DONALBANE. Scottish, Canadian; Reel or Strathspey. Canada, Cape Breton. A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The melody is identified as "Scotch" in London dancing master Thomas Wilson's Companion to the Ball Room (1816). See also the closely related Cape Breton tune "Margaree Reel," and the probably related Scots tune "Willie Davie." The historical Donalbane was Donald III (1032-1099, whose Gaelic sobriquet was Domhnull Bàn), King of Scots and son of Duncan I. In a fight for a contested crown Donalbane beseiged Edinburgh Castle and was proclaimed King through the Celtic custom of tanistry. His was the last reign (1094-1097) of a Celtic king in Scotland and a kingdom governed according to their customs. Fr. John Quinn finds that
both strains of "Donalbane" formed the basis for the third and fourth part of Ayrshire dancing master James Greg's (1718-1817) "Greig's Pipes."
Additional notes
Printed sources : - Kennedy (Traditional Dance Music of Britain and Ireland: Reels and Rants), 1997; No. 35, p. 10. Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 4), c. 1880's; No. 11, p. 4. Wilson (Companion to the Ball Room), 1815; p. 80.
Recorded sources : - AM 79602 2000-2, Ashley MacIsaac - "Close to the Floor" (1992). CAT-WMR004, Wendy MacIssac - "The 'Reel' Thing" (1994). Parlophone PMC 1144, Jimmy Shand - "Jimmy's Fancy" (appears as "Donald Bane").
See also listing at : Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index [1]
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