler, composer, music publisher and bandleader, and one of the sons of the famous Dunkeld, Perthshire, fiddler Niel Gow. Mellerstain House is a stately manor north of Kelso in the Borders, Scotland, home of the earls of Haddington. The title perhaps honors George Baillie (1763-1841) of Mellerstain House and Jerviswood—the latter was the original seat of the Baillie family, the former was the principal property and their private residence. He was brother to Thomas, 7th Earl of Haddington, and younger son of Charles Lord Binning. George married Mary Pringle, youngest daughter of Sir James Pringle, in 1801. He was a Captain in the Hopetoun Fencibles (Lord Hoptoun’s regiment), formed after war with France broke out in 1793. In 1796 he was elected MP for the county of Berwick, defeating Sir Alexander Don, and he retained his seat until the election of 1818.  Source for notated version:  Printed sources: Carlin (The Gow Collection), 1986; No. 160. Glen (The Glen Collection of Scottish Dance Music), vol. 2, 1895; p. 45. Gow (Third Collection of Niel Gow’s Reels), 1792; p. 25 (3rd ed.). Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 259.  Recorded sources: Rounder Records CDROUN7053, Theresa Morrison – “Lake Bras d’Or: Scottish Violin Music from Cape Breton Island” (2005).

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