Annotation:Braes of Dornoch

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BRAES OF DORNOCH. Scottish, Country Dance Tune (2/2 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. The melody is sourced to John Johnson's Two Hundred Favourite Country Dances, vol. 8 (London, c. 1753) but also appears in John Walsh's Compleat Country Dancing-Master. Volume the Sixth (London, c. 1755). Dates of publication vary for both volumes and are approximate.

Dornoch is a Royal Burgh town on the east coast of Scotland in Sutherland. The name is thought to be derived from the Gaelic Dorn Eich, meaning a horse's foot or hoof; it references the legend that a Danish warlord was killed by William, Thane of Sutherland, who, finding himself disarmed in battle, took up a horse's severed leg and dispached his foe. A horseshoe is still part of the arms of the burgh.

Printed source: Christian (The Playford Assembly), 2015; p. 12.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2), 2005; p. 14.

Recorded sources:




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