Annotation:Madam Frederick
MADAM(E) FREDERICK. AKA - "Madame Frederick's Dance." AKA and see "Miss Rose Blackhall's Strathspey," "Recovery (2) (The)," "Ramage (Le)," "Royal Recovery (The)." Scottish, Strathspey ("Slow when not danced"). A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. Composed by Biography:William Marshall (1748-1833), and named after a celebrated dancer of the Edinburgh Opera House who often danced at Gordon Castle, where Marshall was employed. Marshall's first title for the melody was "Recovery (2) (The)," but because it was Madam Frederick's favorite tune to dance to, he later changed the title in her honor. Emmerson (1972) records that the danseuse was appearing at the Edinburgh Theatre Royal in 1797 dancing to one of Marshall's strathspeys, and suggests that it was the one later called after her.
The strathspey not initially published by Marshall and instead was first published by the Gows in 1791 (in the 2nd Repository), with no credit to the composer, and appears first as "Madam Frederick" in Abraham Mackintosh's 2nd Collection. In Robert Petrie's 2nd Collection it appears under the title "Miss Rose Blackhall's Strathspey." London publishers John and (son) Thomas Preston printed the strathspey with country dance steps and called it "Ramage (Le)" (The Song) in their Twenty Four Country Dances for the Year 1793 .
Madame Frederick was a popular dancer on the Edinburgh stage, best known for her performances of the Scottish Strathspey at the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh. The Highland Society of London held piping competitions yearly, and in 1799, during the course of the competitions (won by Dugald MacIntyre), Madame Frederick danced jigs, strathspeys and reels dressed in appropriate garb.
Christine Martin (2002) notes the tune is a popular competition piece among Scottish fiddlers.
